I Am Going to Hawaii for $6 to Eat Arby’s on the Beach
Winner winner chicken dinner, or Arby’s sandwich dinner? If you remember last Friday and this Monday there was a contest hosted by Arby’s. They offered 10 people a chance to fly to Hawaii to eat Arby’s on the beach. This promotion was to kick off the fact that Arby’s is bringing back sandwiches on King’s Hawaiian buns.
The winners were selected on a first come first serve basis. Arby’s had 5 winners on Friday and 5 on Monday. I couldn’t get through in time on Friday but on Monday I struck gold. I was one of the first 5 people to get through and I booked my trip for $6 (in all my haste I forgot to use the Aloha promo code to make it $0). Now that I have the itinerary of the trip I wanted to share the broad strokes with you. Look for a follow up post after I complete the trip, and get some much needed rest, sometime in the beginning of May.
Holy 💩 – I Won!
I am not going to lie, this promo is kinda insane. Did I say kinda? I meant this promo is truly insane and that is what I love about it. I will be flying for approximately 24 hours over a 48 hour period to sit on a beach to eat some Arby’s. Does it get any more insane than that?
If I am being honest I had so little faith in winning that I wasn’t even sure what the dates were for the trip when I clicked through. I was left thinking, can I even go on this thing? Once I scrambled to confirm that I could I celebrated my victory but saying (screaming)….WHAT!?!..multiple times. Some profanity may have been mixed in there for sure.
Trip Details
Lets get down to the deets of the thing though. Next Friday I will be flying to Los Angeles in coach and I arrive around lunch time. Arby’s is then putting us up in a hotel near the airport for the evening. On Saturday we get up at the crack of dawn to head back to the airport to fly first/business class to Honolulu. It appears to be lie flat – score! We will then be taken to the beach to hang out, eat some Arby’s King’s Hawaiian sandwiches, and there will be some other surprises I guess. After 6 hours we head back to the airport and depart the island that evening. We will fly back to LAX and then I hop on a plane to Detroit after a two hour layover at LAX. Both flights are in coach on the return. Crazy right?
The trip has an estimated ARV of $2700. All contest winners will also get a $150 gift card for incidentals on the trip and a $500 check to help offset the tax liability from winning the trip.
Could I Stay Longer Than 6 Hours?
The first question many people asked/wondered about is could I change my flight home? Arby’s has said you can book your own flight home and stay in Hawaii longer if you like. I decided to check some award flights home on Sunday or Monday. Since this whole thing is very last minute I wasn’t able to find anything for a decent price. I also don’t have a lot of time available to spend in Hawaii with a travel packed next few weeks. Because of these two things I decided to stick with the promo the way it was intended. Plus I think the craziness of it speaks to me. It is all about the experience and story after all.
But I still wanted to try to improve my flights if I could. The first thing I did was attach my frequent flyer number so I can earn some miles on the flights. I then checked out the seat assignments and looked to improve them where I could.
Let Me Upgrade Ya!
On the flight out to LAX the plane was pretty full and the seat I had was about as good as it gets. The upgrade options were not worth the asking price. On the flights from Honolulu to LAX and then back to Detroit it was a different story. The first class cabin was already full but there were plenty of Comfort+ seats available. The airline offered me the choice to use miles to upgrade but the value was too low at around 1 cent per mile. I was able to upgrade both flights for a total of $239. I also snagged seats in the exit row with an empty space in front of them for the most leg room on the plane 😉.
When it came time to pay I used my Platinum Delta Skymiles card since I still had the $100 statement credit available for any Delta purchase. This is the card I recently signed up for because of the no lifetime language offer.
Conclusion
I still can’t believe I won or that I am doing this! I would never plan a trip like this myself and I know many people out there will think all of this flying is not worth it. But I am looking forward to the experience and sharing the story with you all. I am sure I will regret it at points, like when I go a day and a half without a bed or shower, but overall I expect to come out of it with gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity!
