DANNY DE HEK

It all started when I crashed a Zoom meeting—something I’ve done many times before while chasing down pyramid schemes in disguise. This one had a familiar aroma: overhyped, underdeveloped, and dripping with motivational fluff.

There was no official company intro, no serious product demo, and no clear pricing until deep into the call. Just lots of overly eager faces clapping along as someone clicked through slides full of empty buzzwords. That was the first sign I was watching yet another rebranded MLM scam.

The company? Surge365.

The pitch? Sell travel. Earn residual income. Get paid when others book through your portal. But scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll find what’s really being sold: hope, hype, and hierarchy.

Let’s break down what Surge365 really is.

The Product

They call it the Travel Technology Package: a $499 upfront payment plus $99.95 a month. You get access to a basic travel booking engine, a password-protected discount site called Vortex, and a “Member Portal” with vague promises of wholesale deals.

But here’s the kicker: instead of earning money when people actually book travel, most commissions are paid out when you recruit others to buy the exact same package. Sound familiar?

The Structure

Surge365 is a textbook multi-level marketing scheme:

  • Junior Executives (SBAs) pay a fee to join and then recruit others into their “Team Builder Group.”
  • As you move up the chain—from Team Builder to Regional and National Builder—you earn bonuses for hitting recruitment quotas, not for customer bookings.
  • Their shiny $100K in 200 days challenge is pure bait: only achievable by aggressively enrolling others, not selling travel.

You don’t get rich from travel sales. You get rich (if you’re lucky) from convincing dozens—if not hundreds—of people to pay the same monthly fees you’re paying.

The Real Cost

Let’s do the math. That Travel Technology Package costs nearly $1,700 in the first year when you include the hidden fees for the “free reward trip,” advisor bundle, and additional upsells like Jump School. And for what? A clunky back office dashboard, access to Vistaprint, and training videos full of motivational noise.

Meanwhile, Surge365’s own income disclosure reveals the truth:

  • 75.35% of all SBAs earned zero dollars in 2024.
  • The average income across all participants was just $495.15.
  • Even active members who made a sale only earned $2,008.93 on average for the whole year.

And those numbers don’t even include the thousands they likely spent on fees, events, and travel incentives.

The Compensation Plan

According to Surge365’s official documents:

  • You earn $50–$140 per sale depending on your rank.
  • Residuals are just $1–$2 per month per downline.
  • Bonuses include $1,000, $10,000, even $100,000+ rings, but only for those who recruit aggressively.
  • The Director Program dangles luxury items like Rolex watches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and $1.2 million/year bonuses—pure fantasy for 99% of participants.

The entire plan is designed to incentivize recruitment, not retail sales. This is a hallmark of a pyramid scheme.

What We Saw in the Zoom Call

We joined a Surge365 CNS Zoom presentation, and the room was filled with the usual suspects—people who’ve made MLM their full-time identity:

Jack Mayoff, Dr. Jamila Williams (aka The Travel Doctor), Ron Richardson, James Hall, Emily Johnson, and Glenda Rowe.

These are the people out front pushing this machine, convincing others to join a movement that statistically won’t benefit them. These aren’t travel experts. They’re sales reps for a recruitment-based system.

The Big Red Flags

  • No retail demand: Real travel agencies don’t charge $499 to access a booking engine.
  • Recruitment-first commissions: You make more money from bringing in people than selling services.
  • Expensive upsells: Jump School, apparel, Taxbot—members are the real customers.
  • Emotional manipulation: Constant use of phrases like “your why,” “empowerment,” and “financial freedom.”
  • Luxury bait: Ferraris, Rolexes, and yachts are dangled as possible rewards—but only if you build massive downlines.
  • False value stacking: They claim to include $149+ packages for “free” when you’re already paying inflated prices.

Similar Scams to Watch Out For

Surge365 follows the same playbook as other MLM travel and lifestyle scams, including:

  • Traverus Global
  • DreamTrips / WorldVentures
  • Plannet Marketing
  • Travorium
  • InCruises

Each of these promised freedom, residual income, and luxury rewards—but all rely on recruitment over real product value.

Final Word

Let’s call it what it is: Surge365 is a travel-branded pyramid scheme. The product is a prop. The pitch is dressed up in tech and personal growth jargon. And the people running these Zoom calls are serial MLM promoters who just can’t seem to leave this business model behind.

If you see any of these names pop up again, or if someone tries to recruit you into a “travel opportunity” with a monthly fee—walk away fast.

And if you’re already in? Just know this: the only people making money are the ones convincing you to stay in.

About the Author Danny de Hek, also known as The Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger, is a New Zealand-based investigative journalist specializing in exposing crypto fraud, Ponzi schemes, and MLM scams. His work has been featured by Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Guardian Australia, ABC News Australia, and other international outlets.

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