Global Travel International (GTI) is a travel agency / business opportunity. Most people are attracted to this company because it allows anyone to become a travel agent without having to take classes. A few years back before discovering Global Travel International I actually took one of these travel agent classes and it was a very painful experience. It's probably why I stopped going after a while and never "graduated".
Global Travel International claim to fame is that you skip the painful experience of these classes and can become a travel agent by merely paying a fee. When I first joined it was a flat fee of about $200 and no trial period. At the time of this review their fee was now $29.95 per month which is about $1 a day. But when added up for 12 months you end paying more than what I initially paid a few years ago.
Although they're charging more now, there are definitely some advantages to consider.
The Good Stuff
Obviously the reason you want to become a travel agent is that you get commissions on the travel you book for others. Global Travel International claims commissions of up to 90% for their agents. So that's one great thing.
The other wonderful thing about this company which I touched upon earlier is that you don't have to dish out several hundred dollars up front like I did to start your own travel agent business. Nor do you need to rent out an office and pay for expensive training or equipment. The monthly payment plan makes this opportunity available to a greater number of people that don't have a large amount of cash on hand to start a traditional travel agent business. So that's a plus!
A recent improvement with the GlobalTravel.com program has been a 14 day risk free trial which will allows you to become a travel agent for those 14 days but can cancel and receive a refund of your first month's payment within the trial period if you're not satisified. So let's say you decide this opportunity isn't for you. You could still save yourself hundreds of dollars on your next vacation if you decide to book a trip while under the trial membership. How? Travel agents usually receive discounts of up to 50% on hotel rooms, car rentals and some cruises. So ideally you might as well book a trip and use your travel agent number to get a discount while under the trial period.
Another benefit when you become a GlobalTravel.com agent is that you get your own travel agent website, an official IATA membership card and some marketing material. You're also provided with a very indepth agent only section that has all your training information, additional marketing material, forms and the latest travel agent only deals and trips. So you really do get a lot with your membership.
But for me the best part of the Global Travel International Travel Agent Business Opportunity was the discounts I received on trips. If you travel a lot then the membership pays for itself many times over with the amount of money you save on hotels and car rentals. It's amazing how much these hotels and car rental places will cut off the prices for travel agents. Plus if you couple that with using a credit card that has a relationship with any of these companies you could end up saving up to 50%. Trust me when I say that has added up a lot!
The Bad Stuff
Okay you came to this page because you wanted to determine if Global Travel International is a fraud or legitimate. Well here it is.
If you're looking to explore this opportunity because of the prospect of making big money and being your own expedia.com then you may be a little dissappointed. I was never really impressed with my travel agent site which was designed for me to book travel arrangements for my clients or for my clients to book travel arrangements on their own. The site provided tended to be slow and didn't have the best search features that sites like travelocity.com or expedia.com had. But in the last few years they have finally improved that. However it still needs to be tweaked more. It was very frustrating to send my friends and family to my site and to hear well I had a hard time finding good deals. But again, that has improved. So that's one of my major complaints. The site you're provided isn't the most user friendly or intutive like the other travel sites out there. It's usable now but not the best out there.
In addition to their website not being the most userfriendly, they add insult to injury by tacking on an additional $5 "service fee" to the price of an airline ticket. So what would happen is that my clients would use the site and then compare prices with another bigger travel site and notice my site was charging an additional fee allbeit small. Needless to say this was always very difficult to explain and I lost some sales because of it. There was a short time they got rid of this fee. But at the time of this review it was back. If anything is a scam about Global Travel International, I guess you could view that $5 proccessing fee as one!
My final complaint about the company is the actual earning potential. This isn't really unique to Global Travel International, it's a problem that most travel agents face today. The fact of the matter is that most people book travel on their own now. There are so many great travel websites out there now that travel agents are becoming an endangered species. So although the potential to make great money is there with Global Travel Interational the likelihood of doing so will really depend on how good you are as a sales person. I find that people tend to use travel agents when they're planning a big trip with multiple people. If you focus on this niche than you could do very well with GlobalTravel.com. So just keep this in mind.
