Letter from US Airlines about free airline tickets
Here’s another mailing about free airline tickets, only instead of coming from a fake incentive company, it is from a fake airline called US Airlines – “Fly the US skies”! (See other posts here.) Please comment if you received one.
They have a variation that includes an award notification and boarding pass. See below for pictures.
It tells you that you have qualified for an award of 2 roundtrip airline tickets. It looks like it was actually signed by Barbara Dion or Alexia Pitt or Kate White or Loretta Cape or Ann Roy or Charlene James or Angela King or Marcia O’Neal or Janelle Kelly or Candice Bray or Phyllis Neal or Melanie Car or Jessica Clay or Katherine Cota or Christina Jud or Shauna West or Jane Austin or Hillary Baio or Jessica Nish or C. Ray or Dorothy Wade or Linda Ford or Jade Beal or Nicole Clay or Valerie Fay or Erica Bale or K. Mane or Loretta Pine or Alexis Doug or Kristina Bar or Brittany Hunt or Doris Jack, the “Vice President.” They hand write the address on the envelope and use a real stamp (sometimes!).
Here is the cheesy website for this letter. Once you go to the sales pitch and sign up, you book through a fulfillment company. I’ve seen two lately: Universal Travel Vacations (website, BBB report) or the The Vacation Station (website, BBB report TN, BBB report SC)
I have found the answers to this mystery thanks to the great work of the folks at BBB in Tucson, AZ:
http://www.bbb.org/tucson/business-reviews/travel-clubs/southwest-travel-club-in-tucson-az-20007983
http://www.bbb.org/tucson/business-reviews/prize-promotions/patterson-bell-in-tucson-az-20027549
An actual story: http://www.kgun9.com/features/investigations/122887609.html
NEW video from INSIDE THE SALES PRESENTATION: http://www.9news.com/news/article/362984/339/Companies-behind-free-airline-ticket-letters-
Great reporting from WKMG: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Free-travel-offer-mystifies-consumers/-/1637132/15701330/-/8s7gus/-/index.html
Video from inside the first ever video encounter I’ve seen: http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Travel-service-vacation-smart-international-us-airlines-vacationanddeals-com-175915611.html?tab=video&c=y
If you would like to read more about these folks, visit this post. You can read all about the sales presentation, the free offer and the what you get for your vacation membership club cash outlay.
LETTER:
I am pleased to inform you that you have qualified for an award of 2 roundtrip airline tickets. Congratulations. These tickets are valid for travel anywhere in the Continental U.S. The retail value of this award is up to $1,400.00. Certain restrictions apply.
We have attempted contacting you several times without success. This is our last attempt. If we do not hear from you soon, we may need to issue the ticket vouchers to the alternate.
Please call me today at 1-866-995-7151 (numbers always changing).
Regards,
VP du jour (see above)
Vice President
AWARD NOTIFICATION/BOARDING PASS:
Here is what would happen if you did call:
ADVICE:
When I read this, it was just too good not to post. It’s from the Nebraska Attorney General (page 13 printed/page 15 PDF).
Look for the warning signs that may indicate a scam:
- Benefits sound too good to be true.
- The company has no permanent address and all presentations are held in rented conference rooms.
- They can’t, or won’t, provide you with references.
- They don’t want to give you an itemized list of what’s included in your trip until you have already signed the contract.
What you should do if you suspect a scam:
- Don’t sign any contract during the travel presentation. They are high-pressure events intended to stir the emotions of an exotic vacation.
- Contact a respected travel agent in town, give them the specifics of the trip, and ask if that seems consistent with industry pricing.
- Shop around. Compare your trip with other travel packages being offered to seniors.
Here is Michigan’s Attorney General’s advice:
http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164-34739_20942-44762–,00.html
Received a postcard for the Delta “Fly Away Promotion” yesterday. Mail permit #2736 from Las Vegas, promo code DNB-0xxx and to claim the special offer I simply had to call 1-888-639-6990.
Also posted in the Delta thread.
