Working as a travel agent does much more than put bread on the table. It can help you wrangle serious discounts on your own travel plans, especially if you hold an ID card from the International Association of Travel Agents (IATA) Network, which officially denotes your status as part of the professional travel agent community. If you have one of these ID cards, several travel discounts and benefits are available to you.

Travel Discounts

You can score lower rates on car rentals, cruises, tourist attractions, hotels and airfare if you have an IATA card on hand. Several airlines accept the IATA ID card as a travel industry credential, qualifying cardholders for flight discounts. The following airlines slash airfare for travel agents with an IATA ID card:

  • Air Tahiti Nui
  • Alitalia
  • Allegiant Air
  • British Airways
  • Hawaiian Air
  • Iceland Air

Each airline has its own set of rules and procedures for obtaining flight discounts as a travel agent, so call the airline before purchasing a ticket to find out how to use your IATA card to score a reduced price.

Insurance Discounts

As a cardholder, you also automatically receive $35,000 in coverage for travel accident protection, underwritten by the U.S. Fire Insurance Company. You'll also qualify for discounts on travel insurance through UATP (Universal Air Travel Plan), which offers coverage plans for emergency medical evacuation and repatriation, checked lost or stolen baggage protection and 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance when you choose to travel on an Amtrak train, cruise line or scheduled flight. (Scheduled flights account for regularly planned trips from major or regional airlines. Chartered flights, the alternative, are more flexible and irregular and usually booked by groups for their exclusive use. IATA insurance coverage does not apply to chartered flights.)

IATA cardholders can also purchase additional types of reduced-rate coverage – including excess medical expense, trip delay and primary rental car loss damage, as well as coverage for family members. These discounts apply only if you're registering for a new, first-time insider's club membership with UATP.

Education Deals

If you're looking to further your skills as a travel agent, you can do so at discounted rates if you have an IATA card. All you have to do is include the promo code "TT0050-AGT" and your IATA ID card number in the "special information" field of the online course application form, which you'll fill out on the IATA Training and Development Institute's website when you enroll in the course of your choice. The following IATA travel and tourism courses are available to you at a $50 discount if you use your ID card number when you enroll:

  • Training program for foundation in travel and tourism
  • Training program for travel and tourism consultants
  • Training program for managing the travel business