If you’re choosing between MTA and Niftrip, you’re really deciding how much you want head office to do for you. MTA suits experienced consultants who want a full back office, ticketing team and marketing done for them, and who are happy with a franchise agreement and a split they’ll only see once they apply. Niftrip suits experienced, tech-forward consultants who want to keep 100% of their at-source commission for a flat $99 + GST a month plus 1% + GST of turnover, and who sell well above 10% or plan to.
I run Niftrip, so read this with that in mind. Where MTA doesn’t publish something, I say so and show the number it would need to hit.
Who is each one for?
MTA (Mobile Travel Agents) is based on the Gold Coast and has been fully owned by Helloworld since October 2025. Its site lists 450+ advisors, and the application form asks for at least two years of travel advisory experience. If you’ve come from a shop and you want the same safety net at home, its all-inclusive support matters.
Niftrip suits consultants who are comfortable running their own business on modern tools, and newcomers who think the same way. It isn’t the right fit if you want a large head office doing the admin for you.
How much does MTA cost compared with Niftrip?
| Niftrip | MTA | |
|---|---|---|
| Joining fee | None | $495 + GST |
| Monthly fee | $99 + GST | $150 + GST, waived above $61,000 gross commission a year (benefits page) or $58,000 (FAQ) |
| Turnover fee | 1% + GST of turnover (the total you invoice your client) | None published |
| Commission split | You keep 100% of your at-source commission | Not published |
| Ticketing fees | No GDS or ticketing fees | None (“Pay no MTA ticket issue fees”) |
| Supplier overrides | Kept by the agency as part of its margin | Not published |
| What the fee covers | Platform, your own email address and support; a website is an optional add-on, priced on request | Training, ticketing, marketing, an Assistance Team and insurance (list below) |
| Technology | Reads supplier confirmations sent to your inbox or pasted in, including Sabre | In-house Virtual Office, with remote access to your choice of GDS |
| Contract and leaving | First 3 months up front, then monthly with 30 days’ notice, no restraint of trade | Five years, one month’s notice after the first twelve months (FAQ); benefits page says “12 months” |
| Your clients | Clients, contacts and domain stay yours, with a full export when you go | Client database stays yours; you take it with you and retain any commissions |
The big gap is the split. MTA’s FAQ mentions a “commission split” in passing but never gives the number. In year one, also add MTA’s $495 + GST joining fee. Niftrip has no joining fee.
What do you take home on each?
Say you sell $500,000 a year at a 10% average commission. On Niftrip you’d keep $43,812 after the 1% and the $99 a month. At that level your gross commission is $50,000, so you’d still be paying MTA’s monthly fee, and MTA would need to pay you a 91.2% split just to match Niftrip.
Without a published split I can’t put an MTA take-home next to Niftrip’s. This is the split MTA would need to pay for you to take home the same amount, allowing for its $150 monthly fee where you’d still be paying it.
| Sales a year | Gross commission at 10% | MTA split needed to match Niftrip | Gross commission at 12% | MTA split needed to match Niftrip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $25,000 (monthly fee applies) | 92.4% | $30,000 (monthly fee applies) | 93.7% |
| $500,000 | $50,000 (monthly fee applies) | 91.2% | $60,000 (fee waived on the FAQ figure, not on the benefits page) | 89.7% or 92.7% |
| $1,000,000 | $100,000 (fee waived) | 88.8% | $120,000 (fee waived) | 90.7% |
So if MTA offers you less than about 89% to 94%, depending on where you sit, Niftrip leaves more in your pocket. If it offers more, MTA wins on the money.
Ask too whether MTA’s split applies to service fees. Niftrip’s 1% applies to the total you invoice, so on $10,000 of service fees you keep $9,900. If you sell a lot of air at low commission, though, a percentage-of-turnover fee costs you more, and a split model may suit you better.
What do you get for the fee?
MTA’s benefits page lists a long set of inclusions, from GDS set-up, training and self-ticketing with no MTA ticket issue fees to an Assistance Team, in-house marketing, Virtuoso membership, insurance and a support team for commission reconciliation and BSP. That’s a lot of support, and for some consultants it’s worth paying for.
Niftrip’s $99 + GST a month covers the platform, your own email address and support, with a website as an optional add-on priced on request. There’s no Assistance Team, no in-house ticketing desk and no done-for-you newsletter. The platform does most of the admin those teams exist to handle. It reads the supplier confirmations sent to your Niftrip inbox or pasted in, Sabre included, and turns them into a booking and invoice with no typing, in 1 minute 19 seconds for a cruise. MTA’s client tools carry the MTA brand. Niftrip’s carry your brand and your own email address.