But for me I realized the biggest benefit of Global Travel International was the discounts I received as a travel agent. It's pretty much the only reason I renew every year. I travel almost 3-4 times a year and because I'm a travel agent I always get discounts at hotels and my car rentals. I've saved hundreds of dollars every year and probably several thousand dollars at this point since I've been a member for a few years now.
So do I think Global Travel International is a scam or fraud? No not at all. But just be realistic about how much money you can earn as a travel agent. Just think about your own habits. When was the last time you used a travel agent? If you're like most it was because of a big trip with many people or when you had no idea about a place you wanted to visit. If you can tap into the group travel niche or people who aren't web savvy, then you can make a killing with Global Travel International! Are they perfect? Not really. They still need a lot of work in terms of the website they provide us agents. But I don't really know any company that doesn't have room for improvement. So give Global Travel International a try if you're fine with the good and bad about the company. I've been a member for years and I've been very happy with my membership solely on the fact that I get huge discounts on my yearly travel expenses. But you may be more savvy than me and can make it work from an income point of view!
If one of you agents scam someone-you will all be considered crooks. Keep that in mind, and hold one another accountable. I was lied to, coerced, and am now experiencing extreme rudeness and lack of cooperation. They show all the signs of a scam.
I never recall signing up for this business, and yet they claim they sent me a packet of materials that I have to return in order to cancel annual automatic deductions from my debit card. What is really strange and makes me believe anyone connected to this company is a scam artist, is that they somehow got my new card number after I canceled the one on file. I furthermore have requested cancellation and a refund for UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES, and no one will return my calls or emails. The only calls I got were from the original agent, who said that I will be an agent and will pay-and can never cancel. THIS IS VERY MUCH OF A SCAM.
I guess a lot has changed since I wrote this review. You should call your credit card company and have them reverse the charges.
I have belonged to GTI now for about four years. I have booked separate things for clients (hotel, rental cars, airfare) as well as vacation packages and cruises. Even though it is not my primary job, I enjoy the benefits of discounts of travel for me and my family. I also have several clients who book with me annually. They understand that the prices we can find through GTI match and sometimes beat those found on Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity. But they know that they have an agent and customer service to fall back on if they encounter any problems. When they make a reservation through GTI, the reservation confirmation prints out with the customer service number on it. I always put my business card in with their package with my contact information on it as well. I have always found customer service to be extremely helpful in answering any questions that I have.
Hi all,
I have a time-share with a major hotel for my annual family vacation. As such, I am not so worried about the hotel cost but the rental and airline cost. Can membership with GTI help with the airline cost?
No it won’t. It does nothing for airfare.
no the dont offer any discounts on airline tickets.
@gale:
I am not involved in any travel work at the moment. I own a daycare and look after children 5 days a week.Thank you for responding.:)
@Kelly:
What agency are you with now?
Hi there I am a certified travel agent and currently run a daycare out of my home. I would still like to keep active in the work field I love and the city I live in only has one travel agency which is a bit sketchy. GTI sounds too good to be true. I have read several complaints and am unsure what to think. I would love to have any ones opinion on the matter. My ideal would be to book for friends and family and supplement my daycare job. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.
@RAQUEL:
Hello guys,
First of all GLOBAL TRAVEL GROUP and GLOBAL TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL or GTI is totally a different thing…..i enjoy being in GTI because i make extra money so far i havent encounter any problem yet and my repeated customers are happy……as GTI we can be flight consolidators too tru skybird travel…..SO keep in mind GLObal travel group differrent from GTI…
Hi all;
I want to start a home based travel agency and have been doing some research on suitaqble host agencies. I came across Global Travel Group. I believe this is not the same GTI you peoploe are talking about? Anyhow, the Global Travel Group actually asks for 20 thousand pounds to affiliatte with them….. does this GTI asks for ONLY $200 per year fee? Is that all? At least in the UK I couldn’t find a host that doesn’t ask for a HUGE sum of money upfront to start you up and then there is more to pay MONTHLY …. I am really confused! I was impressed with the Global Travel Group package and I thougt I wuould google other agents view…now I don’t know what to do, which way to go…
Any advise?
@Susan:
Hi Susan
I am still with GTI and just sent 26 people on a cruise through them. I have used Orbitz, Expedia, BookIt, Priceline, etc., and I have never received a penny from them. They are consolidators like the rest and their people keep the commissions. I really enjoy getting some extra cash back from my trips through GTI.
I wouldn’t suggest the free cruise though because it goes through a different company and by the time you finish paying the processing fees, taxes and port charges, you might as well have booked that cheap cruise. There are a ton of cheap cruises out there, AND if you book as an agent of GTI, you get a commission from your own trip.
We can discuss this in more depth if you like at ptravelgurl@gmail.com
To All: GTI claims that with the signing of your membership you get a 3-4 days cruise with Carnival and/or Royal Caribbean.
Can someone tell me if this is true or just another hook to get you to sign. Has anyone actually claim and use this voucher or it is just another joke? Please advise.
Thanks,
i have never received one i have been with them 4 years and its not a FREE cruise
After reading all these mix messages. I don’t know if I made a mistake by signing up to GTI. However, I travel a lot and I thought it would be a good thing to save money doing my own reservations. I have been a customer of Orbitz for 8-10 years and I have not gotten a penney back from them. I also, checked the company with the BBB as Felicia suggested and you can go to the following link and file a formal complain:
http://centralflorida.app.bbb.org/newsearch2.asp?ComID=07330010000887#License
Let me know if you have additional information. Where do you find a reputable MLM Travel Agency Business? and also can anybody send me names of those MLM’s? Thanks,
I am really confused. For the last 2 weeks Ive been trying to figure out if I’m going to join GTI or not because there are so many scams going on with the travel industry. What I don’t understand is if GTI is a scam and people are having problems, why not reported them to the better business bureau? I am certainly confused becuase I went online to the Better Business Bureau site and GTI was graded as an A+. If this company is so horrible why is it that the Better business bureau graded them as an A. All I can say to you people that are having problems report them. At least you can get the word out there by warning others not to join.
@Dont want to get in trouble:
@Dont want to get in trouble:
Dear “Dont want to get in trouble,
You said you work for this company. If you wouldn’t mind, I really need your help. I’m not blaming anyone for this mistake, I’m sure I walked right into it. I received a call from someone asking if they could send me some information. I said no, and he said that all it was just information about services and I wouldn’t be charged anthing. So I said sure. Well when I got the “info” I imediately call the number and cancelled, because it said I had been signed up for this service. They said everything was cancelled and I would not recieve anything from them. Well a couple weeks later I noticed a charge on my checking account for 4.95 and a couple for 1.95. So I called the number and spoke to a very nice women who said she would cancel all three and that I would not be charged for the magazines that they sent me (I didn’t even know I had ordered them) well I recently checked my account, and they have now billed me two months in a row for things she said were cancelled. I’m not trying to get reimbursed, I’m just trying to stop this process. I need your help. I’m a teacher, and money is something I don’t have right now. If you could please let me know what to do, I would really appreciate it. Thank you for your time.
@Randall:
It won’t help
think about it do they really care if you travel if they charge you 100-200 dollars per year times 40,000 agents. I have had Hotels laugh at me with the hokey ID card. Remember there are 40,000 of them floating around now they get no respect. You used to get things but not anymore. It’s too late. Too many. Now to increase their revenue they are charging booking fees on travel you book direct. They’ll send you a bill for $19.95 and deduct it from your commission. What if the commission is only 20 bucks Save you money STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!!!!!
@adianice:
There is no value in global Travel I have booked Travel for years with them. It was better when they were new now Since there are 40,000 agents now AAA, expedia, ect is a better rate almost all of the time. You would have to do $2000 worth of travel to break even then they started charging booking fees and when I tried to send my clients flowers from the commission they cancelled it and told be to pay for it out of my half that I don’t get for months. I have waited over a year for some with some stupid excuse and some you never get.
Hi All,
I just finished reading through this thread of emails regarding Global Travel International. First of all, I have to say that there is a SCAM company out there going by almost the same, if not the same name. They are advertising about nannies in the UK. Don’t be fooled, this is not the same company.
I’ve been with GTI or Global Travel International for years. I pay a flat rate every year and I make GOOD money with them. I have been able to work with the same people every time I call and ask for them and their phone lines are never busy for me.
No you do not get your own IATA number. You have to take the courses for that. Your membership pays for the usage of their IATA number. If you think you can get your own IATA number without taking the classes, you are out of your mind. The membership you pay covers the cost of using their number and the customer service reps who will help you with your travel plans be it one person to a group.
If you use their services the way you should and receive a commission check, then it is worth it in the end. You can book a trip on Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. and not receive any commission off of that trip. All of these online sites have customer service reps who receive that commission. So why not get the discount in the form of a commission check yourself.
And you can make a lot of money booking cruises through GTI. Someone is always going to get a commission off of a cruise, so why not that person be you? You will still get the free cruise with a group of five cabins or more, plus the commission. Yes, some commissions can be small if you rented a car for one day or stayed in a Extended Stay for one night. But you wouldn’t receive anything if you didn’t have the membership with GTI.
I have booked a ton of travel through GTI and have made thousands of dollars a year, no joke! Since I love booking and planning travel, I have been very happy to be able to become an independent travel agent through GTI without taking the classes. That other company YTB is a joke and their agents are frowned upon by the travel industry.
The main complaints I have with GTI is the web site is still not that user friendly even with the upgrades they have made. Also, the hours to speak to a customer service rep are not that good if you need help over the weekend. I always call to plan my travel and hardly ever use the website.
So I would highly recommend joining GTI if you are really going to use it. It’s like a gym membership…You will not benefit from it IF YOU DON’T USE IT!!!
I work at GTI. Not as one of your independent travel agents but as an employee. I deal with irate customers all day about getting billed for charges they didn’t “Authorize” That seems to be a big word for most people who cancel. The way I see it. GTI is a great company. We don’t hold anything back from people when they sign up with us (sometimes the companies that help sign up people do though, so you have to pay attention to the pitch) We get calls all day from people stating they didnt sign up for our services or some other crap that wasn’t their faults. Almost 90% of the time we deal with people who are clearly dumb, old, or both. The hook: A company calls you up offering a $50 gas card or something similar. Catch: You sign up for a 14 day trial (sometimes 7) for Journey Pass, and Valu-Pass. These cost you $4.95 for shipping and handling each. In return: you get gas card that is infact a Rebate after spending $100. Fair enough its a free $50 of gas. Deal with it. So people call in stating they NEVER agreed to these charges. Funny enough, if we listen back to the call it does have them agreeing almost %100 of the time. But, they say “Oh that wasnt me” or some other crap and say they’re still going to get us hit with FRAUD charges and that they’re going to get the Better Business Bureau and The Attorney General on our ass. (When most of these people can barely even understand english, let alone write a detailed explaination how they think were a scam because they don’t know to say NO to things that don’t understand or learn that nothing in life is free.) Anyways, so thats pretty much the Jist of our calls. We also get good calls with ITA (Independant Travel Agents) who love our services because they save great amounts on trips, (Yeah, some places don’t take our IATA#, get the commissionable rate on the room then)
The bottom line__________GTI is a great company that works hard to help people make money, and in return, make themselves money. We don’t rip people off. If you use the product right you’ll end up making loads of cash. Sign up for a GTI Bronze package and buy a 3/2 Mini Ramada Vacation because it’s an awesome deal. If you don’t know what it is call up and ask. Anyone of the Member Services Representatives will be glad to help.
hi Kelly,
can you recommend any courses or hosting agents. i am interested in starting a home based travel agency
Hello,
I am trying to find ouyt if becoming a TA will help me with the single occupancy fees that your charged when you travel alone?
Secondly do you recommned this travel agency program over all others?
Thanks,
Randall
I stumbled upon this thread by accident, but feel compelled to answer some of these questions.
I started as an agent 6 years ago with another MLM travel company. What a mistake that was! After moving to a “real hosting agency”, I finally understood how much work and self-learning there is involved in being a home-based travel agent. Now, finally after many years I am actually starting to make some money. If I had to do it over again, I would have taken the classes and THEN found an agency or even host to work through.