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This promo is crazy, but I love it. And it goes to show you that you never know what will happen. I won a trip to Hawaii just for texting a code on a coconut water display in my grocery store. So this stuff CAN happen.
Awesome – I am sure your trip was longer that 6 hours though so even better! This promo is just the right amount of crazy imo.
[…] I had posted about Arby’s bizarre “We’ll fly you to Hawaii for $6” promotion and even try to win one of the flights, but of course, like so many others, I didn’t. I was talking to Mark about that on his and Shawn’s “MtM’s Miles, Points, Travel & Deals” group on Facebook… …And not 5 minutes later, MARK WON! […]
Congrats! Sounds like fun.
Thanks Mark – should be interesting!
[…] If you remember last Friday and this Monday there was a contest hosted by Arby’s. They offered 10 people a chance to fly to Hawaii to eat Arby’s on the beach. Read more here. […]
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy! Enjoy! I actually love Arby’s, as least without the cheese. Took a few packets of horsey sauce with me on our recent trip to the Maldives…They came in handy to eat with our pouches of SueBee chicken, especially at the St. Regis where a side of “mushy peas” cost $18 USD, and a small bowl of soup started at $30…
Thanks Pauline I appreciate the kind words.
I have heard the prices there are insane. Status is a must on a trip there to offset the cost. I love that you took some horsey sauce with you 🙂
I hope the trip was amazing!
This sounds like a Marty trip! Have fun!
Thank Karim – hope on a flight from LA and meet me out there. I will sneak you a sandwich 🙂
I would if I had the time. I love Hawaii!
Truly made my day to read you won. Cray cray indeed.
Congratulations!
Thanks docntx – stayed tuned for the most epic travel report ever LOL 🙂
It got me curious what your 4 other travel companions are like. Are they all into the points and miles or they are into Arby’s? ^_^
Gonna be 10 total. I think it will be a mix of both – looking forward to meeting anyone as crazy as me to go 🙂
It’s the craziness that made me try to get in on Monday. No luck. Enjoy your time on the beach.
I am glad I am not alone feeling that way 🙂
Wondering how many winners will get “sick” from their beach lunch & pay a change fee to return home later once well?!
I wouldn’t be surprised if a few people stay longer
Make sure you wear some cool M2M gear to promote the blog when we see you on the Arbys commercial. I’m here in Oahu I also tried to win it with hopes I could buy it for a distance family member. Funny thing in the fine print it said if you win and located on Oahu they will pay for your ground transportation :))). I’m dying to know which Arbys they will take you to on Oahu from the airport. There are only 3 locations here in Oahu closest to the airport is on the Navy Base (NEX) food court, 2nd is located within the food court in the Pearl Ridge mall, and 3rd furthest as well as the only stand-alone (non-food court) Arbys in a dirty run down part of town in Waipahu, HI. Arbys in Hawaii does not have good representation so I’m curious to see where they take all of the winners and if they will “dress up” one of the Arby locations to make it look pretty for the cameras during filming of the commercial. Either way its an amazing win congrads your coming to Hawaii after the side show skip the Arby and grab some poke, as a local im thinking does Arby HQ have any idea how bad Arby locations in Hawaii are 🙂
No logo gear allowed 🙁
I feel like they will set up something special on the beach. I don’t think we will go to a location but I could be wrong there.
Use some suttle M2M gear like a ring or something only a few will pick it out when they do the close up of you stuffing a huge sandwich in your mouth :))
Most likely your correct they will set up a small Arby movie set booth on the beach. It would look much better and lots of travel time saved on the turn & burn trip. I was searching the internet trying to find the future filming location but no dice. Maybe I’ll walk in the background as an extra, I assume they will want to film on a unpopulated beach using diamond head as a backdrop.
What a bunch of bologna. I hope that’s what they serve you. One white bread without mayo.
Just kidding. XD
Have fun!!
Haha sounds like a Fyre Festival meal!
I would fight the tax bill on this since in reality they sold you the trip for $6 so it’s worth $6.
