Posted on 03/24/2023 6:07:05 PM PDT by nickcarraway
To save Hong Kong's battered tourism industry, Cathay Pacific recently announced that it would be giving away 12,500 round-trip tickets to travellers from Singapore, as part of its World of Winners campaign.
Hoping to be one of the lucky ones, Bernice Tan joined the contest and eventually won.
Unfortunately, this moment of victory was short-lived and she went through a rollercoaster of emotions.
In a TikTok video on Tuesday (March 21), Tan revealed that she had not known about the competition until her boyfriend told her five minutes before it closed.
She managed to sign up for it in the nick of time and even clutched a good queue number.
When the winners were announced on March 20, Tan was initially downcast as she had not received an email from the airline and "assumed" she had lost.
"I looked through the winner's list because I couldn't believe I lost when my queue number was so low. I was [among] the first few thousand [in the queue]," recounted Tan.
But as she was looking through the list, she noticed her name and email, and so went back to her inbox to double check.
It turned out that all along, she had been searching in the wrong folder, and the email that confirmed her as a winner was actually in the Promotions tab.
"I was quite happy and excited because I love travelling," she recounted to AsiaOne.
But the feeling of euphoria didn't last forever.
"My joy was short-lived after finding out I still have to pay close to $200 in taxes because they only cover the fare," she captioned sadly.
It also didn't help that she was low in funds.
"I peeked at my [bank] balance and now I'm in tears because I'm broke," she said, adding that she has had to "hustle" and get enough money to pay for the surcharges as the redemption ends on April 19.
Tan's mother rained on her parade as well, saying: "Hong Kong accommodation is so expensive [that] the free tickets aren't worth it."
It may be more worthwhile to fly with another airline Speaking to AsiaOne, Tan said when she applied for the campaign, she already anticipated needing to fork out money for additional taxes.
But she hadn't expected it to be so costly for her.
"I recently flew to Korea and Europe with Singapore Airlines, and the taxes were only $50. With Cathay Pacific, not only do I have to pay for taxes which amount to $107.90, [there are] carrier surcharges of another $87.40.
"So, in total, I have to pay $200 for a free ticket when I can just fly with any other airline for the same price," she rationalised.
Despite this, Tan will still be redeeming the tickets and plans on using money from her savings if she cannot procure enough cash in time.
"I limit myself to [a] certain amount of spending per month, so this month, I didn't expect myself to have to pay for a holiday (accommodation and tickets). So, I'm pushing the limits of my spending account," she revealed.
According to a report by Marketing-Interactive, Cathay Pacific clarified that winners of its recent ticket giveaway campaign will be responsible for any taxes and surcharges of the ticket.
This came after winners pointed out that they have had to pay nearly $200 for the "free" ticket.
"It is stated in the Hong Kong International Airport’s campaign page that: 'Tickets sponsored by Airport Authority are economy class, and all related surcharges, fees and taxes would be borne by the winners of the tickets'," said Cathay Pacific in an interview with Marketing-Interactive.
“There is No Free Lunch”.
“Government do take a bite, don’t she?”
Laz would pay those taxes for her.
lazamataz
Even with just paying the taxes, that’s still low enough to make it a weekend.
$200 isn’t even a grocery store trip. How would she eat and find a place to sleep with no cash?
Actually closer to $150 dollars. I misrememberd the conversion rate.
That poor woman…
Get Jao to pay the taxe$ from his Crime Family’s CCP “winnings”.
Your favorite movie.
In my top 3.
If they transfer the ticket to me, I pay the surcharges
Easy come, easy go.
So solly, Tan. You want I give you happy ending?
It’s like winning Super Bowl tickets. You still have to get there and find a hotel.
****
George: You paying my hotel and airfare to Miami?
Jerry: What do you think?
George: So in order to use these, I gotta spend like fifteen-hundred bucks. This is a bill for fifteen-hundred dollars.
****
And then Newman shows up in the next seat over.
Laz imposes a “hit” surcharge.
I scrolled back up to the top of the article to check the source while thinking “Babylon Bee” almost got me again!
There is nothing free in this world. Promotions are just that. Promotions. They will promise you something free but someone always has to pay something. YOU may be given a free lunch, but someone else is paying. YOU may be given a free airfare ticket by the airline, but someone still has to pay, including the fees and taxes imposed by the government. Oh, did you expect someone else to pay those as well? That would cause tax complications.
It would be best to just go visit the latest lake front property closer to your home to look at a time-share opportunity. At least then, after sitting through the two-hour presentation, you do actually get to take the the knife set or bleacher chair home with you. However, you did have to pay—with your time.
Hong Kong is one of the most expensive cities in the world. I paid $25 US for a salad there a couple of weeks ago and $12 for a beer. If she can’t afford $200 for the taxes, how is she going to afford anything there? What’s the point of going if you can’t afford anything?
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