Gate 1 Travel

Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 8 historical complaints about Gate 1 Travel, published between 2006 and 2012. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.

• Gate 1 travel did not honor the itinerary of their 14 day Jordan and Israel tripPublished Nov 8, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Have a Vacation Scheduled? Don't Pack Your BagsPublished Mar 6, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Awful experiencePublished Sep 26, 2008 · Historical consumer allegation
• They provided a "budget" tour at a "deluxe" pricePublished Jul 8, 2008 · Historical consumer allegation
• Gate i travel will put you in the worst, junky, beat up hotels in a bad area frequented by junkiesPublished May 15, 2008 · Historical consumer allegation
• Hidden costs and double talk Philedelphia Pennsylvania internetPublished Apr 9, 2008 · Historical consumer allegation
• "Fake" and insincere customer service, no respect for Sales 101 "customer is always right"Published Nov 21, 2007 · Historical consumer allegation
• Gate 1 TravelGate 1, International Travel Service ripoff misrepresentation of travel toursPublished Aug 19, 2006 · Historical consumer allegation

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts

• Official website: https://www.gate1travel.com/
• Reservations Center and 24/7 emergency line (USA & Canada): 215-572-7676
• Fax: 215-886-2228
• Contact Us page (email form incl. 'Cancel Reservation'): https://www.gate1travel.com/contactus
• Travel Protection (Arch Insurance) page: https://www.gate1travel.com/insurance
• Arch Insurance Solutions / underwriter line named on Gate 1 insurance page: 1-844-827-9996

Locations

Gate 1 Travel cancellations, refunds, Travel Protection and complaints: what the company's own pages say

Gate 1 Travel's own pages, opened on October 5, 2026, set out the routes below. The 8 complaints posted on this site are from 2006 to 2012, so they may not reflect today's rules.

Contact. The Contact Us page lists the Reservations Center at 215-572-7676 (Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM ET, Saturday and Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM ET), text messaging and WhatsApp on the same number, a fax number and the mailing address 455 Maryland Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034. It says the emergency team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 215-572-7676 and that email requests are answered "normally within a few business days". Its email form asks you to include your reservation number.

Cancelling. The Terms & Conditions say: "All cancellations must be submitted in writing via "Cancel Reservation" located on the Contact Us page." The Contact Us form lists a "Cancel Reservation" option. The Terms state that fees are charged by the date the written cancellation is received and are "not less than the initial non-refundable deposit". For most reservations the schedule is: up to 91 days before departure, $300 per person; 90 to 31 days, 50%; 30 to 2 days, 90%; 1 day or less, 100%. Separate schedules apply to Uganda, Rwanda, Armenia, Australia, Discovery Brazil, Georgia, New Zealand, Norway cruises and cruises in Antarctica, Canada, Greenland, Galapagos, India and USA. Issued airline tickets are subject to airline cancellation and change fees.

Deposit and payment. The Terms say a non-refundable deposit is due at reservation ($300 per person for most reservations, $500, $800 or $1,500 for some destinations) and full payment is due 90 days before departure (120 days for Tibet and certain cruises). Refunds are processed "to the credit card(s) originally used for payment, up to the total amount paid. Any remaining refund due will be paid by US Dollar check or ACH eCheck." Cancellation fees are "calculated as a percentage of the total amount received, excluding Travel Protection, previously assessed fees, and ticketed airfare". If a balance is outstanding on the final payment due date, the Terms say "all travel services will be subject to automatic cancellation and cancellation fees will apply".

Travel Protection and Cancel For Any Reason. Gate 1 recommends Travel Protection and says the premium "is non-refundable after a 10-day review period". Its insurance page says the coverage is underwritten by Arch Insurance Company. The Cancel For Any Reason Waiver is described as "a non-insurance feature" administered by Gate 1 that allows cancellation up to 72 hours before departure for a future travel credit, not a cash refund (the Terms say "CFAR Credits have no cash value and are not transferrable" and "are valid for a period of two years from the original date of travel"); for tours the credit equals the trip cost less the deposit, airline-assessed fees, amendment fees and insurance premium, and for sea or river cruises it is 50% of the trip cost less the same items. The Terms say the waiver must be bought at the same time as the Travel Protection Plan; the FAQ page adds that it must also be purchased "within 21 days of the original booking date". The Terms add that the future air credit must be used with the same airline and that airline deadlines to rebook and travel "may be as early as 12 months from when the tickets were originally issued (not the date of travel)". The insurance page lists, for the pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver, that the plan must be elected "within 21 days of booking", must insure all of the cost of all travel arrangements subject to cancellation penalties or restrictions, and that the traveler must not be disabled from travel when the policy is paid. Read both pages before relying on any of this.

Problems during or after a trip. The Terms say: "All customer service issues must be submitted in writing. Please notify us within 30 days following your return." Refund claims for undelivered services "must be accompanied by payment receipt(s) and local documentation", processing "will take up to eight weeks", and there are no refunds for unused package features. The Terms add that complaints about a hotel's standards should be taken to the hotel's management, and that airline cancellations and delays should be claimed from the airline.

Disputes. The Passenger Agreement in the Terms includes binding arbitration before JAMS under Pennsylvania law in Philadelphia and a jury-trial waiver. BBB also accepts complaints against the company; its profile for Gate 1 Travel is linked below.

