Bamboo Airways (QH/926) is suspended in ARC effective Monday, November 20, 2023 (PED 11/26/2023). ARC has inhibited the processing of all transactions but continues to support the processing of cash and credit card refunds until PED 12/10/2023. Please contact the airline’s representative directly at qh@aviaworldna.com.
In celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, ARC’s offices will be closed on Thursday, November 23, and Friday, November 24. Agencies and CTDs will not have an extra day to prepare the sales report for the PED 11/26/23. Your weekly sales report must be authorized by 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 28.
The GDS/IAR void date for transactions issued on Wednesday, November 22, to Sunday, November 26, is Monday, November 27.
During the holiday season, fraudsters often target data, anticipating it to go unnoticed while you focus on festivities. Before you gather with family and friends this holiday season, take a moment to secure your travel agency systems.
As agents, you are responsible for managing your company’s risk and may be responsible for financial losses resulting from fraud. We are here to support your efforts and share potential exposure to fraudulent activity and actionable tips to help minimize losses.
Implement Ticketing Shut-Off Functionality
Activate ticketing shut-off functionality during non-working hours. Fraudsters won’t be able to access your valuable ticketing ability and generate fraudulent tickets.
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Sabre users: The "Ticket Safe" program in the Sabre Red App Centre is a helpful tool.
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Amadeus users: Use the "Application Access Time Limitations" feature to inhibit ticketing.
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Travelport users: Contact your Travelport account representative promptly to ensure you’re protected.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA ensures you’re the only user able to access your system. Without it, a fraudster with your password can get into your account.
Reach out to your GDS provider now and ask them to implement multi-factor authentication for you. Without this additional layer of security, your agency is left exposed.
Create Urgent Staff Awareness
Your agency's defenders must be armed with knowledge. Ensure all staff, contractors and external agents with ticket-issuing capabilities know the lurking danger posed by phishing emails. The stakes are high, and ignorance could lead to headaches for your agency.
Check out our fraud prevention resources and watch our recent fraud awareness webinar: 2023 Schemes & 2024 Readiness.
Ensure Awareness Around Email Security
GDS providers will never ask agents to log in to their systems through a link in an email. When you click on a phishing email link, you give your login credentials directly to a fraudster. Always log in to your GDS through bookmarks in your browser, not through unsafe links in emails. If you’ve already clicked on an email link, ensure you reset your credentials right away and alert your GDS and ARC.
Know ARC is Here to Support
When it comes to fraud, ignorance is not bliss, it's a vulnerability. Arm yourself with information on unauthorized ticketing and other fraud schemes targeting our community. Your agency's valuable resources hinge on staying informed. Visit the ARC website for fraud prevention information.
Alert ARC of fraud incidents at StopFraud@arccorp.com or call us urgently at 855-358-0393.
Safeguarding your agency is not just a duty; it is a necessity. From all of us at ARC, we wish you a secure and joyful holiday season.
ARC is making updates to the ARA and CTDRA that will take effect on January 30, 2024. View a summary of the updates along with a full review of the changes coming to the ARA and CTDRA using the links below.
Changes to ARA:
Summary (PDF)
Full review (PDF)
Changes to CTDRA:
Summary (PDF)
Full review (PDF)
Please note, in accordance with Section 5 of the ARA, your continued participation with ARC after January 30, 2024, serves as your acceptance of the amendments.
2024 VTC Fees Will Be Drafted on January 18, 2024
Thank you for your continued relationship with ARC. This is a reminder that the annual Verified Travel Consultant (VTC) participation fee of $195.00 was deducted from your designated bank account via electronic draft on January 19, 2023. Your VTC participation is renewed automatically.
Please note: If you have not done so already, every agency must contact your bank representative and add ARC’s Company ID 9521367276. This ensures that ARC can successfully draft your 2023 annual fee. There is a $25 nonrefundable fee for all returned drafts.
Bank account changes can be made with ARC’s accreditation tool in My ARC or by contacting ARC’s Customer Care Center (CCC) at 855-816-8003 or ccchelp@arccorp.com.
As a member of ARC’s VTC program, you'll have continued access to ARC tools and support, including access to the ARC Pay Hub, ARC’s credit card merchant processing platform. Additionally, your designated ARC Number allows you to maintain your agency's independence and brand.
