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Is World Ventures a Scam? – In my opinion no, BUT………

There have been a lot of buzz and discussions over the years on whether or not World Ventures is a scam.

I am not here to convince you either way. Instead, I am going to share with you my actual experience with World Ventures.

By reading this updated World Ventures review, you will be able to find out if it is still worthy to join this company and if World Ventures is a suitable business for you.

What Is World Ventures?

World Ventures Review

World Ventures (worldventures.com), aka WorldVentures, is a multi-level marketing company in the travel industry similar to Jifu Travel ,BookVIP, InteleTravel, and Traverus.

World Ventures was founded by two veteran network marketers Mike Azcue and Wayne Nugent way back in 2005.

World Ventures has been involved with multiple legal issues in the past and is still dealing with accusations of being a pyramid scheme as you are reading this right now.

Several countries already banned World Ventures. World Ventures was sued by the Norwegian government and labeled the company as a pyramid scheme in 2014.

Despite the many legal issues, World Ventures is still operating in different countries and its affiliates are as eager as ever in promoting the business opportunity.

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World Ventures Former CEO Stepped Down

The many issues that WV have to face in the past years are said to what led Mike Azcue to step down from his role as CEO of World Ventures and was succeeded by Josh Paine.

As I am updating this World Ventures review, Mike is no longer part of the current officers of the company.

World Ventures Owners

Whether Mike Azcue still has a role in WV is unclear but on the World Ventures Facebook page, a company affiliate says he isn’t anymore.

Mike Azcue World Ventures

But back on the issue of World Ventures being a pyramid scheme, I believe it is not.

Because unlike most pyramid schemes, World Ventures always have a decent product line in a form of travel packages that its reps are promoting.

The DreamTrips.

If you don’t have a representative who can enlighten you about the DreamTrips, allow me to try and explain in the simplest fashion.

What is DreamTrips? – A Simplified Version

World Ventures Dream Trips

DreamTrips is simply a Travel Club Membership offered by World Ventures. If you go to a travel agency, you’ll normally book a tour package, right?

Our common understanding is that everything regarding the trip will be pre-planned for us. This includes the itinerary, hotel rooms, tour guides, meals, flights, etc.

It is exactly the same when you book a “Dream Trip” with World Ventures, but with a little twist…

  • Members will typically have a better experience during the tour because it is personalized and the service standard should be better than those tour packages offered by the Travel Agencies;
  • Instead of traveling with strangers (a typical tour group), you are travelling with other WV members (I’m not sure how you would feel when other members starts talking about the “business”);
  • Flight tickets are not included in the packages – It is more cost effective if an individual use their frequent flyer miles to purchase their flight tickets.

If you take all of this, you can say that World Ventures is a Premium Travel Agency, but that’s not all.

As what I have said earlier, Dream Trips is a travel membership club therefore, World Ventures is also a Travel Club.

World Ventures – An Affortable Travel Club?

Much like Club Marriott or Hilton Club where it cost thousands of dollars to join, World Ventures operates in a similar fashion but at a cheaper price.

Like other Travel Clubs, World Ventures uses the concept of Wholesale.

When World Ventures offers a Tour Package (a “DreamTrip”), they will book a bulk of hotel rooms to negotiate a cheaper price.

They will book tables at the restaurants so that they can negotiate for a better price, they will do everything in a bulk so that they can negotiate with businesses for the best price. And, the DreamTrips members will enjoy all the benefits.

DreamTrips members do not necessarily need to be World Ventures representatives. The DreamTrips membership and the World Ventures representative membership are purchased separately.

DreamTrips Membership Vs. World Ventures Reps

Representatives sell World Ventures products to “Customers,” and a customer is an end consumer of the DreamTrips membership products.

Only the WV reps can earn money selling DreamTrips to other people. World Ventures representatives are compensated based strictly on the sale of World Ventures’ products to customers, both their personal sales and the sales made by their downline WV Representatives.

World Ventures do not pay commissions to Reps for recruiting new WV representatives. There is also no compensation derived from a representative’s personal purchases. This is similar to how the new AdvoCare compensation plan works today.

Meanwhile, DreamTrips members can earn Reward Points and will have a chance to waive their monthly fee by getting 4 people. But more on this below.

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How to Earn Reward Points with DreamTrips?

Every dollar that you pay towards the DreamTrips membership will be credited back to you as DreamTrips Reward Points.

Also, if you become a World Ventures Representative, and you refer people to buy any of the higher DreamTrips Membership (Gold, Platinum or Titanium), you’ll earn rewards points as well.

You can use this reward points to redeem travel packages.

However, you can’t exchange the reward points as cash, and there is a limit to the amount of points you can use towards a particular “Dream Trip – Tour Package”.

