Government rates
 

Just read a vague article in today's Anchorage Daily News about cheap government fares.

I work for the USPS. Can I use my vaunted position to fly on non-USPS business and collect miles too? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I think they are only for government business. I dont work for the G but I am not infrequently hired by them as a consultant. If that involves travel they buy me a ticket at their rate. But it is through a government travel agency for official business. Sometimes miles count but things like bonuses dont. Havent been able to figure it out really. They are real cheap tickets and totally unrestricted. Return, change time, change date, whatever is okay with those tickets. I dont know how they price relative to corporate discounts. Would be interested to know that.

No. Government fares must be purchased with a government-issued credit card, which begins with a specific number sequence. Anything else would be fraud.

FWIW, government fares aren't generally the lowest fares available. However, because they are fully refundable they are far cheaper than full Y fares. To give you an example, my husband just flew on a $500 government fare. The cheapest refundable would have been $2000. The cheapest non-refundable would have been $250.

Yes, government employees can now use their miles earned on work-related travel for personal use. It wasn't always that way. They can get the status bonuses too. There are, however, bonus mile promotions that often exclude government fares.



[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 11-10-2003).]

There was a recent column in the Washington Post about these fares:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2003Nov3.html

Also, there was a good letter to the editor clarifying that the government fare perks do not extend beyond official travel:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2003Nov7.html

I know of a government employee who was able to purchase government fares on their personal credit card. The ticket agent had to do some creative typing in to the system to get it to issue the ticket at the gov fare on a non gov card, but they did issue it. That being said, and I'm sure some gov employees will chime in, I know that sometimes the gov likes to make an example out of an employee doing just this, etc. I would suspect the practice goes on somewhat, and evry once in a while, they really bust someone and throw the book at them to try to scare others away from trying this.
PS: You can much more easily use the gov hotel rates, and I've never heard of a gov employee getting in to trouble for doing this.

[This message has been edited by jetsetter (edited 11-10-2003).]

As a state government employee (faculty member at a public university) I often use government hotel rates on personal travel. I used to tell hotels that it was personal travel, not government business. The reply was always "Doesn't matter. If you're a government employee, you get the rate. Just be sure to bring your ID." So I stopped bothering to mention it.

This will GREATLY oversimply things, but here is some insight:

-- "Government airfares" are the result of contract negotiations between the Government and airlines. These "contract fares" can only be used for Official Business. Period. Any other use violates the terms of the contract. ("Matching fares" are another level of complication I won't get in to, but basically they too are only for Official Business.)

Historically, "Goverment hotel rates" are NOT based on contracts. They are the result of a hotel deciding to offer rooms at a rate that is within the local "allowable Government per diem rate" (the maximum that the Goverment will reimburse an employee for a hotel room in a given geographical area). There is no contract; the hotel is free to offer (or not offer) such rates, capacity-control them, establish any other associated policy they wish (e.g., only for official business or for personal stays as well), etc.

[The Government has started to negotiate actual contracts with some hotels in certain cities, but this was just started in the past few years. If the hotel's Government rate is the result of a contract, then how the rate can be used will be subject to the terms of the specific contract.]

I have bought gov't fares with my own credit card many times, it doesn't seem to matter to the airlines.

Gov't fares are great if you are not sure if your meeting is a happening thing or if there is a reason that your travel may change (field ops). They can be fully changeable or flexible, but not always, you still need to check.

However, when I know/knew (using state fares now), that my meeting was done deal, I would use my own credit card to book the fare that was the cheapest and would get me there when I needed to be there.

Trust me, the gov't contracted travel agencies are not known for their ticketing prowess, their ability to understand geography (alaska as a foreign country http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif ) and needs and desires of their constituents. If I want to get something done, I book it and then write a justification for why I used my own credit card and bought my own ticket.

Besides, I save something like 28 bucks a pop for issuing me an electronic ticket.

As for personal travel, that is a big no no.

