Do you use your own cards for work travel?

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28fe6
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Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by 28fe6 »

If you travel for Megacorp job, how do you pay for the expenses?

I have traveled quite a bit for work. Luckily I signed up for the frequent flyer programs once I realized I could accrue the miles to myself even though work is paying. However I still book the airfare and all other travel expenses through my company's travel department and/or on my corporate credit card. On the other hand, if I used my own card, I could be charging $25k or more per year of travel expenses. My company would currently allow this. The downside would be fronting the money and hoping to get reimbursed, more complicated expense reports, etc.
badger42
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by badger42 »

IMO it isn't worth the hassle. I'd rather have the ease of reporting. Our travel department also strongly discourages this - things like much lower thresholds for "receipt needed" if things are on your own card.

It also makes it much easier to make sure I capture all the expenses. Work expense => work card, personal expense => personal card.
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Kenkat
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by Kenkat »

I have a corporate card. We are required to use it for company travel. I do lose out on some perks but it makes expense reporting very easy as everything is integrated.
onourway
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by onourway »

I pay for as much as I can on my personal cards. Probably in excess of $50k/year in many cases. The vast majority of things I get 5% back on - some as much as 6.25% on really expensive plane tickets, and there are often bonuses (like currently 10% at places like Dell, Fedex shipping, etc.)

I have a really solid system so tracking this is no more than a few extra minutes per report than if I used the company card. We get reimbursed very fast - generally within days.
TravelforFun
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by TravelforFun »

I use my personal card every chance I got. My company reimburses me within a week of my expense report submittal, and I don't mind filling out forms and handling receipts (mostly PDFs).

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tony_roach
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by tony_roach »

My Megacorp's policy is to use the company card for all business expenses.
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Nate79
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by Nate79 »

tony_roach wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:27 pm My Megacorp's policy is to use the company card for all business expenses.
+1 same here.
mpsz
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by mpsz »

I work for a small company of about 100 people, and I use my personal card for just about everything... if one of my direct reports or I need computer equipment, almost all travel, etc. The person who signs my reimbursement checks is right down the hall and will bring a reimbursement check over usually the day after I submit my expenses. I feel as though I can trust my company, so this arrangement is acceptable to me.

The alternative is to use the company debit card ( :oops:) with my CFO's name on it, and then nobody earns any points.

The only downside is that occasionally my card has closed with a very high balance and I haven't submitted my expenses, I usually just do once a month to reduce paperwork. It's been a temporary ding of ~50 points to my credit score, but it goes away immediately after the next statement closes. Not a big deal, just something to watch for if you'll be needing to apply for credit.
Last edited by mpsz on Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
UpperNwGuy
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by UpperNwGuy »

I'm retired now, but before retirement I did a lot of business travel. Here's how it worked for me:
— Airfare was billed directly to my employer through a travel agency. Once the ticket was issued my secretary would add my frequent flyer number to the flight record. I earned flight miles, but I earned nothing for the airfare purchase. I reached United 1K and USAir Silver just from the flight miles.
— I used my employer's credit card for hotels, rental cars, and any other travel expenses for which a receipt had to be submitted to obtain reimbursement. My secretary would add my loyalty number to the hotel and rental car reservations once booked. I achieved Marriott and Hilton elite status from the hotels, not from the credit card. Same thing with Avis.
— Meals were reimbursed at a standard per diem rate with no requirement to itemize meal expenses or to submit receipts. I used my personal credit cards to pay for the meals, and I earned and kept the credit card rewards.
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GerryL
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by GerryL »

When I travelled for Megacorp (not a lot) I was strongly encouraged to use the company card, but here's the catch: I was responsible for the bill, which was in my name and mailed to my home address (and the card showed up on my credit report). If I submitted my expense report promptly, the bill was paid off quickly. If I dawdled, I would have to cover the bill and request a reimbursement.
ImUrHuckleberry
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by ImUrHuckleberry »

I put everything on my AE card and submit for reimbursement. I travel enough now that I could ask for a company card, but I'm going to keep using my own until they ask me to switch. We have a pretty slick app for expense reports and receipts which makes it easy.
skylar
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by skylar »

I don't travel much for work, but I pay for stuff out-of-pocket and get reimbursed later. This has two advantages:
  1. I get to keep the credit card rewards.
  2. I get paid per-diem for meals, and eat frugally when I travel so I get to pocket the difference.
MnD
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by MnD »

Ah the good old days!
For many years now my Megagov employer requires using the Megagov card - so no goodies in this dept.
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simas
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by simas »

each corp/megacorp is different. our rules were simple
- company card for company related expenses. integrated with Concur, expense/receipt management, automatic reporting ,etc. everything could be done from your company phone , both filing yours and approving people under you
- generous per diem , however not use it or lose it. if you did not need it, you do not go 'keep' any of it. expenses up to specific number
- company travel agency for everything, both advantages and drawbacks. drawbacks is having to tell the system that no direct flights are desired (rather than trying to save $50 on ticket but waste multiple hours in layover which are way more expense than $50). advantages - company had some really amazing deals on hotels , ritz rooms with their club access for $99 a night. no way I can get something like this on my own
- culture strongly encouraged use of corporate card in general vs personal+reimbursement. at pay levels involved the miles/bonuses from using your personal card means nothing to the comp overall. do you really want to annoy others and your management (you gets adviced of having to deal with your expense reports by finance/other support group) and lose $40k bonus and be passed for good size 5 figure stock grant because you saved some 20k ultimate rewards with total value of $500 may be, really?


while personal cards were not encouraged, company had zero issues using travel agency (hotels, cheaper flights) for personal needs with clear understanding that you will cover the bill anyway when it comes.
criticalmass
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by criticalmass »

simas wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:58 pm each corp/megacorp is different. our rules were simple
I’ve always used my own cards as much as possible for various reasons. The exception is for rental cars where the corporate card has superior primary insurance. My corporate card doesn’t report to credit reports as long as everything is paid on time, and they allow two billing cycles instead of one.
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Mursili
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by Mursili »

criticalmass wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:27 pm
simas wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:58 pm each corp/megacorp is different. our rules were simple
I’ve always used my own cards as much as possible for various reasons. The exception is for rental cars where the corporate card has superior primary insurance. My corporate card doesn’t report to credit reports as long as everything is paid on time, and they allow two billing cycles instead of one.
+1 - pretty much the same situation for me.
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TravelGeek
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Re: Do you use your own cards for work travel?

Post by TravelGeek »

My megacorp required use of corporate travel booking system for all travel arrangements, using either central billing (shadow Amex card) or employee’s corporate Amex card. Personal card (or cash) use was prohibited except when Amex was not an accepted payment method. And, the Amex card couldn’t be enrolled in the Membership Rewards program, so no points earnings. Why? Because it saved the company money. Better deal from Amex - instead of giving the employee points, the company gets a small kickback on all charges.

Fortunately (for other reasons) I didn’t travel much for work.
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