In November 2017 I wrote about a contest where you could win a trip for 2 to Hawaii from Billabong.
After posting about and entering the contest, I didn’t think about it again until I received an e-mail in the middle of February with the subject:Winner of the Billabong Hawaii House Sweepstakes.
At first I assumed it must be some sort of spam e-mail but then I opened up the message and saw that it was in fact sent from a Billabong e-mail address.
The prize includes flights for two to Honolulu along with a four night stay at the Billabong Pipeline House, located on the North Shore.
For such a short trip, it’s a pretty pricey one. Flights cost close to $1,000 and the house rents for $1,300 per night! (The T&Cs list the value at $1,000 per night.)
This will be Kim and my first visit to Hawaii. While we won’t have much time to explore Hawaii, we’re still excited for our trip in July!
I’ve had pretty good luck winning various prizes online and this is my biggest win to date and second trip that I’ve won. (In 2016 I won a trip for 2 to Cancun.)
Do you enter travel contests or do you feel that they’re a waste of time? And, if you’ve ever won a contest, let us know about your prize!
askmrlee- Sounds like you had a good time! The value of the prize is a bit high so it will cost me a little bit on taxes.
JohnJ- Thank you! We’re considering a long day flying to another island if the price is right. Just tough to say if it is worth it for such a short trip.
MW, the next time you travel to Hawaii, visit any of the other islands. They’re MUCH nicer than Oahu! Have a great time ——
They awarded me a 4 day/3 night stay in Waikiki with airfare for two people. I used Flexperks and Amex Plat credits accumulated over the years to cover additional tickets and of course all bag fees and in flight meals were reimbursed with the cards and we used lounges the entire trip.
I was expecting crowds and chaos, but going just before Christmas was nice. I had been to Honolulu before but didn’t stay on Waikiki. Being closer to Diamond Head so I could run/jog was an added plus on my last day there.
Can’t say the taxes “sneaked up” knowing that prizes above $599 will generate a tax bill. I would just keep an eye on the value of your award so that you can validate the 1099 form.
Charlie- Thanks!
Shirley- Congrats on your wins! Paying taxes for the prize is a bit of a bummer but what can you do! Thanks and glad you like my site. 🙂
askmrlee- How long was your trip & what did you think of Honolulu?
I won last year a trip to Honolulu from a contest at my local supermarket. I also had a 1099-MISC tax declaration for the actual cost of the airfare and hotel stay. At least they booked the flights directly with the airline, but the hotel was done through hotels.com.
Sounds like yours will be about $6K or so.
Congrats on your Hawaii trip, yay!!!! I too won a trip to Cancun, and just won a trip to the Primetime Emmys. I do put a lot of work into it, but it’s better than paying for trips! Gotta make sure you plan for taxes though. Won a trip to the Olympics (worth $10,000) and the taxes snuck up on me! Love your posts!!
Congrats! That is really fantastic! Hope you both have a wonderful time!