What happens when you want to leave?
MTA’s agreement is compliant with the Franchising Code of Conduct. Its FAQ gives a five-year term with one month’s notice allowed after the first twelve months, and its benefits page says “Contract agreement 12 months”, so read the actual agreement and the franchise disclosure document before you sign. On clients MTA is clear and fair: your client database stays yours, and if you leave you take it with you and retain any commissions.
At Niftrip you go monthly on 30 days’ notice after the first 3 months, with no restraint of trade, and your clients, contacts and domain stay yours with a full export.
Which is better for you?
In my view, MTA is the better choice if you want a big support team behind you and you’re happy to pay for it. That means consultants who rely on an in-house ticketing desk, want someone to look after clients while they’re away, value Virtuoso access through the network, or want marketing sent to their database without lifting a finger. MTA has earned its reputation for support, and it says some of its consultants have been with it for more than 20 years.
Niftrip is the better choice if you’re confident running your own business, you want your own brand on everything the client sees, and you sell at or above 10%. Our fee is 1% of what you sell, whatever commission you make, so if you sell at 15% or 20%, or build your own packages at 20% to 30%, the extra stays with you.
I’ve run a host agency since 2013, and I set Niftrip up this way because I want advisors to earn what they’re worth. Before you choose, ask MTA for its split in writing and run it through the table above.
The full details
Where the MTA figures come from
Every MTA fee on this page comes from MTA’s own website, checked on 20 October 2026. Figures are ex GST.
How the take-home is worked out
Niftrip’s take-home is sales × commission rate − 1% of sales − $1,188. The last figures I could find for MTA’s split were in trade press from years ago, so I haven’t used them.
Each percentage point of split is worth $250 a year at $250,000 in sales and 10% commission, and $1,000 at $1 million.
Niftrip’s take-home at 10% and 12%
| Sales a year | Niftrip at 10% | Niftrip at 12% |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $21,312 | $26,312 |
| $500,000 | $43,812 | $53,812 |
| $1,000,000 | $88,812 | $108,812 |
MTA’s fee waiver
MTA’s two pages disagree on the waiver threshold: $61,000 on the benefits page and $58,000 in the FAQ. That only matters if your gross commission lands between the two, so ask MTA which one is in the agreement.
Everything MTA’s fees include
The joining fee covers GDS set-up with your choice of Travelport, Sabre or Amadeus, Virtual Office training, an MTA business email account, supplier system logins, business cards, and a Business Success Manager.
The monthly fee covers:
- a dedicated in-house training team, face-to-face training in capital cities, an annual national conference and study tours
- no MTA ticket issue fees, self-ticketing and the MTA e-Global fares system
- emergency after-hours assistance from MTA’s in-house team
- an Assistance Team to look after your clients while you’re away, starting at 10 days a year
- in-house marketing, a graphic designer, a personalised monthly e-newsletter to your clients, your own 1300 number and a personal MTA advisor website
- Virtuoso, CLIA and ATIA memberships and over 19 luxury affiliation partners
- professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- a support team for commission reconciliation and BSP, a weekly document courier, and BAS returns if you want them
MTA’s technology and contract, in its own words
MTA’s FAQ says advisors report saving between 50% and 70% of their time through the booking process. MTA also offers the MTA Companion itinerary builder and app, branded to MTA, with real-time messaging and Sherpa travel-requirement data.
On the term, the FAQ says: “The term of the agreement is five years, however after the first twelve months you are free to give one months’ notice.”
On clients: “Your client database will always remain yours and yours alone,” and if you leave, “you take your database with you and retain any commissions.” MTA also lets you take other part-time work as long as there’s no conflict of interest.
How Niftrip works
Niftrip reads supplier confirmations sent to your Niftrip inbox or pasted in, in any text format including Sabre, and turns them into a booking and invoice with no typing: 1 minute 19 seconds for a cruise, about 2 minutes for a flight and hotel. It produces costings with GST, invoices and receipts, and shows your expected earnings on every booking. Clients get an itinerary with quote options, a compare-trips view and a client portal, with documents behind a 6-digit email code, all under your business name and your own email address. Your own portal web address is coming.
At Niftrip you pay the first 3 months ($297 + GST) up front, then go monthly on 30 days’ notice with no restraint of trade. Your clients, contacts and domain stay yours, with a full export when you go. Bookings in progress stay with the agency until they’ve travelled, and you keep servicing them for the commission, with no monthly fee during that run-off. If you grow big enough to open your own agency, you can keep using the Niftrip platform on a subscription.
Next step
See exactly what Niftrip costs on the pricing page, or read how switching works if you’re with another network now.
