The following are reviews that customers have posted on Yelp.com. When a new review is posted on Yelp.com, we display it here as well because any positive review will almost certainly be filtered from our Yelp rating within 48 hours.
Yelp claims that their automated software that makes the recommendation selections is unbiased, see the updated Yelp video that explains their recommendation software (complete video found here) has been updated to say "...Yelps recommendation software automatically evaluates all reviews. It's looking for those that may be most useful and reliable from active users. These are recommended reviews. And, in fact, most reviews are recommended. Our philosophy is "quality over quantity", which is why the rest are not recommended. These are written by users we don't know enough about, or sometimes they could be unhelpful rants... Reviews that Yelp doesn't recommend can still be seen via a link at the bottom of each businesses profile page but they don't factor into the businesses overall Yelp star rating or review count...".
Admittedly, Yelp has significantly cleaned up the language in the newer video. It is much more accurate than prior videos. However, there are still things that we want to point out here to for our customers and potential customer to consider.
Yelp is not forthcoming that they have an automated system that filters reviews. You only find that out when you click "71 reviews that are not recommended". Then they show you the video before they show you the filtered reviews. Goldrush Getaways has 167 recommended reviews. As of August 2023, we have 3 negative reviews this year and all 3 are 1-star reviews from people posting their thoughts on a promotional piece that we sent in the mail. In fact the majority of the negative reviews come from people that received a marketing piece and have not contacted out company. We had the drawing for 2022 winner of the Tesla 3 or $49,000 cash earlier this year. It is a legitimate, insured promotion. We can understand if someone is not interested, or wants to be placed on a do not mail list, which we are happy to do, but Yelp leaves these 1 star reviews on their website for several years, yet filters dozens of 5 star reviews from our actual members that use our service, so we feel the need to point out the imbalance of our recommended reviews. They also penalize companies that ask for reviews from customers, so we don't solicit reviews from our members.
We don't feel that Yelp is out to get us. We just want everyone to be aware that Yelp filters customer reviews with an automated system, Yelp recommends reviews that Goldrush Getaways can prove contain false information, and that Yelp recommends reviews without verifying claims made by the reviewer. Yelp is permitted by law to allow someone to libel our company on their website. Yelp will not take down a review purely based on a false claim as their response is that they don't take sides. As a small business, all we can do is reply to the review, which is at least visible to the public. It appears that Yelp thinks a review from over 9 years ago from a person that received a marketing mailer but never even visited our business, has no friends (on Yelp) and only 1 review is more credible than a review from one of our actual members that has been a customer for years. We only ask that you keep all of this information in mind. We welcome both positive and negative feedback from the public and our members. We view negative feedback as an opportunity to learn and to improve our product and our service. Thank you.
I recently attended a meeting, and in the end, I joined the program !!
Shout out to Tami, a promo booth associate I met in the RV sale at Alameda, for being so personable, warm and kind, and courteous and straight to the point honest, which made me turn around and entrust my long overdue retirement plans to finally, a person I can trust to get tips and direction !!!
I've been working nonstop for over 40 yrs and was looking secretly for after-retirement activities in between travels. She nailed it for me! All packaged to fit my goals. AND, her genuine enthusiasm for the thrilling future I was about to embark on, got me gearing full speed ahead towards the starting line.
The company's concept was a clear success and I had no problem joining the team. Everybody did great delivering a short clear profile, mission, and benefits.
But know that their success and my retirement future started with a person like Tami who reached out with genuine regard for bettering people's quality of life!
Best decision I've ever made! We take full advantage of the "Hot Weeks". That alone was worth it for us. We always do things last minute and every time I've called to make arrangements the staff, especially Wendy, are extremely kind, patient and helpful. Booking is always a breeze!
I have enjoyed using this company for years!! I have enjoyed complimentary Disneyland tickets and discounted neighboring hotels; as well as, I saved at least $2,000 on my trip to Maui this past summer with my family!! Looking forward to booking my very first Disney cruise with this company this year!!!
Being a member has paid in many ways!!
Terrific saving as a member of Goldrush Getaways!!
I am happy to share my latest example: Staying in Seattle in the Summer can be pricey but not thru my membership I was able to stay at a Fabulous Hotel (Edgewater) on the waterfront and drive a Chevy Tahoe (and you know full-size SUV aren't cheap). My savings was over $900!!!
I had questions pertaining to one of the travel vouchers granted at an initial meeting with the organization. While it took two referrals to different employees, when I did get to the one who understood my issue/question, I was given sound answers and recommendations.