As for hotels, I have only once had a hotel ask for my gov't issued ID or travel orders and that was in DC on a really busy week.

lala

I am on a gov't contract and my hotel expense rate is capped at that rate. Out of 70+ stays in the past year, I have been asked exactly four times to show id and I usually produce the contract which is then copied and filed away at the hotel wihtout futher question. After making the online reservation, I do call ahead the first time I stay with a hotel and make sure that the rate is accepted at the hotel given my situation. I have not been rejected at 10+ properties.

There are ways to purchase government fares without a government credit card. The most common way that I know of entails the use of paperwork known as an Official Travel Authorization (OTA). This is given to the government travel agency issuing the ticket. What happens to the form after that, I am unsure.

But I would echo the comments above that use of these fares is strictly controlled. Misuse would likely cost someone their job.

The government fares that I saw during my time with the federal government were, like letiole said above, significantly higher than the lowest advanced purchase fare on most major carriers yet cheaper than a walkup fare.

Average examples that I can remember were roundtrip government fares between DCA-BNA and DCA-MEM usually running close to $600 (refundable, no-Saturday night stay), whereas lowest advance purchase fares on these routes usually runs about $250 roundtrip (w/ Saturday night stay).

As an employee of a U.S. Government agency, we must now book all our air travel through http://www.zegato.com. That website has got to be the most confusing site on the net, and it has taken me hours to make an airline reservation on it, and even then, our travel manager has notified me of errors I've made.
But the site requires me to be registered first with them by my agency, before I can make a reservation. All reservations go on a Government Travel Card, and are immediately transmitted to the travel manager where I work for review. So I can't start making personal airline reservations on it. I can easily see, though, which airlines offer what negotiated fares (YCA fares) between what points, and most all our way cheaper than any regular fares.
That said, as mentioned above, I make hotel reservations directly with hotels of my choosing, and I'll be reimbursed either what the hotel charges, or the maximum allowable per-diem rate for the location (whichever is less). Many hotels do offer "government rates," and I obviously do ask for them. As far as getting the government rate for personal travel, it is up to the hotel as to what they require. Some want to see official travel orders. Some others just want to see your employee ID card. Others won't give you the government rate unless it's on your government travel card. But there are hotels that will give you the rate just by seeing your government ID and will let you put the charge on a personal credit card. Whether you, as a government employee, would want to do that, or is even ethical, I can't say. But for me, to risk my agency finding out that I did that, and possibly even losing my job for it, is a risk I'm not going to take, even though it isn't likely my agency would find out.

Years ago, when I was still working for the U.S. government, we would buy a trans-atlantic ticket (for official travel) at the government rate, pay a very little extra out of our own pocket for an upgradeable fare and then use 20,000 miles to upgrade to round-trip business class (on Pan Am) or 40,000 for first class. Can government fares be upgraded now, or are they still close to upgradeable fares?

From the regulations I've read, if an employee wants to upgrade later, lets say using a frequent flyer benefit, they can, but it's out of their own pocket, plus it's between them and the airline's policy.
The website I use, though, has no option there on upgrading. It just lists flights and fares, and I must choose from what I'm allowed (e.g. choose the YCA fare, not first-class).

Whenever my husband's agency has tried to say you need to use XYZ to book, he's simply refused. Never a problem with reimbursement.

what letiole said. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Our gov't fares are booked through another mega agency and honestly, more trouble than its worth. I wouldn't let them touch my hotel res and honestly, most travel clerks are quite pleased to have you do most of the leg work.


Actually, thinking about it, a gov't rate for a ticket seattle to dutch is about 1900 bucks, not cheap. My partner as a gold can book the cheapest ticket for about 700 bucks and not pay for any change fees, but would the gov't let her save money and buy a cheaper ticket? No. Gotta buy a full fare ticket. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

lala


[This message has been edited by lalala (edited Nov 14, 2003).]