MilesBuzz! - Federal Frequent Fliers May Be Freed to Keep Miles

Federal Frequent Fliers May Be Freed to Keep Miles

The Bush administration is considering legislation that would allow federal employees to keep frequent-flier miles earned on business travel, a move that key lawmakers and officials say would boost morale and help the government compete for workers.

The measure would reverse a 1994 law that barred the nation's 1.8 million civil servants from using miles accrued while working for personal travel, ostensibly to save the government money.

"On its face, this proposal has great merit and we feel it would be a good tool for rewarding government workers, who spend time away from their families traveling," said Office of Management and Budget spokesman Chris Ullman.

The administration is reviewing the government-wide effect of such a move before it endorses the provision, which lawmakers may add to the fiscal 2002 Defense Authorization bill. OMB officials are also considering giving the benefit first to military employees, then extending it to all federal workers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48538-2001Jul11.html

Something good from the Bush administration? Can't be ...

This would be the single biggest improvement to my career as a bureaucrat.

This is a measure that would probably draw opposition from the airline industry. Many federal workers don't bother with the programs because they either don't draw a benefit or don't feel it is worth the effort.

It would be nice to see something added as a benefit for a change.

Interestingly, they did this here in Canada for federal employees earlier this year without significant comment or complaint from the airlines or the media. One unresolved issue here is the tax liability on private travel taken using miles earned on government business. How might this be handled down South?

Would this mean higher fares for gov't employee travel and higher lodging costs?

do fed employees currently get ff mi's & use them for travel on taxpayers business? i hope so.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Would this mean higher fares for gov't employee travel and higher lodging costs? </font>

I can't imagine that it would. Fed employees are currently allowed to collect the miles, just not use them for personal business. I suspect there's a lot who do use them for personal biz though and that redemption rates for government miles are about the same as for the general population's.

The airlines ought to quietly welcome this development. Yes, they will be paying out FF miles to a larger population, and if they are short sighted, they may fight it on that basis. But the purpose of frequent flyer programs is to (a) reward people for flying more (instead of, say, driving or taking the train) and (b) encourage brand loyalty. If the programs are profitable for the airlines when applied to "civilian" travelers, it's hard to understand why they wouldn't be even more profitable if they expand out to include the federal workforce.

As a taxpayer who ISN'T a federal employee, I welcome this attempt to reward civil servants without dipping into tax dollars.

Airlines could make government contract carrier fares ineligible for miles accrual. What the heck...they've already competed for the business. I think I read that was done on upgrades eligibility somewhere. On that side trip, I'd like to see the contract fares changed from being considered Y fares for the purposes of upgrades when fare basis counts.

The talk about airlines then making government fares ineligible for miles seems to assume that government fares are cheap. That's not the case. We usually find that government fares are 2-3x the lowest fare, but they are always fully refundable and changeable.

Really I think this will make little change. It will just give the legal OK to something that goes on clandestinely already. Further, airlines award miles for government travel now for use on other government travel. The only thing that changes from the carriers' perspective is how the miles are used; not whether or not they are accrued and used.



[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 07-13-2001).]

It's about time. Federal employees are people too!

AMEN! We recently took this issue on locally and it took the better part of a year to get a policy in place that said what the airline policies already state: that the miles belong to the traveler. Without re-hashing the entire debate here, most of the miles would be of no economic value to the government, since the majority of fliers do not travel consistently enough exclusively on government business to maintain an account and earn travel benefits that are useful for business purposes. That said, the miles can be of some value to many travelers when they can combine them with their own mileage-earning opportunities. To gratuitously deny them this benefit is a "chicken doo-doo" policy that is not much more than a slap in the face to most of the people it applies to. Moreover, it is not in tune with contemporary practice in most other employment situations. BRAVO to our hard-working government employees and more power to them if they can enjoy a perk that so many others can take for granted when they must be away from their homes and families on business. It can't happen too soon. No doubt we will see some exploitation of the move by demagogues who want to make hay with the many people out there who don't really travel much and don't understand the programs. And no, I am not a government employee. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif)

I saw an advert for holiday inn the other day, that suggested that people might travel for less than perfect reasons. In a period of economic uncertainty, I cant travel, and have to do more work by phone and email. This is not the time for the goverment to start sponsoring milage runs. Fares should be contracted to the lowest fare. and any incentive to travel or use my money discouraged ie only fly redeye http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jongar:
I saw an advert for holiday inn the other day, that suggested that people might travel for less than perfect reasons. In a period of economic uncertainty, I cant travel, and have to do more work by phone and email. This is not the time for the goverment to start sponsoring milage runs. Fares should be contracted to the lowest fare. and any incentive to travel or use my money discouraged ie only fly redeye http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif</font>

The proposed legislation does not propose sponsoring mileage runs. There are many instances in which government work cannot be done via the telephone, fax, or computer. I seriously doubt that the USDA or ATF can inspect products without being on site.
The legislation would simply allow government employees who are required to travel in conjunction with their jobs to retain the same benefits which employees in the private sector enjoy.

In those instances where there is a contract fare, you must use it regardless of your like or dislike of the carrier. Unless, airlines on the same route will match the fare.

Frequently government employees do not sign up for the programs because there is no benefit to them because the miles go to your agency and if you were to earn upgrades through frequent travel you are not allowed to use them because you are not allowed to fly first class because of the appearance it presents.

Fo you really think USDA and ATF inspectors get to travel much? They hire them where the work is. Those aren't the people in the government that get to travel and earn lots of FF miles.

I have this picture in my head of a batallion of USDA inspectors all living in Nebraska boarding flights every Monday morning for their inspection runs to the rest of the country. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

-David

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LIH Prem:

Fo you really think USDA and ATF inspectors get to travel much? They hire them where the work is. Those aren't the people in the government that get to travel and earn lots of FF miles.

I have this picture in my head of a batallion of USDA inspectors all living in Nebraska boarding flights every Monday morning for their inspection runs to the rest of the country. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

-David</font>

It is not always possible to hire and RETAIN people where you want/need them to be located. Also, government periodically iimposes hiring freezes and you cannot replace or promote people. It happened this spring.

Travel for the government is not the fun that it is for personal purposes. It is also not something which is discretionary. We don't choose to have our work week extended due to early Monday morning flight or late Friday afternoon flights. You don't get credit for the time, for any efforts to save money, or anything ancillary.

For many of us, the private sector works the same way. It does for me.

-David

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LIH Prem:

For many of us, the private sector works the same way. It does for me.

-David</font>

And are you also required to use FF accruals for business and prohibited from using your segment upgrades when traveling for work?

The current active discussion of this thread can now be found "In the News" section of FlyerTalk Miles, as it has been moved.

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