I was very interested in the possibilities that GRG offers, but was hesitant because of the price. Brigette helped me understand some payment options that fit in my budget now to give me the best benefit. I can't wait to get started!
We have been members of Goldrush for several years and we travel to Europe often. After our second trip to Europe we saved more than what we paid in membership fees. The savings are great. We attend the training sessions for which there is no charge. If you travel a lot, this is a great value.
We've been Goldrush Getaway members for about 2 years. Appreciate the savings they offer. Especially appreciate their expertise and practical help.
I am glad I joined because I love to travel, also knowing I can help my family & friends who will be able to afford to travel, have fun & fulfill their dreams of going to different parts of the world.
I find their customer service professional & did not put pressure on us into joining. They are Very helpful & friendly. We are Looking forward to do business with them.
So far we are pleased w/ their team. Tomorrow we are attending the orientation. I am so excited to start sharing this w/ my family & friends.
We went to the meeting in Santa Clara. We were cautious since were knew this was a "time-share" type of event. However, we were surprised that they were straightforward and honest straightaway. The $9000 was not for us since we do not travel much but for it may be a good deal if you want to get away on a regular basis.
My girlfriend and I just joined Goldrush Getaways and look forward in learning more on how to save money on great vacations. I've always been interested in the travel agent profession because I do travel a lot (work and play) and after meeting Stacy C. and hearing her presentation, I can't wait to get started!! Thank you Lee who pulled us into the booth at the LG Art show 2 weeks ago and thank you Stacy C who sold us on this membership. You have to remember one thing if you join anything......"If you don't put any effort into it, you will get nothing out of it! But if you put effort into anything, you can reap the rewards and in this case beautiful vacations at lower prices!!
Hi,
My name is Daniel and I have been a member of Goldrush Getaways for the last seven years as well as my spouse James. We initially joined because we wanted to take advantage of the free trips. They also offer education to train you to become a travel agent. How awesome is that!
The education provided at the Citrus Heights Office covers just about every single question or thought that you could dream up about becoming a travel agent. They have many different types of classes from Cruising to the importance of Travel Insurance and renting Cars Everywhere you go and just teaching you to making sure the details are covered.
So go with Goldrush Getaways or Just give me a call and I can help as well.
Elizabeth & Beatriz in Citrus Heights CA, helped me with a Carnival cruise, then they sent me an email, that Goldrush Getaways had blocked rooms on the same ship 1 week earlier. So I called Tracy Bettencourt in Southern Calif., she is handling the group. We canceled my first cruise & re-booked our new cruise and saved $150.00! Tracy is so friendly & helpful!
She provided me with outstanding customer service and helped me save money too!!
Thank you!!!!
Johna
My Husband and I attended a 90 min seminar in Campbell, Ca and we had a game plan to not be pressured into buying anything this company was selling. We both thought is was a timeshare scam or some type of multi-level marketing pitch. After being sent away the first time because we didn't have the right documentation to participate in the seminar, I almost said forget it but, I really wanted our free Hawaii trip so be drove the 25 miles back down to Campbell to sit through the seminar. To my surprise, I was immediately excited by the information, and because I was also very familiar with the what the presenter was saying, I realized this was a no-joke opportunity. My husband on the hand was NOT impressed and was not to be moved. At the end of the presentation, I was ready to sign on the dotted line. Not because of what the presenter said, but because of my own research and how we could benefit from all the savings provided with service. My husband said NOPE, so we packed up our stuff and moved to the next person who's job it was to change our mind. In all my years of going to seminars like this one...
The one bit of advice I would give companies that have this motto is... Keep it at two levels (same as car dealerships). The three-level approach is not only tiresome but it also very predictable, so when you know this what is coming, you just sit back and play the game. My husband was NOT impressed by anything of this and wanted to walk out with our gifts at the first-level. I told him to sit tight and let's go through the hoops because we deserve at least the gift we were promised (Hawaii trip) and I wanted to make sure we walk out with at least something for our long drive. We sat quietly waiting for tier-three and finally a nice gentleman came over and started his small talk. A long story even longer... When he was done, we bought into the company and we are now proud employees of GoldRush Getaways. I am so, looking forward to our first trip to Hawaii and much more after that. Word of advice to those who doubt companies like this one... If you don't travel at least (3) to (4) or more times a year. This is not for you! The gift they offer you is not worth your time if you don't like traveling or you don't travel a lot. For my family, this is a perfect fit.
