TLC Marketing and VIP Casino free flights promotion

[Brycen69]

Hey Guys

I noticed a few threads on this forum relating to the Intercasino Free Flights Promotion that was being run by TLC Marketing

A very similar promotion has recently been run by VIP casino which also uses TLC marketing to book the flights, which i have qualified for.

I was hoping to get feedback from people involved in the Intercasino promotion, did you ever end up getting offered a flight? and if you did were the "taxes" such a ridiculously high value to make the flight worthless?

I've noticed that the other threads tend to end before there was conflict resolution and i'm not sure if that's because people are still in the dark on the issue, have given up, or are happy off on their holidays too busy to post.

I plan to PM the VIP casino rep and will ask them to post here too, but any information from anyone who has had dealings with TLC marketing would be greatly appreciated, Australians in particular.

Thankyou in advance for any information

[vinylweatherman]

Hey Guys

I noticed a few threads on this forum relating to the Intercasino Free Flights Promotion that was being run by TLC Marketing

A very similar promotion has recently been run by VIP casino which also uses TLC marketing to book the flights, which i have qualified for.

I was hoping to get feedback from people involved in the Intercasino promotion, did you ever end up getting offered a flight? and if you did were the "taxes" such a ridiculously high value to make the flight worthless?

I've noticed that the other threads tend to end before there was conflict resolution and i'm not sure if that's because people are still in the dark on the issue, have given up, or are happy off on their holidays too busy to post.

I plan to PM the VIP casino rep and will ask them to post here too, but any information from anyone who has had dealings with TLC marketing would be greatly appreciated, Australians in particular.

Thankyou in advance for any information

The promotion is shite.

I "won" a free flight on the original Intercasino promo, and the choice was very limited, and I had to go in WINTER, and it was a lottery as to which European city and which choice of dates I could go (I had to make 3 choices in each category).
"Incidentals" were not included, such as travel to & from Airports, etc.

[Kate Berkeley]

Hi Brycen69,

Thank you for notifying me of this post. I appreciate your concern, although I can assure you that players who complete the booking form and obide by the terms and conditions will all be offered the flight that you qualified for.

The fulfilment of this promotion is still at the early stages, however a number of my Australian players have already had their flights confirmed. Flights from Australia to the US are relatively expensive and as a result these players are very pleased to have booked their flights at the reduced cost that this promotion offers (i.e. at just tax cost).

If you (or any other players reading this thread) have any questions or queries regarding your booking, then please simply e-mail the address provided on your letter (vipcasino@tlcmarketing.com) to speak direct to the flight bookings team.

I wish you a great trip,

Kate Berkeley, VIP Casino

[GrandMaster]

The promotion is shite.

I "won" a free flight on the original Intercasino promo, and the choice was very limited, and I had to go in WINTER, and it was a lottery as to which European city and which choice of dates I could go (I had to make 3 choices in each category).
"Incidentals" were not included, such as travel to & from Airports, etc.

My experience as well. The flight booking system is so inflexible and restrictive, there is no way to indicate preference e.g. morning or evening flights, or that certain times are outright impossible. I don't understand why in this day and age I have to try to book a flight by mailing in a form instead of being able to see the availability online. I actually got my 1st preference dates, but the time were inconvenient, and in the end I just booked myself on a budget airline for about the same money. Maybe I missed out on a sandwich and a drink on board, but I got to go at the times that suited me.

I don't know what this promotion cost Intercasino, but half of that money in my account would have made me happier.

[kavaman]

Same here. Actually i threw my booking vouchers to trash, because the flights were pretty much worthless. I would have asked for the flights, but i won't be sending my creditcard information to anyone trough regular mail. That is just nonsense. Also the vouchers had so much restrictions that it seemed impossible to get a flight, and there was no information about the "taxes". I got the vouchers around july 18th, and they had to be returned by july 31, trough postal mail and no i don't live in the uk, so that is kind of fast, like they were in a hurry or something, dont you think?

-kavaman

[Brycen69]

When the initial promotion was publisized on VIP casino's website, there was no mention of TLC marketing, and many of the restrictive terms and conditions were not mentioned. However i have noticed that VIP has changed its page and updated it with the new terms and conditions. Since these weren't advertised at the time when the promotion was being run is there any course of action that we can take if we are not happy with some of the terms and conditions that weren't specified when the promotion was started?

