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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:
- 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.
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!
- 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.
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]
Filed under: Stories, Hotels and Accommodations, Airlines, Transportation
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 18)
Evelyn Oct 25th 2010 8:42PM
Nothing is worse than to be injured while on a cruise. We were two days out of Miami when I fell in Jamaica and broke three bones in by foot. I had to sit for three hours for the tender to come and pick up our inland trip group. When I arrived back at the ship I had to crawl up the gangway. I sat in my room with my foot up until we reached Miami. I couldn't board the bus to the terminal, so I had to pay to cross to the terminal. When we got to the terminal, we found out that the airline was "on strike. My sister went from airline to airline to see if they would honor our tickets because of my injured foot. We were twenty minutes out of Miami, when the captain informed us that we had to return to Miami because the landing gear was not functioning. Then, we sat in the plane for three hours until it was in order. When we arrived in our hometown, a blizzard was blasting through the area. A friend picked us up at the airport. We were hardly five minutes from the airport when the car ran out of gas! My sister and our friend went out into the blizzard to find a gas station while I sat freezing in the car. When we arrived at the hospital I was in really bad shape. This is one trip I will never, ever forget!
Diane Oct 25th 2010 8:47PM
My most frustrating moment was on a trip to California to attend a conference. One gentle talked non-stop until I thought my ears would bleed. He was a nice older gentleman so I was able to tolerate it. What I could not tolerate was the young man who sat between us who thought nothing of farting when we were all practically sitting on each others laps. It was definitely what I'd label as a silent killer. I thought I'd die from lack of oxygen and because it was so foul smelling. The plane was full and there was nowhere else to sit. The restroom was only a few feet away so there was no excuse for such rudeness. It was really disgusting and I still remember it even though it was some time ago. I'd like to win and take a trip with people who know when to shut up, and people who are civil enough not to fart in public.
SchoonerGuy Oct 25th 2010 8:39PM
Flying from Paris to Bucharest, in Paris customs was staging a work slow-down, backing up hundreds of arriving passengers in a small corridor. Someone started a chant, "Open the doors!" and everyone took it up. Kind of frightening until someone yelled even louder, "You have to say it in French!" - which the crowd did. The customs guys were so unnerved they just opened the doors and let everyone through. Even so I missed my first connection - bomb scare, got to watch the bomb robot remove a misplaced briefcase. Then, boarding Romanian national airline, I had a coach ticket but assigned a seat in row 3 of first class, just forward of the bulkhead separating first from coach. Quite an upgrade on this plane since coach was full of screaming kids. Just before leaving the gate, two mechanics came on board, unscrewed the bulkhead behind me and reinstalled it just in front of me - about 2" from my nose! At least I got to keep the leather seat. My luggage arrived hours ahead of me and was locked in office, had to search all over airport at 2am to find someone with a key.
Rachel Oct 25th 2010 8:42PM
A couple years ago me and 5 other of my 20-something gal pals decided to go on on a cruise... Sunday, 6pm: arrive at airport to find we're delayed. An hour goes by... then another... then a few more... it's now 1am. Over the intercome we hear our flight is now cancelled -- next flight out on Tuesday -- 12 hours too late to board a cruiseship departing at 5pm on Monday. Six 20-somethings driving 13 hours to Ft. Lauderdale in the middle of the night... delightful (sense the sarcasm?) Six days later... the joyous day spent at the airport.... flight delayed 9 hours to return to TN.
If it weren't for bad luck, we had no luck at all... that's for sure!
I definitely feel like I deserve to win this - this was 2 frustrating adventures in one!
Cindy Oct 25th 2010 8:44PM
I once flew from CT to ID to visit family. I had not seen most of them (brothers, sisters, parents) for about 17 years at the time. When I flew out, there were no problems, there was one stop over in AZ. On the way home however was a complete nightmare. First going back home was suppose to be 1 stop, then it changed to 2 stops in the end, it ended up being 3 stops.
