IATA cards are for people working in the travel industry, it's not something you can just "get" because you want one.

http://www.iata.org/ps/accreditation...igibility.aspx

IATA ID
 

Can u pls help me wiyh your code.we need it to have dicaunde on car rentrak im Icland
Tnx
Hezy
[Personal email address deleted by moderator for member's own protection.]

Hezy S. welcome to FlyerTalk! As the posts in the thread above this one show, the IATA card and account number are personal to the qualified IATA member and cannot be traded or given around.

I have been googling all morning to determine whether becoming a travel agent for self/family/friend travel is worth it. I am looking at it from both discounts that one would receive and the "income" from commissions. This is the semi-conclusion I have come up with so far since I am not done researching and this thread came up halfway on google so here I am ;) .

For lodging and accommodations, once an agent, you can utilize your IATA# for discounted hotel rates plus you get the commission off of hotel stays.

For airfares, there's no commission or fare advantage except maybe the usage of the booking system might be more convenient?

For cruises, I read that most cruise lines can only be booked through an agent (although some now allow consumers to directly book online) so you can get commission off of those itineraries.

Any thoughts?

There is a niche for TAs and I agree, there is a role.. I think its more in the area of vacation bookings..

You get some perks with travel, but I think that hotels sift through those are experienced and those who aren't. For example, Fairmont won't just book the TA rate for anyone who has an IATA#.. They'll want to check how long you've been a TA, and whether you're one of their famous agents. So just because you have an IATA# won't mean you'll have access to every discount out there..

Having access to a GDS like Sabre is fantastic for booking complex international air itineraries. Take a look at the following thread for some options (I use ICT):

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-bookings.html

As for the discounts: To get the IATAN number which gives you an industry rate you need to receive somewhere in the neighborhood of $5,000 in commissions in a year. Very doable if you do this stuff full-time, not at all doable if you're a casual "friends and family" user.

Commissions: If you're a "friends and family" user, you'll find that they just defray some of the cost of the GDS (I pay about $40/month for mine once various fees are factored in). If you're this type of user you're probably more of a do-it-yourself-er anyway which means you're not likely booking cruises, overpriced hotels, and package tours. Car rentals and airfare do provide the occasional couple of bucks depending on the airline and itinerary.

Iata hotel codes
 

We know my dear brother that iata codes cant be be traded, but it should be given around as alist because any one make reservation in any hotel chain like spg or hhonors using the iata codes for that spesific hotel chain will not be approaved unless he or she show the iata or airlines id when checkin.

Welcome to FT!

The practice of checking IATA ID is certainly becoming more common place..

Collaberation
 

My wife (the travel agent) and I (the FlyerTalker and point accumulator) have an IATAN. Here's my thoughts:

1. For your own travel purposes, don't even bother trying to find an ID. It's like finding a SSN or Credit Card Number. it belongs to someone else, is illegal to use it, and will not take much effort to audit who actually reaped the benefit of it (since it is you doing the travel).

2. For other's travel booking, of course you can pursue becoming a travel agent and get one if that is what you want to do for a career or if you want to put in that kind of effort (I assume that varies from one host travel agency to another) to get the benefits for yourself.

3. All of that said, I'm unaware of why collaboration with someone who has an IATAN cannot benefit both parties. If you are my client and I book you a ticket (full price or discount), there is no reason why I could not share my commissions with my client, in the form of a further discount on the cost of the travel.

We haven't done this ourselves but certainly open to considering if anyone cares to explore.

I'm wondering
 

I'm wondering if your wife knows if people who work in the airline industry qualify to get iata discounts or qualified to apply for an iata number

Thread is no longer timely and information may be obsolete.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator