Do you have to pay travel agents immediately?

Question

I was referred to a travel agent with my preferred airline and travel dates. However, I was not expecting to have been referred so soon. My question is, will I be able to hold the ticket at the reserved price and if so what is the max time? Can you pay on a ticket without having the full amount through a travel agent?

Answer 1

If you are booking with a major air carrier, then yes, payment in full is expected at the time of the booking.  If you are booking a vacation package with one of the major providers, then many of them do have a "lay-away" program.  You pay a deposit, with the final payment due a certain number of days before departure.

Answer 2

There is a  lite truth everyone's answers actually.  If it's a special airfare then YES you have to pay right away.  If it is not, then you will pay a partial payment. For example, if you bought a Hawaii pacakge you could pay $100 per person deposit to savve the airline space, car rental, and hotel.  

However, all of this being said.  This is always true, NO AIRFARE is guarenteed until paid in full.  Regardless where you buy your ticket, this is always the case.  The airlines can asses Fuel Surchaarges on a ticket that is not paid in full/ticketed. These Fuel Surcharges can be anywhere from $10-$150+ per person.

A good Travel Agent will advise you before this increase happens, but they do not have to so make sure you know before you buy!  

And regardless of the ticket type, we do not charge any fees.  Make sure you find an agency that does not charge extra, it's hard to find these days!  

Answer 3

Scheduled airlines do not offer payment plans for airline tickets regardless of whether you buy it through a travel agent, a website, or directly from the airline. You pay in full at the time of ticketing. It's not up to the travel agent. They have to pay the airline when the ticket is issued regardless of whether you pay.

Nonrefundable tickets, which are the cheapest, have to be ticketed when the reservation is made. You can reserve a seat for a refundable fare without paying immediately. However, those fares are far more expensive. And, holding the seat does not hold the price. You can only lock in the price by purchasing the ticket. If the fare is $500 when you make the reservation and $600 when you buy the ticket, you pay $600.  

Answer 4

I have worked as a travel agent and it all depends on what type of ticket it is. It's not true that tickets need to be paid straight away.

The travel agent will get a last date when the ticket needs to be PRINTED/ISSUED. Once a travel agency has issued a ticket then the travel agency is owed the money to the airline for that ticket. For that reason obviously a travel agency will ask a passenger to pay the ticket before it is printed.

The amount of time a ticket could be held varied greatly. For a low-price ticket it would be a shorter period of time, sometimes it could be at the time of booking.

Some travel agencies may have set a rule that a ticket must be paid at the time of making the reservation to make life easier for themselves. (If a travel agency forgets to cancel a booking where a passenger has failed to make a payment the agency must still pay the airline)

You will not be able to partially pay for a ticket just to guarantee it...unless you mean in terms of setting up a credit payment plan.

Ask them what is the ABSOLUTE latest you can pay for the ticket.

Like the previous answer said, a ticket price is not guaranteed when HOLDING a ticket. The taxes may go up and down and you may end up paying more at the time of purchase. However, a lot of travel agencies may add a slightly higher commission in these cases to prevent the passenger from having to pay more