Jessica at Goldrush in Campbell is a great trainer; we really feel well taken care of in the classes.
Maria, the travel agent went above and beyond to help me get set up AND to get a great rate and airline seat!! Wow! When do you ever get travel help that exceeds your expectations today?
Better than most of these kinds of companies.
Angelo gave the pitch and was entertaining.
We went to happy hour before so we weren't hungry and were relaxed.
The sales pitch And deal are better than time shares and much less pressure. If you stay at condos or take cruises then it might be worth the cost.
Overall this is the only positive rating I have ever given to this type of company.
Goldrush deserves it for a relatively clear pitch and polite reasonable pressure sales.
My husband and I signed up for a chance to win a free trip at a Home Expo in Concord. We were notified that we were qualified to win free roundtrip airfare to either San Diego or Vegas and 2 nights of hotel. All we had to do was to attend the Goldrush Getaways presentation in San Jose, about an hour from where we live. We attended the presentation yesterday, and even though we expected the "hard sell," on something - we weren't sure what, we still decided that it'd be worth it to get the prizes. Well, I was stressed when we arrived, but we were treated with courtesy. We did have to show our IDs and a credit card (as a form of ID only), which was fine. Then, we were led back to a small room with tables where the presentation was being given. A salesperson sat at each couple's table and asked us to fill in a form about where we'd like to travel and where we've been - again very casual. The presentation itself was only about an hour, and it was professional and laid back at the same time. We were given all of the important info up front - including price etc, which was really refreshing.
After the presentation, a salesperson came to speak with us. The conversation was casual - no hard sell at all and no "making us feel bad" if we didn't buy. We did have genuine questions, which the salesperson answered for us. He also left us alone to speak, as a couple, so that we could determine whether or not this was a fit for us. We were treated with the utmost courtesy and felt like we were given the opportunity to actually be open-minded and truly consider the opportunity being offered to us. Now, we've been victims to a LOT of hard sells in our day, including time shares, etc, and our experience at Goldrush was a refreshing departure from all of that.
In the end, we decided that this wasn't a fit for us right now because of career and our kids' school time constraints, mostly, but we had such a good experience at Goldrush that we are considering them in the future, and we would recommend them. Oh, and we were given certificates for our roundtrip airfares and hotel. We do have to mail in the certificate and go through a bit of red tape to redeem it. The whole experience was good.
I don't know anything about their time share stuff, as I just reached out to them to book my first 20 day trip to Europe. Italy, Greece, Spain, France, and England in 20 days and including a cruise.
Deidre P is helping us with in country flights, our cruise, our US to Europe fights, and little things like train tickets too.
She's been super helpful with our price points and our restrictions as well as informing us on stuff we'd have no idea about being rookies at this.
I would highly recommend them for overseas travel planning.
I have been a member of Goldrush for over ten years. If you actually book travel for others or for yourselves you will make more money than you pay. I have found the employees of Goldrush to be very helpful and they provide a lot of training. You get what you put into it. I have never had a problem receiving my commissions. Most of the negative reviews on Yelp are from people who did not even give the program a chance. If you seriously want to be a travel agent and you want to receive the training to do so then the program is worth it.
As an (outside) travel agent for Goldrush Getaways I'm writing a different review. I had the pleasure of booking a flight & cruise vacation for 13 clients. To say the least was a bit overwhelmed and needed help from the staff at Goldrush.
My first contact was with Elizabeth Chandler at the Citrus Heights office. Even though I work out of Rancho Cucamonga and happened to call the wrong office she was at once extremely professional, friendly and helpful in booking the cruise portion of this trip to Denmark.
Since I do work out of the Rancho office I then received help from Deidre Pfister-Williams for booking airline flights for 9 clients. She was so wonderful in taking all my calls and researching all the problems (and fixing some). She suggested different sights to go to find hotels and both Elizabeth and Deidre answered many, and I mean many questions I asked them with a smile and understanding, and sometimes even a laugh or two. I really don't know what I would have done without the guidance and friendly help of these two wonderful employees.
If anyone ever needs help in finding and booking, do not hesitate in calling GoldRush Getaways for all your vacation needs.
