IATA Adds Benefits to Travel Advisor ID Card

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) this week unveiled three new benefits for its IATA/IATAN ID Card. 

“Given the impact of the pandemic and in particular, to the travel advisor community, we wanted to show our solidarity and support by expanding our ID Card program benefits that will allow agents to either  ‘Stay and Shop local which they can do today, or dream international’ and plan ahead as borders start to re-open and we get back to ‘normal,” George Plantanitis, senior manager of commercial and partnerships told TMR. 

“We wanted to provide everyday value when using their ID Card, but just as important it’s our way of saying to the agent community that the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is getting closer and we hope that these new benefits will make that light just a little brighter,” he added. 

The program, IATA says, has been expanded in order to give its users more everyday value as the industry continues to move out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting today, in addition to the current program of benefits that include perks for flights, hotels, car rentals, and more, ID card holders will now have access to:

• Preferred rates of up to 30% off at over 100,000 Hotelbeds properties worldwide including hotels in the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific.
• Up to 10% discount on select gift cards, or up to a 50% discount on merchandise items, through a number of U.S.-based retailers including Bloomingdales, Foot Locker, TJ Max, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Dooney & Bourke, Fitbit, and Bose. The full list of retailers will be made available on the IATA AgentExperience platform.
• COVID-19 alerts from IATA’a AgentExperience app, including constantly updated travel restrictions from destinations around the world.

All ID card holders are also invited to access IATA’s digital card through the IATA AgentExperience platform, which will allow them to share their credentials with suppliers with a single tap.

Any agency owner, partner, or shareholder with at least 20% of the company, along with agency directors, managers, and, employees, and independent contractors, are eligible to apply for the IATA/IATAN ID Card, however, there are some other eligibility criteria.

Applicants must be at least 18-years-old, working at least 20 hours a week for the travel agency, and Canadian applicants must earn at least CAD $5,000 in salary and/or commission over the past two years prior to submitting the application.