I got a corkscrew in the mail today from Sutter Farms. Stow it in our checked luggage this week to the Bahamas(didn't win this, just traded in a timeshare)
I got that corkscrew too. No letter or anything with it. Can't remember entering anything with them, but then we go through so many here, who can remember them all.
Me too, nice wine waiter's friend, and though I'm not a fan of the brand or its plonk, when buying for a hospitality suite and needing as always "Blush" (often describing wine so bad it makes a sommelier blush), I'll remeber the name....
I've been entering for a few months now, no wins yet but I'll keep trying. I am curious if some of the winners could comment on the quality of the hotel rooms, shows, etc. that they won? Also how were you treated by the staff at these places - did they treat you like "winners" or like they treat folks who make reservations though discount web sites?
Welcome, Simon. As Sharon says, those are good questions. I have won three trips so far - Las Vegas, Bermuda, and the La Costa resort in California - and all went terrifically well. Check in at the Venetian in Vegas was a normal check in, the room a standard room, and the only difference at checkout was a zero balance (we stayed away from the mini-bar!). In Bermuda, the folks at Cambridge Beaches could not have been nicer. We had a lovely cottage, free spa treatments and complimentary breakfasts and dinners - all served with grace and friendliness. The La Costa win was sponsored by Kraft (there were 100 of us winners!) and they had vans meet us at the airport, take us to the resort and they provided breakfasts and dinners. The room at La Costa was obviously not the top tier, but it was quite comfortable and the staff was very pleasant. They even went out of their way to get my vegan daughter a vegetarian meal gratis from one of their regular restaurants when we were faced with an all meat barbecue dinner put on by the sponsor.
So based on these three trips, I have found that winners are treated well - or at the minimum normally. Bear in mind, the sponsors of these sweeps are paying for you to be there, and would probably be most unhappy if they learned their winners were treated shabbily. I'm sure there are winners out there who have had bad experiences, but by and large I think the sponsors expect and demand that their winners be treated well.
in the early days of FlyerTalk Catman and I did launch a monthly price for the most humorous/funny/extraordinay and/or helpfull post and poster of last month - at that time it was possible for us to monitor all posts daily (there were may be a maximum of 20 to 30 posts a day).
All FT posts did count (there was not yet a special OMNI forum then, but) for that price we did concentrate on not specific posts about miles and flights but about posts that at that time we called already by us users 'OMNI' posts.
The jury task for that price later, with the largely increasedpsts per day, became impossible to be done in a fair way anymore, and so we stopped that competition at the PiP in Hawaii (FlyerTalk Party in Paradise).
the price did consist of a huge package of swiss chocolate for the winner.
I learned about NetWinner in my lurker stage and registered - wish I could have figured out a conga at that time or some other FT's would be very happy too! So far I've won $475. Not as exciting as a trip but sure is nice to get regular gift cards in the mail. It gets pretty addictive.
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Work - The time spent after the last vacation and prior to the next one.
in the early days of FlyerTalk ....the pri[z]e did consist of a huge package of swiss chocolate for the winner.
And it was darn GOOD chocolate too Rudi!! Thanks.
As to Simon Baby's questions, I have won two contests (one from FT) which included hotel rooms. (I won't comment on the free flights, since there isn't much difference in treatment from one seat to another -- at least in the same class of cabin.)
We won a trip from our local PBS station some years ago, which had been donated by TWA (back when they were still flying). A week in Paris. Hotel was great, and they treated us like anyone else who had a TWA voucher, I think. (I am not sure that they even knew that TWA had supplied it to us as a prize.)
Also a few years back, we won a trip from Starwood to San Francisco, which included a stay at the St. Francis. There, the staff clearly knew that we had won a Starwood contest. From check-in to the concierge, they were extremely nice and very accomodating to us (including an upgraded room on arrival). Made winning the contest all the more enjoyable.
I've finally used my $2000 travel voucher from studentuniverse (I won it way back on page five). I'm taking my girlfriend to rome for christmas. We're going for eleven days. The voucher covered airfare for both of us (one stop through IAD on united) with $500 left over for hotels. We have to pay for the rest of our stay ourselves, but how often do you get a free flight to rome?
Programs: ua 1k, spg plat, hyatt, marriott & pc gold
Posts: 2,164
i just won a free round trip (up to $1000) from farecompare, anywhere they fly in the us and canada! am on my way to post the link, as i don't see it in this forum. got the email today, entered, and...poof!
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you know you can set up your preferences so you don't have to see these, right?
She posted it in this forum, but you'll have to switch the view threads from its default of 10 days back to a month (towards bottom of the page) if you want to see it/enter, as it was a few weeks ago she posted. Sorry; don't have time to search back for you.
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