Winning a luxury trip on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ sounds great — but some contestants turn it down for one reason
‘Wheel of Fortune’ has given several trip prizes, from luxurious cruises to resort getaways. Recently, many former contestants who won one of these trips shared their experiences. On Thursday, July 10, 2025, the topic came up on the 'Wheel of Fortune' Reddit forum, prompting discussions among the former players. One Reddit user asked what the trip includes, in terms of airfare, meals, taxes, and other expenses. “I won a 17-day trip for two to Greece and Turkey. I have two young kids at home, so we actually had to skip the first 6 days, which thankfully Wheel and the travel company were able to accommodate,” one fan wrote.
“Airfare, hotel/boat accommodations, and roughly 80% of the meals were included, but every trip is different,” the same user added. Besides the trip, the prize included an additional $1000 to cover unexpected expenses. “It was an unbelievable trip and it’s still hard to believe it actually happened!” the fan revealed. Another past player praised the “prize coordinator” for organizing the itinerary and taking care of the logistics, including “coordinating airfare (included), and letting me know about the details.” The contestant added, “I looked at the trip as an all-expenses trip that was like 70% off of what the face value would have been, which worked for me!”
A third former player shared details of the Barbados vacation that they won. “Once I picked a date to go and they book the hotel for me, they then sent a check for $4000, which was the $1000 cash and $3000 to book plane tickets. At tax time just filed like normal with the 1099 they send you, ending up not being as bad as I thought,” the Reddit user wrote. Another fan revealed that the winners are not obligated to accept their prize. If they find the taxes to be too high, they can choose to reject the trip or refuse to keep the car.
“As soon as you step off from filming your episode, you meet with a prize coordinator who has you sign a bunch of forms - at that moment, you decide whether to accept or decline each prize,” the same fan noted. If the contestant decides to keep the prize, it is treated as taxable income. Meaning, the players will owe taxes on that amount when they file. The value of the prize is determined by the show, usually using the full retail price instead of the cheapest option. So, searching for a cheaper trip option doesn’t make sense because the IRS (U.S. tax agency) will charge the players based on the value set by the show.
So, the contestants can accept or deny the trip or other prizes, but they can’t reduce the amount the trip costs. “They submit to the IRS relevant forms for whatever amounts you win / accept, so there’s no sense in trying to price shop to try to lower your tax burden, I don’t imagine,” the former ‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant added. Earlier this year, the show received criticism from fans over the increasing number of domestic trip locations, such as Atlantic City, Miami, San Antonio, New York, and Williamsburg, Virginia.