If you have any questions about the value of your VTC participation, please contact ARC’s Customer Care Center at 855-816-8003 or ccchelp@arccorp.com.
Thank you for partnering with ARC.
2024 Annual Location Fees Will Be Drafted on January 18, 2024
In order to operate our settlement platform, ARC maintains a 90/10 fee structure in which participating airlines contribute 90% of core costs and participating travel agencies contribute 10%. Travel agency contributions come from annual fees associated with each ARC-accredited agency location (i.e., home office location, branch) and quarterly transaction fees. The changes to travel agency fees for 2024 are outlined below. These changes have been approved by the ARC Joint Advisory Board-Agent Reporting Agreement (JAB-ARA) and by the ARC Board of Directors. All other fees, such as the return draft and late reporting fee, will remain the same in 2024.
Please visit the ARC website for a complete listing of all 2024 agency fees and fee schedules.
2024 Annual Travel Agency Location Fee (AAF)
A 2024 annual travel agency location fee of $276 will be collected for each of your travel agency’s locations via electronic draft from your designated bank account on January 18, 2024. The fee may appear on your bank statement as “ARC Core Participation Fee,” though the exact wording will vary by bank. Please note: If you have not done so already, every agency must contact your bank representative and add ARC’s Company ID 9521367276. This ensures that ARC can successfully draft your 2024 annual fee. There is a $25 nonrefundable fee for all returned drafts.
There will be a separate draft for each active agency location on record as of January 1, 2024. If your agency is going through a bank change or will be opting to voluntarily delete, please contact ARC’s Customer Care Center. You will need to finalize those details by December 15, 2023.
2024 Quarterly Transaction Fees
The 2024 quarterly transaction fees will only be applied to travel agencies that process 1,000 or more transactions in a particular quarter.
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Transactions Per Quarter |
Price per Transaction (US$) |
|
Tier 1 |
1,000 - 2,224,999 |
$0.014 |
|
Tier 2 |
2,225,000 - 5,999,999 |
$0.013 |
|
Tier 3 |
6,000,000 or more |
$0.012 |
Below is the projected collection schedule for the quarterly drafts:
Q4 (2023): January 18, 2024
Q1: April 18, 2024
Q2: July 18, 2024
Q3: October 17, 2024
Q4: January 16, 2025
ARC will notify travel agencies before each quarterly draft. For consolidated drafting agencies, only one draft will be assessed for all ARC-accredited locations. Please note: There is a $25 nonrefundable fee assessed for all returned drafts.
If you have any questions, please contact ARC’s Customer Care Center at 855-816-8003 or ccchelp@arccorp.com.
Thank you for partnering with ARC.
Linking another new document to an existing exchange transaction is called a ‘companion exchange.’ You can manually link additional new documents to an exchange in IAR by following these steps:
- Issue the new exchange transaction first.
- Issue the companion document on the same day as the NEW exchange (recommended).
- On the next business day, when the NEW exchange and NEW companion document load in IAR, on your sales report screen:
- Click the Document# of the NEW exchange.
- The Financial Details screen displays.
- Move to the ‘Exchanges: New Document’ section of the Financial Details screen.
- Enter the companion document number in the ‘Add 10-character New Document#’ box.
- Click the ADD button to add the new document to the exchange transaction.
Once linked, the exchange and the companion document become a single companion exchange transaction. It is identified on the IAR sales report in the transaction type (TT) column with the indicator of “CX.”
Companion exchanges include residual value MCOs/EMDs that are issued to transfer non-refundable residual value to the MCO to be used in a future exchange. Please see the previous TAC message PED 11/12/2023 (arccorp.com) for instructions on how to issue a residual value MCO or EMD so that it automatically links to an exchange to create a companion exchange. If the residual value document does not properly link to its exchange when issued in the GDS, you may also follow these steps to manually create the companion exchange link.
IAR supports using up to 20 new documents in a single companion exchange transaction. Similarly, IAR supports using up to 20 old documents in a single or companion exchange transaction. Not including residual value documents that automatically link to their exchange, you must manually link other new documents into an exchange to create a companion exchange.