All accumulated DreamTrips Points will expire in 12 months from the date of inception (the date where you received the points in your account).

If you’d like to understand more about the Rewards system, you can check this out.

How to Book a “Dream Trip” with Reward Points?

All World Ventures travel packages are booked through a system called “Rovia”.

Rovia World Ventures

The Rovia booking engine can be access through the DreamTrips members area.

If you want to use your Rewards Points to book a travel package, you have to convert your DreamTrips points into “Rovia bucks”.

Rovia bucks will have the same expiry date as your DreamTrips points. But converting your DreamTrips points to Rovia bucks doesn’t reset its expiry date.

Cost To Join World Ventures

There are two ways to join World Ventures. As a customer (DreamTrips member) or as a representative.

If you want to become a customer, you will need to purchase any of the DreamTrips packages.

As of August of 2019, World Ventures introduced a new DreamTrips membership tier – the DreamTrips Titanium. So as I am updating this World Ventures review, here’s the current cost of the memberships.

DreamTrips-Gold-And-Basic
DreamTrips-Titanium-And-Platinum

To sum it up, here are the prices when the initial fee and the monthly fee are separated:

  • DreamTrips (Basic) – $68 initial fee, monthly $31.99
  • Gold – $143 initial fee, monthly $56.99
  • Platinum – $200 initial fee, monthly $99.99
  • Titanium – $850 initial fee, monthly $149.99

What is the Representative Business System (RBS) Fee

Individuals who want to become a World Ventures Representative can join by paying the Representative Business System (RBS) fee on top of the packages above.

RBS is a one-time $100 signup fee plus a $25 monthly renewal fee.

If you think the DreamTrips membership is amazing because you travel a lot, you might love it more once you see the World Ventures compensation plan.

World Ventures Compensation Plan

Other than becoming a DreamTrips members to save for your personal trips, you can also earn an income promoting the DreamTrips.

But first, you have to become a “World Ventures Representative” by paying the Representative Business System (RBS).

World Ventures focuses on direct selling so you won’t earn money by recruiting people into becoming a representative themselves. You will only make money from the sales of DreamTrips.

#1 Direct Sales Commissions

You will earn a one-time $20, $50 and $100 for every high end DreamTrips membership you sell. There is no limit to how many products you can sell.

WV Direct Sales Commissions

#2 Wings and Wheels Lifestyle Bonus

If you will manage to refer a specific number of new customers that buys the DreamTrips packages, you will earn $200 up to $1,000 per month.

#3 Weekly Team Bonus

Once you are manage to make 4 personal sales, you can earn Weekly Team Bonuses of up to $50 based on the initial product sales you generate as well as product sales generated by your entire Binary organization.

#4 Matching Bonus

Depending on your rank, you can earn up to 20% of the weekly earnings of your direct referrals.

WV Matching Bonus

#5 Monthly Residual Commissions

When you achieve the 3 Star Representative rank or higher, you can earn a Monthly Residual Commissions based on the monthly billing generated by your personal Customers and by those of your entire Binary Organization.

You can verify all the information above with the actual World Ventures compensation plan,or you can watch the video below from one of World Ventures top representative explaining the company’s LATEST compensation plan as of August 2019.

So, based on the information above, do you think you can make a steady income with World Ventures just by selling the DreamTrips on your own?

Do you think the World Ventures compensation plan relies heavily on you recruiting people and building a large sales team?

Id you do, do you think World Ventures is a scam and a pyramid scheme?

Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Are Trip Packages In World Ventures Cheaper?

Here’s what most people misunderstood.

They tend to compare the cheapest price of the flight tickets, hotel rooms, etc. with World Ventures.

But like I’ve explained, World Ventures is not a typical booking portal like Expedia.com, Traveloka.com or booking.com. World Ventures is a Travel Club. So, it’s not really comparing apple to apple.

If you really want to compare, then compare the DreamTrips prices to the tour packages offered by the travel agencies.

Related Post: Top Travel MLM Companies Most People Choose To Join

World Ventures Business Opportunity – I Quit

Like I mentioned at the start of this World Ventures review, I quit the company and I am currently not a representative of World Ventures anymore.

This is because making money with World Ventures is very hard.

In fact, more than 95% of the World Ventures Representatives failed in the business, and I happen to be one of them.

Below is a snapshot of the 2019 WV Income Disclosure.

WorldVentures 2019 Income Disclosure

You see, out of all the WV Reps in the US, 85.4% of them didn’t earn a dime in the business.

And, for those who did earn money, the majority of them do not earn a substantial income. A little more than 95% of all WV Representatives aren’t making a steady income.

If it’s such a good opportunity, why aren’t people succeeding? Is World Ventures a scam after all?

Well, as a failed WV Rep, I think I know the answer, but first, let me share with you my personal experience…

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My Personal WV Experience – Not a great one!