We got our award of 2 roundtrip tickets anywhere in the U.S. We are in Naples Fl. Called 866-569-0310 and started asking to speak to one of the many vice presidents and they hung up. V.P. name Joanne Cane
Got my letter today for $1298 the amount threw me off. lol why a odd number. Im in Wichita ks looks like the number for the same town are all the same 8665689312 signed by Joanne Crane.
Got mine on 8-14-12. Worth $1,298.00 Joanne Cane wanted me to call 1-866-568-9312. I’m also in Wichita, KS. I called from my work phone and guess what – no-one knew who Joanne Cane was. Dang and I wanted to go to the beach too.
Got ours in the mail today. Award notification: final notice, we have attempted contacting you on several occasions. last chance to respond. Sent with a very real looking check for $1398.00 from US AIRLINES. Thankfully husband noticed the difference in airlines before he called. number they said to call 1-866-569-4331. ********SCAM***********
Got one in the mail today 8/22/12. Do they really expect people to fall for this? The logo is printed and cheesy looking. They wanted me to call 866-568-2254
Michelle,
Yep.
Got mine in the mail today 8/23/12 here in Florida, and I am supposed to respond by 8/23/12.
Gee….that was my first clue…..
Same official looking document, sealed as if from the IRS. Said to call 866-569-4331
On the bottom it states, “This is not a timeshare or land sales offer.”
*snort!*
Got an American Airways letter dated 8/20/2012 from Carin Kane. Same as everyone else on the text of the letter. Phone number 1-866-407-1426. Anyone know where they are getting the names and addresses to send these letters to? Somebody must be falling for this or it wouldn’t be worth while for them to send out the letters.
Received mine yesterday, I’m in the Denver Area, called and they are wanting appointments set up this weekend. I’m not touching this one. Thanks for the warnings!
My father received his letter on 8/23/12. It says he must reply by 8/28/12. The voucher is for $1400.00. The number is 1-866-445-9848. VP, Dorothy Joy. KM-57087.
The FINAL NOTICE envelope actually looked really good, so they are getting better at making it look official. It no longer comes in an envelope. Where postage should be it says: PRSRTSTD U.S. POSTAGE, PAID, PHOENIX ARIZONA, PERMIT NO. 1484.
Hope this helps.
Got my letter today, 8/25/2012. Live outside of Wichita, KS. VP name on the letter is Jill Taye (typed) but handwriting says “J. Tay”…can’t even copy text from one line to the next! Phone # is 866-568-0147. This has been going on, according to this site, since 2010. Can’t someone stop these people already?
Received a final notice. Knew it was a scam because they couldn’t even get my personal information correct. Not too mention I had not entered anything. I see this has been going on for at least two years. Somebody must be falling for it. And it’s too bad that they don’t get caught and prosecuted.
Got my letter last week. Finally had time to look at it. It was my “final notice”. They have made several attempts at contacting me. (Right) Anyone who is legit or wants money from me knows how to get a hold of me the first time. Mine was the award notification recorded 8/22/2012, with a claim number Ku-4xxxx. This one was just signed by the Awards Department. Thanks for you blog on this. Be careful.
Vance
Got my letter w/check (voucher)for $1,400 today, 8/27/2012. Award Notification from US Airlines, Travel Union, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Placed it in the shredded after reading these reviews.
Recieved my letter today, lmao. I knew it was a scam, because the envelope was hand printed and letter signed by Jill Taye Vice President
Received my letter from U.S. Airlines today. I’m from the Wichita area. Phone number to call is 1-866-568-0147. Amount of award is $1,298.00. I must respond by August 29th, 2012. Letter signed by J. Taye (Printed below the signature is Jill Taye, Vice President)
Thank you!
Add Oregon to the list…..we received one yesterday for US Airlines..number to call back is 1-866-931-9323 and it was typed: Sincerely, Awards Department
Also got my letter with (voucher) of $1,400 for travel within the continental US.
Award Notification (also a “Final Notice) from US Airlines, Travel Union, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. My (suspicous) husband got online and and confirmed the SCAM!!!