We just returned from the "free" cruise, a 7 day trip to the Mexican Riviera. I didn't find any bate and switch with this at all. We were told upfront about the taxes and fees, it is on the form that advertises it. We were told about the cheap flights, with multiple stop overs. We were told that we had to jump through a few hoops and to just be patient. We ended up upgrading for a very low fee to same day flights and an balcony room. What we paid was significantly less than if we had tried to book any of this ourselves. In addition we got a few freebies for our affiliation with Goldrush. In fact, by our calculations, it was significantly less than the cost to stay in a hotel for 7 nights. We think we saved about $1,200. It wasn't free, but it was a deal and we had a blast. Thanks Goldrush!
I don't travel without travel insurance and anybody who doesn't will if anything ever happens to you especially in a foreign country where you are vulnerable and hurt! Anyways....Robert was awesome. I knew (kinda) what I needed for this trip and he made sure I had what I needed and even followed up with me after. Great service and friendly. I felt like I'd known him for years! Thank you, Robert!
My first visit was on Sunday Oct 30. Initially, I thought this would be one of those time share presentations. I was mistaken. It actually is a presentation regarding discounts on travel. I was very impressed by the information I received. I do travel often, so I was able to compare what I pay compared to the discounted rate. I definitely will benefit from this program.
I was treated very fairly and didn't feel pressed at all. All the staff were friendly and nice. There were accommodations made for me to be able to purchase a plan that was suitable financially. That is exactly What I did. Once I got home and went through my finances, I realized that I would be stretching myself thin. I was contacted on Mon Oct 31, by a member services representative, to confirm my purchase. It was then that I had the conversation with her that I needed to cancel my membership. Through no fault of the company or any individual employee. I received top grade treatment and respect. The membership service representative was absolutely awesome. She completely understood my situation and didn't give me a hard time. She also gave me the voucher that I was promised, when I scheduled the initial appointment. I regret that at this time I can't keep the membership because I see the value in saving a few dollars and having the finances to travel more often. I will definitely return to purchase a membership as soon as I can afford it.
For those of you that have had bad experiences and didn't get the treatment and service I received is saddening. But hopefully you will reconsider and give them another try.
My wife and I purchased a membership a little less than a year ago (June 2015). I am a former timeshare owner, so I am well aware that you get what you pay for. The cruise IS free, but I'll go more into that later.
I knew from their presentation that it would take some work to learn how to become a Travel Agent. The sales people do NOT mislead you. I knew I would need to attend the classes and spend time on the website and travel agent portals if I was to get anything out of my membership fee. The impression I get from those who give negative reviews is they all seem to think they won't have to do any work to get something out of their investment.
Goldrush's annual fee is peanuts compared with time share annual/quarterly/monthly dues, and the initial signup fee is far less than a timeshare purchase. If you don't want to learn anything and want all the work done for you, get a time share. Spend all your vacations in condos. But if you want a variety of travel opportunities, become a Goldrush member. You have a choice of cruises, resorts, tours and more. Also you'll have plenty of access to condos and they are all over the world. Most time share companies require an additional RCI membership to go outside their State-side inventory.
My wife and I are approaching our late 50's. We are at that age where we want to travel, as the kids are grown, and we figure it will take a few years to build up a clientele once we retire. In less than a year we've made back almost half our initial investment when we combine the savings and commissions. By the end of next year we'll be out of the red.
The only reason I gave 4 starts instead of 5 is the classes are located in Campbell and Citrus Heights. We live in South San Francisco, so we are locked into attending only Saturday classes (which they have every Saturday). I would like to attend their week night classes, but the distance is just too far during commute times, but once we retire they will be more accessible to us. There classes are also live webinars.
About the free cruise: it is not from Goldrush. It is from the marketing company they hire to get people to come to the sales presentation. A fully refundable deposit must be placed in order to secure a reservation. Once the reservation is made you get your money back or you can opt to upgrade and use these funds. Our deposit was $200 and upgraded from bunk beds to an inside stateroom with a king size bed, paying an additional $69. So we got a 4-day cruise round trip out of Long Beach to Avalon and Ensenada for $269 total for both of us. I can't say I would recommend it, nor would I do it again, but it was worth $269.
I must say, the reviews are encouraging. I very recently became a member out of the Citrus Heights office because I like to travel with my family and when I do, I like to do so in style. Since I have not yet used my membership and have not taken the HI getaways that I won, I am relying on these reviews to get an idea of what I bought.
General consensus from reviews:
* Didn't buy, unhappy with 3rd party gift or sales strategy = 1 star
* Bought and used their membership = 5 star and raving about either the previous trip or an upcoming one and the quality of customer service received.
Thank you for clearing up the mixed reviews with such consistency.