I've tried to search for a similar thread but couldn't find one--my apologies if one already exists. I'd appreciate a link if that's the case.
I notice that a lot of FT'ers are travel agents. My question is: is it worth it for me to become a travel agent just to save money on travel, or earn a portion of my ticket costs back in the form of commissions?
How much would it cost me to become an independent travel agent? Can I train myself? What is the cheapest way to do this?
Does having an IATA card really save you much money on flights? Hotels?
I enjoy finding cheap flights, so I end up booking a lot of my friends' and relatives' flights for them. This year, I've booked 6 flights to asia (LAX to HKG) and 4 flights to europe (LAX to LTH) and numerous flights within the U.S. (and captured all of the miles on Citi PremierPass Elite
). I'll proably be booking even more international flights next year. I booked most of these flights directly through the airlines' websites.
I'm thinking that if I became a travel agent, I could earn commission on the flights I already book. However, if the cost of actually becoming a travel agent is not exceeded by any commissions I'd earn and money I'd save, then it wouldn't be worth it.
I'd appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks!!!