I have my father in law on it 😉
The fine print said they are giving $500 or $600 cash to off set the taxes
So happy for you! I forgot about Friday but tried on Monday. On Monday, I got to the second page where you can enter the promo code but the “send” button on the bottom did not illuminate. I believe that was because I was a microsecond too slow and not the top 5 people.
Please do a trip report!
It seems like the LAX-HNL-LAX portion is on Delta. Correct? Do you have no choice on that segment and that all winners fly together?
I am assuming the flight out is with everyone together but I am not sure on the flights back to LA but I wouldn’t surprised if we were all together again.
Arby’s created an absurd promotion where only 10 “winners” would get the opportunity to travel to Honolulu for the equally absurd price of $6. I estimate there were literally millions (I among them) who tried but failed. One of the lucky ten just happened to be a self-described “miles/points fanatic”. If I saw this scenario in a movie, I would not believe it. There is an old saying – “the rich get richer.”
I feel like there was a large percentage of miles and points people in on this since a lot of blogs covered it. I figured someone from the realm would get in – never thought it would be me though 🙂
I saw the terms of F for flight from LAX, but does it specifically say oneway? Assumed rt. I’d look into that to make sure.
That is how I read it as well but it doesn’t appear that is the case.
Congrats! Get some fresh poke after the Arby’s beach gig, this alone will make the crazy itinerary worth it! Aloha brah.
I will have to see if I can fit it in! Thanks Mo
Hrm. I was a Friday winner but haven’t received flight info or itinerary yet. Looks like I’m dropping them an email!
Awesome Art – I look forward to meeting you next weekend!
Back atcha! It’s going to be a ridiculous story to tell.
100% – gonna be killer on my body on the way back but it will be a great ice breaker in the future 🙂
I’m glad someone in our travel community was one of the 5! Looking forward to seeing you CHOW on Arby’s and the write-up in general. LMAO 🙂
It should be one of the more interesting trip reports for sure
The only value is that you may find yourself on TV. May.
Other than that sounds like punishment.
Where is the sense of adventure Debit? 🙂
I am not looking forward to the return flights though – that is for sure
Flying for $6 is awesome, and earning miles for it as well. Sure, the red-eye is terrible, but in the end just jump into the SkyClub in LA and shower there. I’m jealous I didn’t get in on this!
It will be as unique as it gets – that is for sure Robert
AWESOME, Mark! So happy & excited for you. My pick is Teddy’s Kilauea Fire burger tho over Arby’s, aloha!
Thanks Pam!
Very very happy for you buddy! Congrats and eat those Arby’s! My favorite Arby’s food is the beef n cheddar and curly fries!
Thanks Joey – my favorite thing is the curly fries with a side cup of cheddar 🙂
If I had known it would be first/business I would’ve tried. No, probably not as I already have a trip to Oahu/Maui scheduled for May in American BIZ from Dallas. Hopefully lay flat there too. Best wishes and happy Arby eating!
Thanks Heather
That does make part of the trip pretty nice. I will have to try to get some sleep on the flight into HNL for sure.
I love on Oahu so this promo never made sense for me to attempt, but I’ll be interested to see what your experience is like. I’m assuming they’re flying you on Delta both ways? Anyway, good luck, have fun, and I look forward to following along on your journey!
Yeah it is on Delta. I am going in with no expectations since I have no idea what to expect.
I would have done the crazy flight in a heartbeat if I won, just really don’t want to eat an Arby’s sandwich though.
I bet they have some curly fries too! Or at least I hope so 🙂
I am so, SO happy for (and a little envious of) you! If I could’t win, I’m glad you did! 🙂
Thanks Sharon – it is so funny that we were talking about it seconds before it went live too.
Where is the “Like” button here??? 😉
Haha
I set my timer for 8:59PST and hit “book” the moment it became available, no dice. oh well. enjoy your arby’s on the beach!
I still have no idea how I got through. Thanks Paul – it is gonna be crazy!