Are you America’s “most frustrated traveler”?

Does the saying, “if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all,” describe you perfectly?

Are you a traveler who can’t get his or her preferred flights booked because of all your credit card’s black-out dates?

Do you invariably wind up next to the guy on the airplane who talks non-stop and dribbles food on his shirt the entire flight?

Well, wipe that sad face off your sour mug, Faithful Traveler! Gadling and Capital One Venture are teaming up to make five lucky winners a lot less frustrated. If you’re America’s “most frustrated traveler,” you could win one of these great prizes:

  1. One Grand Prize Winner will receive a free 3 day/2 night trip to the destination of their choosing for two, including roundtrip airfare (within the continental United States) and hotel* – valued at $3,000.
  2. One Second Prize Winner will receive a hassle-free travel essentials pack consisting of items such as a Garmin GPS and Bose noise canceling headphones – valued at $1,500.
  3. Three Runner-up Winners will each receive a Marriott TravelCard – valued at $100 each.

Wow, that’s enough to make any frustrated traveler considerably more content.

What’s the catch? Well… you have to relive your experience one more time. To be eligible for the fantastic, frustration-reducing prizes in this contest, head to the comments and describe in 250 words or less your most frustrating travel moment, and why you deserve to win a free (and frustration- and hassle-free) trip courtesy of Gadling and Capital One Venture.Before we get to the legal bits, let us remind you of some of the travel-friendly features of Capital One’s Venture card:

  • You can earn 2 miles per dollar on all purchases, every day;
  • There are NO foreign transaction fees;
  • You can receive 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 in the first three months;
  • You can enjoy the freedom to redeem your miles on any airline, any time, with no blackout dates;
  • Your rewards don’t expire; plus there’s no limit on how many miles you can accumulate, no special spending categories and no separate rewards enrollment requirements;
  • You can have the flexibility to redeem for any travel purchase – air fare, hotel room, rental car, you name it!

And now, the legal bits…

  • To enter, describe in 250 words or less your most frustrating travel moment, and why you deserve to win a free (and frustration- and hassle-free) trip. Leave your story in the comments section below. Be creative and descriptive!
  • The comment must be left before Friday, November 5, 2010 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once. Winners will be selected at random.
  • One Grand Prize Winner will receive a free 3 day/2 night trip to the destination of their choosing for two, including roundtrip airfare (within the continental United States) and hotel* – valued at $3,000. One Second Prize Winner will receive a hassle-free travel essentials pack consisting of items such as a Garmin GPS and Bose noise canceling headphones – valued at $1,500. Three Runner-up Winners will each receive a Marriott TravelCard – valued at $100 each.
  • Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
  • Click here for the complete official rules of this giveaway.

OK, O Frustrated Ones — get commenting! And start dreaming about what frustration-free location you’ll visit if you’re selected as the Grand Prize Winner.

Happy travels and good luck!
The Gadling Team

* The total cost of airfare and hotel can not exceed $3,000, but you can stay at a more expensive hotel, if you choose cheaper flight options. Alternatively, you can choose a more expensive flight, if you stay at a cheaper hotel.

[Photo: Flickr | rudlavibizon]