Menu
Login
We received a letter in the mail that if we attended a 90 minute seminar we would receive 2 free airline tickets to fly with Southwest Airline. We attended the meeting, declined the offer to buy in on their program but were told we were promised the airline tickets and would receive them. It did seem fishy that we had to mail $100.00 (albeit refundable) with the activation form, but were told that would be refunded to us. Then we got the Travel Request Form which required more money in order to get the tickets. Not going to happen--these are suppose to be free tickets so why are they requiring money at all? If you get one of these letters in the mail--run the other direction and throw the letter in the garbage. They are a fraud!
We signed up last weekend. I was able to immediately get online and see the HUGE red week condo deals that agents get, saving a minimum of 700-1000+ per week on condos so we are booking Tahoe asap. We were told UP FRONT that there are 14 hours of agent classes and of course you have to learn something to be a great agent. We had THREE business days to cancel. If you have not used the services, it is unfortunate that you did not get a refund. We read everything, negotiated on the up front price and are very happy that we can now book our own travel, friends, family and learn the industry for a second job in retirement. We figured that we paid them what one year of cost to be an agent is and we will get 2 years of being agents and then we can decide if we want to continue at that time. I think it is a smart way to get people to get interested in being travel agents. If you google the ave salary of agents, it is a nice retirement side-gig but you cannot expect to be a busy agent without knowing many many people who can afford to travel regularly and fortunately we do. I'm in it to save on my own travel..and when WE retire in 2 years, I will use it more to book travel..so as a busier travel agent:) Pretty excited to get the promo prices on cruises, all-inclusives, red-weeks etc.
I have been a travel agent with Goldrush Getaways for about 13 years. In the 1st 2 years we saved the cost of membership with discount travel & Fam (familiarization) trips offered by travel distributors, & selling travel to friends & family. Yes, you do have to attend classes to learn the business, as in any job. There are also webinars. We have also received travel offers as mentioned by other comments & they usually do not work out. But Goldrush is not about the 'free' offers, but to do the travel business.
I have been an agent for Goldrush Getaways for over 10 years. I work full time and do this part time. It has been rewarding to me personally and financially. I get to travel with great discounts, especially on cruises. I sell travel to family and friends, so I make a little commission here and there. The biggest perk for me is the discounts. I have saved a lot of money over the years. Yes, we had to pay to get into Goldrush, but it has been repaid many times over and well worth it. The staff is always available and helpful. It has been a great investment for us that we continue to use and enjoy.
I received a certificate also. Called to see what that is all about. Wanted us to come to a 90 presentation this Wednesday between 3 - 4:30 pm. I told the representative my husband and I both work during during the day time. I guess he thought we were retired but I sounded very young? Then he asked if we worked during the weekends. I said no but was booked for the next three weekends. He said, "Oh, it was only good for this week." Really, doesn't sound right to me if it is only good for this week. I know they are making appointments every day, dud, not just this week. Not a very good rep. The good thing was he didn't pressure us to come in. The program doesn't sound great anyways. With these free certificates, they are never totally free. For them to say they cannot pay any port or taxes is not true. They can offer money on top of the certificates. This way, we can pay for the stuff they cannot pay. Maybe you'll get less complaints Gold Rush :)
The person who called said his sales pitch. At the end, he wanted to schedule me for a
"presentation" but became rude when I told him my husband is away for work during the summer and our weekends are fully booked.. His sarcastic response was "Wow, I never heard that before, your weekends are fully booked. That is a first. Why did you even respond to our call? Goodbye!" Then he promptly hung up the phone. Hey dude, we have a life, ok? And get a clue- if you are going to sell this type of product, you should expect rejection and not be pissed off about it. BTW, you advertise about becoming a travel agent to get discounts?! You sound like a travel mill and you give legitimate travel agents a bad rap.
With all the negative comments now I'm thinking to cancel my membership hopefully is not to late yet. Joined on two weeks ago with my wife.
I HAVE TO DISAGREE. I RECENTLY ATTENDED A GOLDRUSH PRESENTATION AND IT WAS JUST THAT, A PRESENTATION NOT A 3 HR SALES SEMINAR WITH HIGH PRESSURE. THEY DID A LIL SCRATCH DRAWING, WE HAD SOME REFRESHMENTS AND WERE SEATED AT OUR TABLE BY OURSELVES WHICH SURPRISED ME. IVE BEEN TO TIMESHARE PRESENTATIONS BEFORE AND AT LEAST ONE TO TWO PEOPLE STAYED WITH US THE ENTIRE TIME ! THIS WASNT TIMESHARE AT ALL. THE REPRESENTATIVE THAT CALLED US EXPLAINED THAT TO US AND I WAS STILL VERY SKEPTICAL BUT GOLDRUSH SHOWED US SOME POPULAR VACATION DESTINATIONS ON VIDEO, THE PREMISE OF THEIR COMPANY, AND HOW WE COULD MAKE $ BECOMING A TRAVEL AGENT, AND GREAT DEALS ON TRAVELING. HONESTLY WE ARE STILL CONSIDERING THEM. WE WERE DONE IN ABOUT AN HOUR AND 25 MINUTES OR SO. THEY ASKED FOR OUR BUSINESS BUT DIDNT AT ALL PRESSURE US.
I agree Goldrush Getaways is a ripoff. I purchased their membership back in 2009. They promise savings, however, they never explain you have to become a travel agent and attend training classes. By the time you attend the first training class, where they explain how the "membership" really works its too late to cancel because you only have 24 hours to cancel. I requested a refund from the company for misleading information, denied.
