A Wing And A Wink - travel agents

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Feb, 2000 by Kristin Davis

TRAVEL | Becoming a DO-IT-YOURSELF AGENT doesn't land me many discounts or perks.

MAYBE YOU'VE seen the newspaper ad: "Become a travel agent today, and begin receiving huge travel discounts and commissions on all your travel." As someone who typically gets on an airplane once a month or more, I figured that a year's worth of commissions, plus first-class upgrades (as advertised) and discounted car rentals and hotel rooms, could easily add up. So after checking out Global Travel International's Web site, I charged the $495 fee to my credit card and became a travel agent. Sort of.

Mainstream travel agents consider agents like me poseurs, and call companies like Global Travel (GTI) "card mills" because you don't actually have to sell any travel to receive the discounts (although you're encouraged to). "You have a whole group of consumers trying to pass themselves off as something they are not," says Stan Bosco, assistant director of consumer affairs for the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). Bosco says that some travel suppliers have restricted their discounts to agents who generate $5,000 a year or more in commissions.

But GTI sees itself as a pioneer in the travel industry, with 26,000 "independent agents" booking travel for themselves, friends, family members and business associates through GTI's reservation agents and generating $100 million in sales last year. ASTA "doesn't like that we have 26,000 people getting discounts," says Pamela Johnston, GTI's director of public relations. "But we're selling travel. Our agents are a selling machine."

Beginner's luck. My career as a selling machine begins when I get my travel agent's ID card in April, the day before a business trip to Chattanooga. Following the tips in my travel-agent manual, I approach the Northwest Airlines gate agent with a smile (some GTI agents report that flirting is helpful, the manual says) and ask if there's space for an agent upgrade to first-class. "I'm not supposed to do agent upgrades anymore," the rep says quietly, "but we're short some meals in the back." I stretch out in first-class on the leg to Memphis.

During my layover, I call to reserve a rental car. Hertz doesn't recognize my travel-agent status and quotes me the full rate of $62.99 a day for a midsize car. Thrifty quotes me a travel-agent rate of $61. I end up booking with Avis, which gives me an agent rate of $50.39--a 20% discount. As suggested, I also ask about an upgrade when I get to the rental counter. No dice.

On my return trip from Memphis, I ask the Delta gate agent if there is any chance of an upgrade. "Sorry, we have to reserve those seats for premier-level frequent fliers," I'm told.

Turns out my first-class excursion to Memphis was beginner's luck. In eight subsequent tries, despite all the charm I can muster, I end up flying coach. Each time I'm given a different reason: First-class is full; I can't be upgraded on an "L" fare; the airline authorizes upgrades only through its sales office ("Under no circumstances are you to contact the sales office of any airline for the purpose of being upgraded," GTI warns agents).

My luck runs out. I don't have much better success with hotels. Twice I call ahead seeking a discount. At the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta I'm too late; I should have called two weeks in advance. My vacation choice, Moraine Lake Lodge in Alberta, Canada, doesn't offer agent discounts. At other times I book the most convenient hotel and try for an upgrade when I arrive, but without success.

I don't fare well with commissions, either. Agents get about 2.5 % on airline tickets only when they're purchased through GTI. Twice I buy directly from the airline because I'm booking on the last day for an advance-purchase fare and it's after hours or on a Sunday, when GTI's reservation lines are closed (Johnston says a Web-site reservation would have gone through). I'm hoping for a 5 % commission when I rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle for my trip to Canada, but find out after the fact that Hertz doesn't pay commissions to Global Travel agents. Other commissions turn out to be minuscule, such as $1.60 on a $33.90 car rental in Boston.

Finally, GTI doesn't always find me the best airfare. On a last-minute trip to Boston, GTI locates a $226 round-trip fare, which is also the best I can find on my own using www.travelocity.com and calling the airlines. But for the trip to Chattanooga, the best seven-day advance fare GTI turns up is $600 round-trip on USAirways or Delta. Through Travelocity I find a $234 fare on Northwest, which pops up on the GTI Web site only when I request Northwest.

When I tell Johnston about my experience, she concedes that GTI is not for everyone. "You need to learn how to use the system properly," she says. "Winging it might not be worthwhile." Okay, I definitely winged it. Signing up might make sense for someone who's responsible for booking a lot of corporate travel (as 60% of GTI's agents are) or who would enjoy taking over travel arrangements for family and friends. But if you're after "huge discounts" on your own travel, skip this route.