The one i am referring to is the t&c that you're not allowed to fly over a public holiday, now most would interpret that to mean you can't fly on a public holiday but apparently it means that you can't have a flight if your time in the USA contains a public holiday, which seems to be silly if you plan to be in the USA for 4 weeks or more

[vinylweatherman]

When the initial promotion was publisized on VIP casino's website, there was no mention of TLC marketing, and many of the restrictive terms and conditions were not mentioned. However i have noticed that VIP has changed its page and updated it with the new terms and conditions. Since these weren't advertised at the time when the promotion was being run is there any course of action that we can take if we are not happy with some of the terms and conditions that weren't specified when the promotion was started?

The one i am referring to is the t&c that you're not allowed to fly over a public holiday, now most would interpret that to mean you can't fly on a public holiday but apparently it means that you can't have a flight if your time in the USA contains a public holiday, which seems to be silly if you plan to be in the USA for 4 weeks or more

This has nothing to do with the practicalities, these such terms are deliberately placed as obstacles to ensure that they do not end up with 100% take-up of the offers. When all the different restrictions are added together, it is actually very difficult to book a flight that you actually WANT!

Certainly, you can go on a flight if you are prepared to be told where, and when, and for how long, your holiday will be. Having an archaic booking system also ensures people will give up rather than fly. If they had an online system, that would simply not do, they would have near 100% take-up, as people could search and find their exact flights, and plan accordingly, rather than submitting three destinations, and three dates, and leave the outcome to luck, and a long wait.

I would also question those "taxes" of $1400 being quoted to some Australians, surely this is fraud, certainly if it is possible for one person to be told the TAXES for his flight are $1550, but he can then book the entire flight, including taxes, for $1500 with a regular airline.
Perhaps someone "down-under" can spill the beans as to what "taxes" are ACTUALLY collected on a specimen flight to the US from Australia, and see if it comes to $1500. Here in the UK, I believe the departure tax can go up to the equivalent of $200 (AUS) for a long haul flight, and even allowing for a similar arrivals tax (unlikely in the US), these would not even come close to $1500.

[Seinemeyer]

The one i am referring to is the t&c that you're not allowed to fly over a public holiday, now most would interpret that to mean you can't fly on a public holiday but apparently it means that you can't have a flight if your time in the USA contains a public holiday,

I presume thanksgiving counts as a holiday in the US? I got my flight and I will be in the US during that perioid.

Furthermore, I agree that having these faxback forms etc are rather oldfashioned and unpractical, but everything else worked just fine. As I live in Finland, it was not one of the origin countries, and I requested a departure from Sweden. When they offered me the flight, it was my #2 option, but the departure was from Finland. The price was taxes plus a little supplement, but still only a third of the normal price. Anyhow, for this, now I can finally travel to the states practically free.

[spearmaster]

I think what people don't understand is that there are many different booking classes which result in an economy seat - from the heaviest discount fare (usually valid for no more than 1 month or even 1 week, no changes allowed) to a full fare (valid for one year with no restrictions).

It should be obvious that if you try to book a seat during a busy period, you will not have as much luck - or else you will pay a higher price.

Taxes and surcharges actually do vary in different booking classes (though generally not too much variation) - I would have to say that those being asked to pay over $1300 from Australia to the US are probably being charged tax, surcharges, and any additional cost associated with a higher booking class.

If you want the best chance of a ticket to the US, you have to avoid holiday periods, plus the US summer months. Your best bet would be October or early November, or most of winter after January 15th, with a small spring window sometime between late April and mid-May.

Now I don't know TLC Marketing, nor do I know the terms of the promotion, but I do understand how complicated the ticketing system is as I am a travel agent (in addition to a lot of other things LOL). I am assuming that some or all of these factors are coming into play.

Seinemeyer, Thanksgiving is a heavy travel period domestically, but shouldn't be a huge problem for international flights - in fact that's probably towards the end of the window for easy booking as December is generally a nightmare.

[Brycen69]

spearmaster do you know how hard it would be to get airfares around the start of march? that's the time that i applied to fly. Most of the flights that i've seen advertised on the internet have taxes of $500 to $900 but nowhere near the $1400 that some australians have been quoted. It makes me suspect that there has been some creative accounting going on. Do you have any comments about that?