We signed up last weekend. I was able to immediately get online and see the HUGE red week condo deals that agents get, saving a minimum of 700-100+ per week on condos so we are booking Tahoe asap. We were told UP FRONT that there are 14 hours of agent classes and of course you have to learn something to be a great agent. We hadTHREE business days to cancel. If you have not used the services, it is unfortunate that you did not get a refund. We read everything, negotiated on the up front price and are very happy that we can now book our own travel, friends, family and learn the industry for a second job in retirement.
Complete scam and load of crap.
This is a comment to Brian A. Carr/President Goldrush Getaways since I'm pretty sure he reads this. Five times in two days I received calls about this great opportunity. Five times I said I was not interested and to take me off their call list. Since they just kept calling, on sixth call I listened to pitch, set up appointment, then cancelled. I've been to these sorts of things a number of times. "Free trips" are not worth the cost. Some people may find this whole thing worthwhile, but they shouldn't bug people who aren't interested.
I am the member of Gold Rush Gateway i attend the 90 min presentation last January 2011 me and my husband like to go on vacation and im happy that company provide us good airline good hotel and lot discount i almost save 45 to 50 percent and they always remind us day before our trip or that day of our trip for updates even traffic update ... icant ask for more Gold Rush is one of the best Travel agency
I would like to update my review. CasaBlanca Express has taken care of the problem that I had with Goldrush Getaways and has kept their (CBE) promise. I will continue my relationship with CasaBlanca Express.
We were contacted by CasaBlancaExpress and was told ALL TAX INCLUDED. Traveled about 60 miles round trip to find out No Way- had to sign a form for responsibility of taxes before we could attend presentation. DIDN'T Sign and was rudely asked to leave by GoldRush representative at the Moorpark Hotel in San Jose, CA.
This company actually made me money and saved me some. I appreciated always having someone at least answer the phone and explain things to me. Probably the best of the best when it comes to these types of service. I didn't mind waiting and the employees were nice and for the most part upfront. I knew they had to make some money some how but in return so do you. Its always hard when you are almost paying it forward in this situation. I applaud their service and commitment to always making it right.
Thanks
Bill Wallace
I agree completly
We attended the 90 min sales pitch- a total WASTE of time- the gifts for attendance are impossable to use- Don't bother waisting your time - The price of travel membership is so high you could take 4 very nice trips on your own. The saying sounds to good to be true- applys here. The sales staff look like an AA meeting. P.S. any military get this same service for free.
7/31/11
I met Gold Rush getaway reps at the State Fair today. My husband and I travel frequently so we we have an appointment next week with Gold Rush Getaways for the 90 minute presentation. I specifically told the sales rep that we were not interested in a time-share or spending money on memberships etc. We are just looking for a great travel agency that we can book or travel at a fair price. I don't even care about the free airfare/trips they offer. After reading the many complaints from numerous people on several websites it appears that this company wants a large sum of money to invest in being a travel agent and also book travel for family/friends etc. They clearly misrepresented what they are really about. The Better Business Bureau has listed them as not BBB accredited and having several serious complaints involving their sales tactics as well. I gave the sales rep. the required $20 to reserve my spot-I thought that was kind of strange -I'm so glad I checked this company out on the web before I wasted 90 minutes of my time. When a company has more complaints than compliments then something smells bad. Too bad they couldn't have just been up front with me. It would have saved them yet another bad rap against their company. I will consider the $20 loss a good lesson-
While friends and we purchased our Goldrush Getaway memberships upon retirement from teaching in 2004, so things may have changed since then, I have to say we have saved literally thousands of dollars traveling as Goldrush Getaway agents. We have NEVER regretted our memberships! In fact, my husband and I have on several occasions thanked our friends for introducing us to it. Everywhere we travel we receive discounts on travel packages, hotels, and outings. Our friends have saved hundreds if dollars on condos they have booked for Spring Training. Any time I have had a question or a problem, I know Tim or Heather will help resolve it. They are great! Honestly, we have had few complaints. One has been around slow payments of commission checks. On several occasions I have had to call and ask why they haven't been sent. In spite of the delays, we do always receive them. Recently, the requirements to maintain CLIA memberships have become excessive. We have let our licenses go but have not found it has hindered our ability to receive travel discounts. My only other annoyance is minor. As a teacher, it bothers me to write Goldrush instead of Gold Rush. Whoever decided on the name didn't know how to spell it.
I am sorry that Michael and Jessie Mays had a bad experience. Our affiliation with Goldrush Getaways has been a positive one
Let put responsibility where it belongs? When signing up for the presentation, we were told we would get two free cruises. Nothing is said about the $99 activation fee or the extra charges to be incurred when traveling.
Also we were told we would get $200 of restaurant gift certificates. As your representative
was handing them over to us, he stated we could use the certificates at Olive Garden, Red Lobster, anywhere we'd like to eat. Obviously, he had never used Restaurant.com before.
When I informed him how Restaurant.com works, he admitted he never used them before.
Too bad people have to resort to lying...
The certificate for two free airline tickets is a complimentary gift for attending a no-obligation 90 minute presentation. The certficate is not specific to any airline. The certificate is not administered by Goldrush Getaways. The instructions for the certificate clearly state that the traveler is responsible for any fees imposed by the federal government and the specific airline traveled. Fees and taxes will vary. Those cannot be waived. Uncle Sam wants his cut.
Let's put the responsibility where it belongs. To whom did you send your refundable fee of $100.00? It was not Goldrush Getaways. The certificate company is to whom you should direct your attention. If you have followed the instructions and the rules of the certificate then you will have success in fulfilling your request.
Brian A. Carr/President
Goldrush Getaways