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Amtrak to travel agents: We don’t need you
The nation’s trains don’t need travel agents any more, Amtrak says.
Effective November 1, the rail line will no longer pay agents a commission, though it will continue to honor its existing contracts with AAA and Vacation.com agents.
Only agents in those networks will continue to get commission checks.
While the statement issued by the railroad asserted that "travel agents continue to play an integral role in the growth of Amtrak passenger rail service," it also said Amtrak is "restructuring its sales commission policy to match changes in the market, demand and sales priority."
Under the new guidelines, only AAA and Vacation.com agents are considered National Account Partner Travel Agencies (NAPTA).
Amtrak does offer travel agents a 75% discount on their own tickets.
Only reservations made by NAPTA agencies through an approved booking channel, including Apollo, Sabre and Worldspan and the Amtrak RailAgent online booking tools, are commissionable.
Cheryl
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