Who operates Gate 1 Travel

Gate 1 Travel is the trade name used by Gate 1 Travel LTD, which its privacy policy (last updated 10/31/2025) says is incorporated in Pennsylvania with a registered address at 455 Maryland Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034. The company says on its About page that it was founded in 1981 by a former tour guide, began with tours to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Greece and Turkey, is headquartered in Fort Washington and has more than 600 employees worldwide. The privacy policy says it covers Gate 1 Travel, Discovery Small Group Tours and Walking & Hiking by Gate 1.

The website offers escorted coach tours, Discovery small-group tours (the company says no more than 22 travelers), river cruises, stay-and-explore tours and independent packages, many with airfare. Gate 1 describes its tour managers and local offices as its on-the-ground support.

The Terms' Release from Liability states that "Gate 1 Ltd., its shareholders, directors, officers, employees and affiliates ... does not own or operate any entity which is to or does provide goods or services for your trip" such as hotels, airlines or local ground operators, and that these are independent contractors. Travel insurance is offered through Arch Insurance Solutions Inc. as producer with Arch Insurance Company as underwriter. No parent company or owner is named on the pages checked on October 5, 2026.

Complaint record: BBB, Trustpilot and this site

Figures are as displayed on October 5, 2026 and are not combined with each other.

BBB. The BBB profile for Gate 1 Travel, Ft Washington, PA, shows BBB Accredited and an A+ rating. It lists 84 total complaints in the last 3 years and 24 closed in the last 12 months, and "2 /5 stars" from an average of 37 customer reviews. Its profile data lists a business start of 1981-01-01, incorporation on 1993-02-23 and a BBB file opened on 1989-09-26; the file-opened date and the accreditation date are separate. The "Latest Reviews" shown on the profile include a review about a brochure price that differs from the website price, a review about a $300 penalty, and a review saying money was not refunded after a trip was cancelled. In one complaint response BBB displays, the company says it found no responsibility on its part; BBB displays all of this without verifying it.

Trustpilot. The profile for gate1travel.com is claimed (December 2018) with a paid Trustpilot subscription and shows 4.0 from 527 reviews, 123 of them in the last 12 months. The star split shown is 39 percent 5-star, 6 percent 4-star, 7 percent 3-star, 7 percent 2-star and 41 percent 1-star. Trustpilot says the company invites customers to review, whether positive or negative, replied to 96 percent of negative reviews and typically replies within 48 hours.

Complaints posted on this site. 8 complaints dated 2006 to 2012 name Gate 1 Travel (also written Gate 1, Ltd., Gate I Travel and Gate1travel). They are consumers' accounts and allegations, not findings. They describe hotels that the writers say fell short of the advertised class, a cruise that a writer says did not call at an advertised port, airfare that a writer says was not included in an advertised price, an airline cancellation after which a writer was asked to pay an additional $600, and an itinerary a writer says was not honored. Posts that only mention Gate 1 as a website used by another business were not counted.

Court dockets naming Gate 1

The sources checked on October 5, 2026 were a CourtListener search of federal dockets for "Gate 1 Travel" and the three dockets it returned. CourtListener refused direct page requests (HTTP 403) on that day, so the three docket pages were re-opened the same day through the r.jina.ai text renderer, which returned the live docket text. Three dockets name Gate 1 or Gate 1 Travel as a party. The dockets as retrieved do not state what the claims are, so none is characterized here beyond the court's own labels. No class action, FTC action or state attorney general action against Gate 1 Travel was identified in the sources checked; the FTC and state searches were not conclusive, so this is not a statement that none exists.

• Stott v. Gate 1, Ltd., E.D. Pa. No. 5:18-cv-02195: complaint filed May 25, 2018; the docket shows an answer on July 16, 2018 and settlement conferences through December 20, 2018, with no disposition entry in the CourtListener copy.
• Cheng v. Gate 1 Travel, S.D. Tex. No. 4:19-cv-00986: a notice of removal was filed March 18, 2019; CourtListener lists diversity of citizenship and nature of suit "360 Other personal liability"; the last entry in the copy is an order on a motion to stay dated December 17, 2019.
• Rebel News Network Ltd. v. Gate 1 Travel, Ltd., E.D. Pa. No. 2:19-cv-03299: filed July 26, 2019; nature of suit "190 Other contract actions"; terminated February 7, 2020 after a notice of voluntary dismissal.

Is Gate 1 Travel Legitimate?

Gate 1 Travel LTD is a Pennsylvania-incorporated company with a published Fort Washington address, a BBB file opened in 1989 according to BBB's profile data, and a BBB Accredited listing with an A+ rating as displayed on October 5, 2026; BBB's profile data gives the accreditation date as September 22, 2026, so the accreditation is recent. Its Terms disclose a non-refundable deposit, a tiered cancellation fee schedule, written-only cancellation and complaint procedures, limits on its liability for third-party suppliers, and a binding arbitration clause.

Review sites show different pictures: BBB displays 84 complaints in the last 3 years and a 2/5 average from 37 reviews, while Trustpilot displays 4.0 from 527 reviews on a profile that is claimed and invites reviews. Both are described in the complaint-record section. The 8 complaints on this site are older allegations from 2006 to 2012.

Court & Public Records

Frequently Asked Questions