And let me state this clearly: You CANNONT get an IATA CARD for a fee. You must EARN at least $5000/year in commissions BEFORE you get a real card. The ID card that GTI provides is NOTHING and you will likely be laughed at as someone else already noted. The travel industry is totally onto this scam.
You would be able to book trips and cruises and get back some of your money in the form of commissions, but those commissions are pretty low. The average hotel commission is 10%, cruises start at 10% and cars at 5%. And even then, it’s up to you to do the collections on these things if the vendor doesn’t pay properly (car companies are the worst for this). My profit was $1.70 on the last rental car booking I made.
If you are just looking for cheap deals, go to priceline or hotwire and take your chances. Their prices will usually beat out anything you can find through a travel agent.
But if you are looking for expertise in a particular vacation location, don’t know which is right cruise for you, or want to set up a group of people to travel together, then PLEASE contact a legitimate travel agent. If someone tries to “sign you up”, run the other way.
Hi Heidy,
Are you sure you’re referring to the right company?
I’ve booked several trips with them and use my travel agent card to get discounts all the time.
So doesn’t like the same company to me.
Eddy
I think this company is fake, because i started a process with this company to travel to uk and i sent more than 3000 pounds and at the end they never told me what happened with my money and with the process they never wrote me after i sent the last money.
Hi Eddy,
Each year I have to travel international with my family. This is a costly expenditure for me. If I become an agent will it help me get discounts on airlines, hotels etc.. Does a travel agent get discount on any airlines, Domestic or international?
Any advice will be appreciated.
thank you,
So.
Hi So,
It definitely helps with discounts. As I said in the article above, that’s the reason why I’m still an agent and continue to renew every year. I also travel internationally and I do believe it’s worked for big chain hotels and car rentals. It doesn’t help
at all with airline tickets though.
Hope this helps.
Eddy
@Tiffany:
Tiffany,
Sorry about that. Your comment may have slipped through the cracks. I’ll answer as best I can.
“Can you please tell me, since you have been with them for some time, how can you become a travel agent with no classes?”
I don’t remember taking classes for GTI, although I do remember them having online training and these seminars. They don’t use sabre to do bookings. It’s just like using expedia. So that may be the reason there aren’t any required classes. But don’t quote me on this. Things may have changed. But I don’t remember taking any. I just paid my fee and started using the website they provided me to do my bookings for myself and a few friends.
Also, I was under the impression that you needed a license. If the case is that you don’t need classes or a license, is it similar to someone asking you to help them book a trip and then just pay you a fee?
I think the global travel agency has the license and as members of their agency we’re working under the license. Again don’t quote me on this. You’re probably better of calling them to ask these questions. As I said in my review I just use it get myself discounts when traveling. 🙂
But your clients don’t pay you a fee. GTI pays you 30 days or something to that effect after your clients trip. They did have a cheesy booking fee when people used your website. But I think they did away with it. Hotels, car rentals, etc pay the agency a given comission and that is shared with you as a travel agent if you booked the travel via your gti website or their main website. Or that’s how it worked when I use to do it.
Yes there is a fee. It was a flat rate when I joined a few years back something like $100 – $200. But I think that has changed as well. Not sure why they’re hiding it on the site or why you may not be able to find it. I have no clue what boot camp. Sounds like
some other new feature they added.
And for your final question, yes I do find I get some discounts that the major sites don’t give out. As I said many times, that’s the main reason I joined and continue to renew. If you’re someone that travels a lot, uses hotels and rental cars, the discounts you get pay for the membership cost many times over. So for me it was a no brainer. But that would be the main reason I would recommend it to folks. The money aspect just doesn’t seem to be there unless you’re specializing in group travel or dealing with folks that aren’t web savvy enough to book their own stuff.
So hopefully that answers some of your questions. I know there wasn’t much there. But like I said I’m not really active in the money aspect of this. So it’s just best to give them a call as I suggested to Melissa.
Take care and sorry again for the delay.
Eddy
Hi Eddy,
Can you please answer my entry dated Dec. 23rd? I noticed that you answered everyone else’s the same day, yet totally skipped over mine. I was wondering why.
I would really appreciate your help. Feel free to answer as much as possible.
Thank you again!