Recieved my letter today from Jill Taye @ USAirlines. Thought it was most likely a scam & found this site! Thanks.
And the scam continues….’retail value of award is up to $1298.00.’
signed Jill Taye (vice president). Fortunately, their previous attempts to contact were without success, and this is their ‘last attempt’.
just received fake letter signed by Jill Taye (vice president)!!!! I am in Lower Burrell, PA. Thanks for the heads up.
This is crazy, just received my voucher today from “US Airlines”. It was in the amount of $1,398.00 Phone number: 866-946-3616 How do people get away with this nonsense!!! Thank you posting this website.
Received mine today. Looked at the cheesy letterhead with a bogus Airline name and the fake signature line and my first thought was….it’s definitely a scam…..so googled it and here I am. Amazing that they are still attempting this even after years of posts here letting folks know what a joke it is. Not even going to call because they probably have caller ID and will just turn around and sell my phone number to the next marketing scam they think they can make money on. Thanks for all the great feedback. Made my day knowing there a lots of folks out there they won’t be able to get their mitts on.
Got letter today, Indianapolis,Indiana
signed by D Joy, and phone number 1-866-946-3622. Mined is a written check dated 8-21-2012 and mailing received 9/4/2012 which requires responding to today. It is all professional typed looks very official. Thanks for the heads up on this one.
Add Massachusetts to the list. Received my letter today with an offer for 2 roundtrip tickets anywhere in the US with a retail value of $1298 signed by Renee Wade, VP. Envelope looked cheesy with the hand written address and no return address. Postmark is from Pheonix, AZ. Thanks for all the posts confirming the scam.
Looks like they are picking on Iowa. Harvest time and then vacation time.
Got the letter today. Red flags flew immediately. Thanks for the info. I’ll share this webpage with my friends on Facebook and ask them to share it out too. It’s too bad some people actually fall for this stuff. That’s how these crooks stay in business. Regards
Another from Massachusetts. Received my letter today with an offer for 2 roundtrip tickets anywhere in the US with a retail value of $1298 signed by Renee Wade, VP. Envelope looked cheesy with the hand written address and no return address. Postmark is from Pheonix, AZ. Thanks for all the posts confirming the scam.
I got a mailing today and immediately was suspicious because of US Airlines. I called anyway, made an appointment and came home to check this out. I appreciate all the postings I read and will not be keeping the appointment. The only info I gave was my cell phone #. I hope that wasn’t a mistake. The young man I spoke to seemed nice enough but a little bit uncomfortable. That should also have been a red flag for me. I live in Albuquerque, NM.
Got this in the mail today. I live in Oklahoma. Doubt they go by states, not sure how we got on the list, but I’m a frequent flyer since 1995, so maybe they get names via airline lists somehow. Scary. Looking at it and being very familiar with airlines, travel, flight schedules, boarding passes…. Well, it really looked like a scam just from the outside of the “government-looking” folded card. Mine looks identical to the pictures posted here in 2010, but the phone number this time is 1-866-931-6778. No doubt they have numerous variations of “800-type” numbers and probably changed out routinely. Nobody sends you 2 airline tickets and doesn’t even tell you who they are from. “From: 645–HH”. Sheesh! I just wanted to research who this is really from and what’s happening with it. It was the first I’d heard of this scam. Rule of thumb: If it’s too good to be true, it isn’t true. But lots of people must be falling for this scam else these con-artists wouldn’t still be up to no good.
Yahoo,
Received my letter today. I had some fun. I called them, let then tell me their line of BS. Then told them I was with the FBI and we had been on the phone lone enough to determine their location! Told them we were on our way.
Boom – silence they hung up
Haha
funny….dont people understand the 90’s were 15 yrs ago!i played along as long as i could and after couple a minutes guy sounded suprised i didnt hang up.said wife had everything and she was at work, then i asked if she can call back.he said “well i activated them allready,if you can write this conf # you could have here call me right back”i said i was in an accident and broke both hands (how could i call right) i couldnt not laugh and just hung up.