As you know, World Ventures is an MLM, and an MLM is a people’s business. The experience of each individual depends on the sponsors or the direct uplines, not the company.

“Get 4 and Pay No More!”

To look at the opportunity as a whole, I was pressured upon signing up as a member, to run around like a crazy person and grab 4 people to sign up as my downline within 30 days.

This will qualify me to earn a bonus commission, and most importantly to waive off the monthly subscription.

I was given the impression from my uplines or sponsor that the product sells for itself and I do not need to do any sales talk.

I was told that there will be weekly or monthly seminars where leaders of World Ventures will make an introductory speech of the opportunity and other members will share their experiences as well.

Basically, I thought it was an easy sell. In my mind, I was already dreaming about living the “good life”.

Getting My Friends to One of the Seminars

However, back to reality, some seminars are great and some are not, it really depends on the host, the speaker.

There was once I brought 2 friends to the seminar, but the speaker wasn’t really good at communicating the opportunity, which led my friends and I lose interest on World Ventures almost instantly.

The truth is getting people to the seminars is not a difficult task, but convincing people to sign up as a representative of World Ventures, is a completely different story.

Most importantly, my sponsor (a good lady colleague of mine) is not a salesperson, and she has no idea on how to promote World Ventures.

We rely heavily on my sponsor’s upline to do the after seminar sales pitch, but…

She is always too busy asking her own referrals to join World Ventures.

No Support, No Guidance, Feeling Frustrated!

As a result, my sponsor and I were left alone, no support, no sales experience, no confidence in the business, so we left altogether.

I am not blaming my sponsor for this, because she is a good friend and colleague of mine, who shares the same agony as I.

After leaving World Ventures, I finally gasp a sign of relief because I do not have to pay the monthly membership fee of $60 (at that time) anymore.

You may call me a loser for not getting 4 people in 30 days, but hey, this is how it is, I am not a trained sales person and I am not as influential as some people are.

Although I had experience with a few MLM Companies in the past, prior to World Ventures, I still sucked at selling.

All I was taught to do was to bring people to those seminars without first telling them what it is about. This will create a WOW factor (as I was told).

So this is my personal experience with World Ventures.

It is really up to you to decide if it is worth joining World Ventures, but be warned that hardships and hurdles are imminent.

Again, I am not saying that World Ventures is a scam but I get why many people are saying it is.

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Why Most World Ventures Reps Don’t Make Money?

Well, you’ve read my story, I am a typical example of why someone will fail.

But, there’s more to it…

#1 Lack of Leads

I would say that the number one challenge for all representatives is to find a constant flow of new prospects.

Without a constant flow of prospects, no business in this world will succeed.

When you join WV, I believe you will be taught to prospect your friends, family members, and everyone whom you met, but there’s just a limit to your social circle.

Plus, only a small percentage of people will join you in the business, and you’ll see yourself running out of new prospects as you progress.

So, like any businesses, you need a constant flow of highly targeted prospects to succeed. And, after being online for so long, I finally realize that the best way to become successful in World Ventures is to learn how to get unlimited leads and prospects.

This is one of the best strategies adopted by top network marketers to attract an endless stream of highly targeted prospects.

#2 Lack of Training

When I was with World Ventures years ago, there was no centralized training platform.

Now, at the very least, the company provides centralized training for representatives who upgrade their memberships.

But, is it enough? Current WV Reps, I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Alternatively, I’ve found a centralized training platform for all network marketers to get the best knowledge on growing their business.

If you are interested, you can check it out here.

#3 Poor Mentorship

Honestly, there’s only a handful of people who’ve succeeded in this business, and finding a successful mentor to personally coach you is like finding a needle in the haystack.

I can’t stress this enough that you need a great mentor in order to succeed in any business.

If you talk to any successful business person, they will tell you that at some point in their life, they had a great mentor.

So, if you are struggling with your World Ventures Business, and you’d like to find a great mentor to coach you, I recommend that you check out this program.

I highly recommend this program because it teaches you to find and prospect people online, without being salesy or sleazy. This will give you a better chance at succeeding with your World Ventures business.

#4 Wrong Mindset

I was the typical example of having the wrong mindset, the wrong expectation, and being sold to the idea that the product sells for itself.

Boy was I wrong!

The truth is, this business is not cut out for everyone.

If you hate selling, if you dislike prospecting, if you hate facing rejections, if you hate this, this, and that, AND you are not doing anything to overcome them, then don’t bother joining this business, because you are just wasting your time and money.

Successful WV Reps are the ones who would go against all odds to find their success.

Is World Ventures A Pyramid Scheme?

Okay i’ts time to answer this question. With so many developments around the company, I think it is best that I address this and let you know the facts so that you can decide for yourself.

