So I've entered the December Closest to the Pin contest (the $1 one) after being lured in by the $50 Travelocity Hotel Gift Card offer. My mother-in-law likes to visit a lot, so being able to stuff her into a hotel for a night was quite a deal for $1. I suppose it was too good to be true.
I received my email offer with my coupon code today and as I'm reading it over, I come to the fine print...
The promotional
code (the Promo Code") for $50 is valid between 12:01 a.m. Central Time on
December 5, 2008 and 11:59 p.m. Central Time on January 31, 2009 (the "Promotion
Period"). The
Promo Code is valid only for qualifying purchases made on the Site. A qualifying
purchase means a three-night or longer GoodBuy Hotel stay which is offered on
the Site during the Promotion Period. Travel dates must be between December 5,
2008 and June 31, 2009. GoodBuy Hotel purchase requires a minimum spend of $350
Unfortunately, the error is mine for unreasonable expectations. After going back to read the Tournament Rules, I see that this is clearly stated, so I'm not mad at anybody.
However, I gotta say "boo" on the WGT for offering it in the first place. Chances are most folks will not be able to use things like this simply because of all the restrictions. I understand you guys want to offer prizes, cool stuff and all that but, I think in the end you're going to burn more people by offering things that aren't what they appear to be than you would be not offering anything at all.
Stuff like this mislead folks into thinking they are getting something that they can use when most likely, they cannot. I know it's in the fine print but, from a PR standpoint you never want it to come down to having to say "read the fine print".