I left ID and flew to AZ which had a layover of about 5 hours (plane not ready), no big deal, just relax and read my book. From AZ to the next stop ( I cannot remember where it was) was a full flight and at the next stop we had another 5 hour layover (again something with the plane). From there we went to NC and had an 8 hour layover that kept getting longer because the plane was "having difficulties". By the time we boarded, we had two planes worth to board which left the flight completely full and it was a smaller plane which left the seats extremely packed together and I was stuck on the right side of the plane stuffed in my seat. Now something I did not mention before, I am a 6'1 person, so tall for the seats already, and I was on crutches at the time. I had a complete leg brace on my right leg so each time to account for the leg, I needed to sit in the left aisle so my leg would be able to fit comfortably, so imagine having to sit with a leg like that stuffed into the seating area, bad not only for me, but for the person sitting next to me, because I had to take some of their leg room.
By the time I got home I had been up for over 24 hours and was ready to get off the freaking plane and get in my own bed.
That is why I believe I should win the trip.
Kristy Trujillo Oct 25th 2010 9:41PM
My Husband and I had been planning for our Honeymoon for 2 years we planed to go to Disneyworld in Florida we have a time share company call and said we won a trip and all we had to do was attend a 2 hour orientation. We flew to Orlando Florida and the flight was delayed so we got in after 2am when we got to the room it was 11am we had to sit in the lobby for 9 hours( the room was not ready) We got in to are room and had to quickly get ready for a 12:30 pick up to the orientation the driver had a list of people to pick up plus we then found out the orientation was in Ft Lauderdale fl we got there at 5:30 pm they did offer us a dinner buffet and it was over 3hours later. On the way back the driver of our van got in a Auto accident and needless to say it was 2;30am the next day that we got back to our Hotel room. Being so tired and feeling very miss led all we could do was get ready to come home the next day and we never made it to Disneyworld and are honey moon was a huge Bust 9 year later and we have not had a trip since
Mary Lide Oct 25th 2010 8:47PM
I was visiting Greece and staying in Athens for 1 week. We booked a tour called the Three Island tour . It was absoluteletly the worst tour I have ever been on. From the start it was a disaster. One of the bathrooms was closed from the beginning of the tour. The entire ship smelled horribly and there was smoking everywhere. The absolute worst food ever served was our lunch. The only entree was pork. My traveling companions are kosher and do not eat pork. We asked for another selection and some tap water but this request was denied. The food smelled so gross that it literally made you nauseous to even smell it. The inside cabin of the boat was poorly air conditioned which contributed to the horrific conditions on this boat. By early afternoon several of the toilets in the ladies bathroom were clogged and not working. I am sure that the board of health would have closed the entire ship. Under these horrific conditions I feel that we deserve a complete refund of 95 euros per person. This was absolutely the worse travel experience I ever had! After several emails I was credited for the full amount of the tour which was about $130 per person. Honestly I would not go on that cruise again for $10,000!
DOROTHY BOLTON Oct 26th 2010 3:10PM
WE MISSED OUR CRUISE IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR BECAUSE OUR FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED AT 2030 PM ON A FRIDAY NIGHT AND WE WERE TO LEAVE FROM DULLES IN VIRGINIA ON SATURDAY MORNING TO FLY IN TO ATLANTA -WHERE THEY WERE HAVING AN ICE STORM - TO CATCH A CRUISE SHIP IN FT.LAUDERDALE . OUR AIRFARE WAS REFUNDED TO US FROM AIR TRAN WITHOUT A PROBLEM. WE DID NOT PURCHASE TRAVEL INSURANCE THRU THE CRUISE LINE - CARNIVAL - BAD FOR US - BUT WE HAD NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS BEFORE. WE REALLY DID NOT EXPECT TO HAVE THE MONEY REFUNDED TO US FROM CARNIVAL BUT WE THOUGHT THEY WOULD AT LEAST HONOR THE $1200 WE SPENT FOR THE CRUISE AND AT LEAST LET US MAKE IT UP AT ANOTHER TIME. EVEN GIVING US HALF THE MONEY BACK WOULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING. BUT THEY SAID NO. $1200 IS A LOT TO SWALLOW THESE DAYS. NEEDLESS TO SAY ANY CORRESPONDENCE WE RECEIVE FROM CARNIVAL REGARDING ANY CRUISES IS DELETED. THANKS FOR LISTENING.