Received our first and final notice a few days ago. 2 round trip airline tickets up to $1,298.00. Everything exactly the same as what everyone else has mentioned. But we had no signature name…just read Sincerely, Awards Department 1-866-931-9321 My husband talked to them on the phone and then we decided to get online and check them out. Seemed to good to be true. We will not be going to any conference meeting. Thank you everybody for your info. People should always check things out before they commit.
Got my “two free airline tickets” today signed by new VP Renee Wade. I live in Massachusetts and was happy to confirm the fraud on this website. Struck me as not classy enough to have been from a national airline due to the colorless and simplistic logo and the overall “xeroxed” letter qualify.
Another for Iowa!
Got mine in MA. Obvious it was a fraud by handwritten envelope, no return address and poor quality stationary. No address on the letter head either. Renee Wade is new vice president and her number is 1-866-815-4362. Took this as a learning opportunity to my teenage children who might be gullible enough to believe in a few years. It was a great time to teach them what to look for in a fraud.
9/10/2012
Just got an official looking check in the mail just a few minutes ago and decided to jump online to check it out first. Yes, it looked to good to be true. I am in central florida. My Final Notice check is in the amount of $1400.00 for a trip for two any where in the c ontinental US from any major international US airport. Vacation getaways and Cruises are available for a limited time. It also said that they have tried to contact me on several occasions and this will be my last chance to respond. My deadline is 9/13/2012, lol. Hmmmm first time Ive seen it. It is for Us Airlines Phone number 1-866-931-3828 My letter looks very professional typed and has the peel off edges with the check to rip off from the inside. they must be getting better at what they are doing here, what ever it is. Thanks everyone for your post
Got my $1400 “check” from these scammers today. I never fly anywhere at all but did book a couple tickets for my daughters through Expedia last week which makes extremely curious as to wether that’s how they got my name.
***SCAM ALERT ***
Received Mine Today!! Hurray!
From Phoenix, AZ 852 dated 9/7/12 PM 6 L
to Chicago Suburbs
Letter Dated 9/1/12, Received 9/10/12, Deadline to Get Scammed 9/12/12.
“Award…up to $1,298.00”
Renee Wade Vice President
Had a code at the bottom MA-8xxxx
I like their logo after US Airlines —it looks like a paper airplane getting ready to crash.
RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
Phone 966-803-0820
Sept 11, 2012
I also live in central Florida and received my bull**** check for $1400 dollars and my story is identical to Angies above on Sept 10,2012. Please don’t get sucked into this scam. I also called and had a little fun with them. It was a blast. You would think this scam would stop but has been going on since 2010. I will be sending the letter, check and mailing it to the Governors office to see if they can get this stopped. I will let you know what happens.
Got mine yesterday, called them up and setup an appointment for today. It was in Rolling Meadows, IL. They were selling vacation packages but could not force me to buy. It lasted a little bit over 90 mins, and got my free 2 round trip tickets to Vegas with complimentary car rental. What a way to end summer!!
Yeah right. 😀
My story is just like Angies. I received my “check” today it was dated Aug 30th and I have until tomorrow to respond. The phone number on mine is 1-866-931-3836. I live in Wichita, KS
i received my “award notification” today from US Airlines. The letter now says “Note: This is not a timeshare or land sales offer.” The phone number to claim the award is 866-493-1488. Not falling for this scam!
I got the same letter as Sue did. I also live in Wichita.
Mine arrived today. Name on it is now American Airways # 1-866-931-8022 signed by Belinda Long. Same letter as above.. Have gotten the tickets to call in on in the past. Get tired of their junk in life. Supnet if you get a VW van with a peace sign on it take all the others that write in on the trip also! Thaks for posting all, so we can share info…
We received this scam as well. Thank you for taking the time to post about it!
got my letter on Friday (Chicago) it was hand-written, and no return address.
I have not and will not call. it was for a value of $1298.
Too good to be true so I tossed it lol.
Daisy
Mine has same date as posting above. But no. is 1-866-931-6778 Thanks Everyone Have a Blessed Week. 🙂