World Ventures has been named as a pyramid scheme in Norway (February 2014), probed for investigation in Africa (September 2015) and Jamaica (June 2015).

Why is this happening?

Before we go into the details, let’s first understand what is a pyramid scheme is.

In my opinion, the World Ventures opportunity has been deeply misled and misunderstood.

The products that World Ventures offer are great, and the memberships are not exactly difficult to sell (if you are selling to the right crowd – people who travel often).

However, when a group of representatives emphasizes on the recruitment rather than selling the memberships, the company and its reputation will be questioned.

As they say, one bad apple spoils the barrel, and it is exactly what is happening here.

Who’s Fault Is It?

The fault lies heavily on the company’s management team for the lack of ability to manage and control their representatives.

Obviously, when a company compensates their Reps for the recruitment efforts, the Reps will inherently be inclined to focus on the recruitment rather than to assess if their prospects have the ability to join the DreamTrips’ membership.

So, if you ask me, I would say that generally World Ventures is not a pyramid scheme, but when a representative focus on the recruitment rather than promoting the products, the situation might change.

It is up to the company’s management team to handle their representatives.

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Should You Join World Ventures Now?

Instead of trying to convince you to join or stay away from this company, I will share with you the latest update about World Ventures so you can decide for yourself if this is a business opportunity that you want to be part in.

#1 World Ventures Complaints – Tons of them

In BBB alone, WV has 217 complaints as I am updating this World Ventures review. Many people are calling this company a scam.

World Ventures Complaints

#2 Unpaid Commissions

In 2018, World Ventures South Africa was sued by its representatives because the company failed to pay the their commissions.

World Ventures South Africa Sued

The same charges were filed by Myron Wick and Virginia Walker, former high-ranking members of World Ventures in 2016 alleging that the company failed to pay commissions that they had earned.

#3 World Ventures Recent Lawsuits

In June of 2019, Taiwan prosecutors filed charges against the owners of World Ventures alleging that the company is simply a pyramid scheme.

World Ventures Taiwan Lawsuit

So what do you think? Are you still willing to take part of this company? Is World Ventures a scam in your opinion?

Leave your comment and opinions below.

To help you decide on whether you should join World Ventures, read the next section of this updated World Ventures review.

Who Should Join World Ventures

DreamTrips Membership

These are the people who would benefit from the DreamTrips Membership? People who:

  • travel frequently
  • do not like to plan for trips (they prefer tour packages)
  • like to travel in style
  • like a personalized travel experience
  • wouldn’t mind travelling with other World Ventures members
  • People who travel frequently

You should NOT join DreamTrips if you are someone who:

  • travels once or twice a year
  • loves to go on free and easy trips
  • dislikes tour packages
  • hates travelling with a tour group
  • can’t afford the membership

World Ventures Representative

You are a suitable candidate for World Ventures if you are someone who:

  • has benefited from the DreamTrips Membership
  • has sales experience
  • has prior MLM experience
  • has extra cash to spare on a monthly basis
  • will go against all odds to become successful
  • has extra time to build a full-time business (Part-time is not advisable because this opportunity requires a lot of time and attention to be successful)

DO NOT join World Ventures if you:

  • are heavily in debt
  • are cash-strapped
  • have the wrong expectations (making money is easy?)
  • can’t find the time to do this business
  • are afraid of facing rejections
  • are not prepared to be a sales person
  • are jumping from one opportunity after another

My Sincere Advice to You

Unless you travel frequently, you will probably won’t enjoy the benefits that World Ventures brings.

This goes to say that the business opportunity is not meant for people who are cash-strapped. If you are cash-strapped and you are looking for a business opportunity, maybe you can try this.

People who travel at least 3 times a year will definitely feel that they are getting their money’s worth with the DreamTrips membership.

Prospecting people who can’t afford to travel, is probably the main reason why the company got into trouble with the authorities.

So, before you join this opportunity, please consider the facts that I’ve shared above.

And if you are already a World Ventures member, and you are struggling to grow your business, then I recommend that you check out this program.

It is a program that helps you find prospects online without being salesy or sleazy. It is my top recommendation when it comes to MLM training programs.

World Ventures Best Business Alternative

To be honest, not every business opportunity is suitable for you.

Take me as an example, I didn’t succeed with World Ventures, but I succeeded with something else.

Now, I run a full-time online business that generates a passive income. If you’d like to learn more, you can read my story here.

Final Words

Thank you so much for reading this World Ventures review! I hope I have provided you with the information you need to make an educated decision.

If you think that this is helpful, please share it with others. Someone else might need this information so they too would know the truth about the World Ventures scam rumors going on.

And, if you’d like to discuss more or share your experience with World Ventures, please, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below.

Until here and I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Your pal,

Jack