Janice Mannes Oct 25th 2010 8:46PM
Wanting to go to Las Vegas and never having gone, when an opportunity to fly round trip for $99 came up I grabbed it! I lived in Miami and this was over 30 years ago...So, I got on the phone and waited for over an hour to book! I surprised my husband with this great news and we were off! So, it was okay that this was an airline that had gone out of business and was just getting back on "board"? The plane was packed! I was apprehensive because it was their first flight and I knew the plane was going to crash! But off to Vegas we went! It was a great flight! Now,I had to use the restroom. Got in...did my business and then, when I went to unlock the door..it was stuck! Or broke! No sign. Nothing! I banged, yelled, hit, punched, kicked...No door open! There I was on a first flight, stuck in the bathroom and no one could hear me. I knew the plane was going to go down and they'd find me on the toilet! Finally, after a very, very long time there was a locksmith (go figure) on board and he got me out! Haven't used the bathroom on a plane since. OBTW...the plane landed, but went out of business on the flight home!
Mikey Oct 26th 2010 6:13AM
Two important things come to mind: Always wear clean undies as you NEVER know what is going to happen and the other thing to remember is just prior to your flight many years ago, flying locksmiths were introduced on aircraft to assist in such emergencies.
A ratings badge taken from the Navy's Aviation Storekeeper's rate shows crossed keys with wings and this has been adopted by their civilian counterparts. I thought they would have mentioned it in the pre-flight lecture.
Penny Stab Oct 25th 2010 8:55PM
My husband and I only have to opportunity to go on vacation one a year. In May 2010, I met him in Nashville, Tennessee for what was supposed to be a wonderful weekend for just the two of us. I arrived at the airport in the worst rain storm that I had ever seen. After having issues with renting a car, I managed to find my way through the storm to the hotel. I made it just in time because Nashville ended up becoming isolated from the rest of Tennessee because the flash flooding came across the highways. We were confined to the hotel. At least we got our exercise when we had to walk down 10 stories because of the fire alarm going off. The rain continued to the point of considering building an ‘Ark’. The stores, restaurants, underground parking garages, cars and streets started flooding and kept flooding. Once there was a break, we did go out to assess the damages and to get fresh air. The restaurants that weren’t flooded had limited food and staff, one of the water plants stopped working so water was sparse, and we had to cancel our trip to the Grand Ole Opry. This was my only trip to Tennessee and I was given the gift of the worst storm to hit Nashville in over 150 years. I will always remember the trip and hopefully we can return someday. I do send my prayers to those who lost everything in the storm.
Josh Oct 26th 2010 11:59AM
First time I went to travel out of the country was to backpack around Europe with friends for our senior trip. We were flying from Cincinnati to Chicago to London. Our flight was delayed out of Cincy, but we made it to our gate in Chicago in time to find out they had given our seats away even though they were still boarding the plane because they were told we "would be late."
We waited for another flight for three days in one airport terminal and were still over 250th on the waiting list because none of us had traveled outside the US before, hadn't flown much and weren't part of any school group.
Eventually we made it, but lost 4 days on our trip with non-refundable hotel reservations.
Justine Oct 25th 2010 9:02PM
I married the love of my life on February 12th, 2010. We had a beautiful wedding on Long Island and were planning on going on a cruise the following morning out of Ft Lauderdale. We were packed and ready, bags with us in the bridal suite. After our celebration with our friends and family we went to a hotel near the airport to change into comfy clothes and took a shuttle to the airport, this is when it went bad. The airline, which had already confirmed our ticket (and I had a printout of) told us we were not booked on the flight and there was nothing they could do. We waited on another line for over 6 hours to try to talk to management and when we got to the counter and explained what was going on all the woman said was sorry, there is nothing I can do, but you can wait on that OTHER line to speak to someone else. Needless to say, we missed our honeymoon cruise, returned to our apartment in 20 degree weather that afternoon and unpacked our bathing suits. We still have not had a honeymoon...
DLS4 Oct 25th 2010 9:02PM
A large roach scurried up the hotel wall. When I climbed out of bed to swat him, he disappeared, only to reemerge the moment I returned to bed. After 20 minutes of his taunting I threw a shoe at him, but it missed. Later that night I woke up when the roach bit my finger!
