Shawna LevetWhat are ADMS? Our answers to your frequently asked questions about airline debit memos.
If you’ve been in the travel industry for any length of time you may have encountered the term “debit memo.” It sounds a little ominous, and it is one of the reasons some travel agents avoid offering airfare with their travel packages. We’re here to break down what a debit memo is and why you shouldn’t sweat them!
We’ll be answering all your questions such as: What is a debit memo? What are the reasons for getting one? And Should I even be worried about debit memos at all? (great news on this one!) Let’s get started!
What are debit memos?
An Airline Debit Memo (ADM) is a fee that airlines charge for errors made during the booking process while booking through a GDS such as Amadeus or Worldspan.
Should I be worried about debit memos?
If you book in a GDS, then yes. But if you book at Centrav.com, generally you have no worries at all. There are a couple of scenarios where you could pay for a debit memo, but they are EASY TO AVOID. Read on…
How common are debit memos?
Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are well known for NOT being intuitive or user-friendly. Even when you’ve “learned the language” of a GDS it’s easy to enter something incorrectly in such a complex system. Thus, the debit memo. With the average cost of an airline debit memo at $269, GDS mistakes are not something travel agencies take lightly.
What are the most common reasons for debit memos?
When a debit memo is incurred by a travel agency, the airline will provide the reason through a code. The most common reasons for incurring debit memos are:
- Incorrect or unauthorized commissions
- Tax mistakes
- Booking and ticketing errors
- Booking class failures
- Invalid fare basis codes
- Misticketed fares
- Fake-sounding names on a booking
- Churning
Do I have to pay for debit memos with Centrav?
Centrav gives you the peace of mind to book easily and confidently with no concern about debit memos. We are responsible for all but a couple. At Centrav our highly skilled ticketing department takes on the responsibility of ticketing your reservations so you never have to worry about making a costly mistake in the ticketing process.
The only reasons you would cover the cost of a debit memo are:
- Making a test booking with fake-sounding names like “Joe Schmo”, “Test Booking” or “Mickey Mouse”.
- Churning means booking and canceling a traveler repeatedly on the same flights without purchasing the ticket. It’s best to not make the booking until your passenger is likely to purchase it. This avoids churning and avoids wasting your time. Remember that if your purchase deadline is today you can usually reprice the same booking tomorrow in My Bookings – that is not churning.
If you avoid phony-sounding names and churning you can be assured that you won’t ever pay a debit memo at Centrav.com!
➡️ Read Next: Four Reasons for Travel Advisors to Use Centrav