Tiffany
Hi Melissa,
When I book for myself which is usually what I do, I’ll visit the hotel’s or cruise line direct website and then I enter my IATA number during the booking process. Or I call the direct numbers to see if they offer discounts. That usually pulls up the travel agent discount for me. Cruiselines don’t really offer discounts for travel agents.
If you’re booking for your family and trying to get commission I think you need to use your GTI site. But don’t quote me on that. Like I said, I use my GTI membership more to get discounts for car rentals, hotels, etc. I don’t really do it for income because my main source of income is being an affiliate:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/aff
But you should just contact GTI directly for these questions. They have a very friendly and helpful staff.
I hope this helps.
Eddy
Hi Eddy,
I’m considering signing up with GTI as my husband and I are planning a family cruise for 18 people. I’ve read reviews on other sites where people claim to have been “laughed at” when showing their GTI travel agent card. Any experiences with this? Also, as an agent with GTI, are you able to “view” room availability for cruises yourself or does it all go direct through GTI? When you call, say, a hotel, are you able to give them your ID# and get discounts direct? Or does it all go through GTI booking only? I realize you’d want to get the commission, just wondering if you could use the ID# direct??
Thanks for your time and consideration!
Melissa
Hi Sumita,
Thanks for sharing. I’ve never experienced this and I’ve been with them for years.
Eddy
Global Travel is the most abusive people on earth. They charge you money even if you cancel within a week
Hi,
I’ve always wanted to be a travel agent and just recently started researching this. Like any web based company I am weary of them.
Can you please tell me, since you have been with them for some time, how can you become a travel agent with no classes?
Also, I was under the impression that you needed a license. If the case is that you don’t need classes or a license, is it similar to someone asking you to help them book a trip and then just pay you a fee?
Is there an upfront fee or just the membership? I’ve search the whole site and didn’t see any other info. Only something about the boot camp. Did you take that?
As you mentioned, I am one of those people who book their own travels. Do you find that being a travel agent gives you better prices than sites like Orbitz and Lastminute?
I apologize for all the questions, but so happy that someone can help me with this. I would appreciate any help. Thanks so much in advance for all your assistance.
Happy Holidays to ALL!
Tiffany
Hi Charlie,
Thanks for chiming in as well.
What you’re saying seems to be more what I’ve experienced.
Eddy
They do not do forced renewals….They send out an invoice and cancellation members 60 days prior to the term ending. It is automatically renewed if you don’t cancel, but it is in no way forced. They read a confirmation of terms (or something like that) script on my sale informing me of this, and I have had no problem.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for chiming in. I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the company. I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard anyone else make that accusation. So I don’t know if this is some new phenomenon. But for the years I’ve been with them, my membership was never automatically renewed. I always had to call them to renew it. So maybe they’ve changed their policy. But I would assume they would make this clear.
But I’m more concerned with your statement about Global Travel doing forced renewals. That would be illegal if you’ve clearly expressed that you didn’t approve it. So that is something you may want to take up with your credit card company.
It would be a shame if this company would be heading down hill. But I’ll reserve my judgment until I see a pattern of widespread complaints from numerous people. I would hope this is an isolated incident but nonetheless its not fair to you. So I hope you’ll be able to get this resolved one way or another.
Eddy
STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!! Once they GET YOU, they will automatically renew you, even if you tell them not to. Then, when you don’t pay, they will sick their EVIL collection arm, Monterey Collection, who will use ABUSIVE, ILLEGAL collection tactics trying to get you to pay. Run, do not walk, away from Global Travel. There are plenty of legitimate host travel agencies out there.
Iwas a Travel agent in 2008 and they asked if, “I wanted to renew.” and I told rthem . ‘No” The y did not renew me.  planning on statrting back up again this year 🙂
It all depends on your needs.
I basically use my membership for discounts to hotels, car rentals, etc. So a basic package was fine for me.
All that adds up to savings to anywhere I go so I don’t need their “free trip”. So just weight out your needs.
Hope this helps.
Eddy
hello! i am trying to decide bet choosing their platinum package vs basic. the albeit difference is 400 dollars for the “free” mexico vacation… which would you choose? thanks