Swede Oct 30th 2010 12:18PM
I was living in NYC and was going to a convention in chicago.I woke up the morning of my flight to see 2 feet of snow outside my window. I called a cab to pick me up and they said they cannont go down side streets, I would have to get up to the main road by walking.I did,3 blocks.got to kennedy,all flights cancelled.told to go to La quardia,got a cab went to laguardia they said go to newark,rented a car went to newark,got on flight laid head down to nap heard pilot announce fasten seat belt we r landing at kennedy where i started.waited 3 hours got my flight got to party 8 hrs later.How bout that?
Squiddypie8 Oct 25th 2010 9:12PM
Deciding to drive through Mexico to visit relatives in Michoacan. The car broke down on a highway in the middle of nowhere with myself and two kids. We were robbed and lucky to leave with our lives I truly believe. It cost $200.00 dollars for a taxi ride to the border and another $175.00 to LAX. We flew home needless to say because of our scare and was only lucky enough to do so because we had help from a good friend of the family who fit the bill for the tow, the taxis, and the flight for three of us. It cost $450.00 dollars to have the car towed back to San Diego and when it did finally make it back 1 1/2 weeks later it was stripped. Did I mention we had to stay one miserable night in the airport waiting on standby? That was the worst 4 days supposed to be spent on vacation of our lives! People, for the love of God Never Ever EVER drive into Mexico!!!
Debbie D Oct 25th 2010 9:09PM
my husband was returning home from a year long deployment in Iraq. He had been involved in a road side bomb, and they werent able to send him home to recover.Finally I got the call that he was flying into the US within 24 hours. I booked my flight through Southwest airlines, and i was on my way the following morning. To my dismay my flight was delayed by 3 hours due to bad weather, by the time I got to pheonix to catch my next plane to texas where they were going to be, my flight from pheonix had just closed the doors, and were heading down the runway. There was no hope after I had ran through 28 gates in high heels to catch the flight.But it was too late. The funny part is my luggage made it to Texas, but I had to spend the night in a hotel in pheonix which the airline paid for... with no clothes no toothbrush, and no cell phone charger.. My husband made it safe and sound to his destination but I was not there. and no way to let my husband know I wouldnt be there to welcome him home!!! I arrived the next afternoon! Worst 24hours of my life!
Ernie Oct 25th 2010 9:08PM
A few years ago, I was traveling from WV to Houston, TX for a training class, but since it was my first time in Texas, I'd hope to do some sight seeing. I had no idea how unforgetable this trip would be.
First, on the trip down, the airline lost my luggage. So they dutifully took note of my planned hotel off I-45 Southeast of Houston and promised delivery. It never arrived. The next day, I called and they informed me the luggage was stolen. Since I had no carry on, I had no change of clothing or toiletries so I visited a local mall and bought a change of clothes.
Then Huricane Rita came boiling in from the Gulf and we had to evacuated. With the malls now closed, I couldn't get any more clothes. I got up at 2am to try to get back to Bush Airport (North Houston). Should have been a 1hr trip max, but was stuck in traffic for over 7hrs. After nearly running out of gas, I made it to the airport. Since I had no luggage, I used a trash bag to carry my dirty and store bought clothes. Imagine yourself as a WV tourist, walking into the airport with a trash bag for luggage. I'll never live that down.
To this day, I still refer to this trip as the only time I was ever asked to leave a state by the authorities.
James Armistead Oct 25th 2010 9:15PM
Barcelona Spain, 15 min drive turns into 4 hr bus trip to cruise ship. Greece goes on stirke, no entrance. In Rome we were left standing in the cold and rain while the tour bus went elsewhere. We were not allowed to stay on bus. Egypt is bus ride from hell. 3 hour drive with man pucking in a bag from the moment he got on the bus till we returned to ship. Tour bus toilet on same bus had no light, no paper and was never emptied the whole trip. Every time the bus stopped or turned sharpely, it spilled onto the floor. If you had to drop your pants, they were in the nasty water you were already standing in. To add vomit on top of crap, we were never offered any compensation.
Jen Oct 25th 2010 9:15PM
I was flying home JFK-OAK on JetBlue for my bridal shower when the flight was delayed due to bad weather. I was immediately booked on the next flight to leave - the next day.
My mother had the bridal shower anyway. I missed my own bridal shower. At least they saved me some cake.