Annalisa12

I worked in the Government. Our statement was.. "wouldit hold up to public scrutiny

crabbing

the rule i follow isn't "public scrutiny" but whether i am comfortable asking whether i can keep the rebate/refund/discount/gratuity/etc. i suppose that presumes a certain minimal degree of ethics, but i think it's an objectively viable rule in most cases.

for example, i think we all know better than to ask if we can book a flight in F, submit the expense, and then refund and rebook a cheaper fare. because that's theft.

someone upthread mentioned amex rebates. this actually happened to me, where i expensed a hotel stay that was credited with an amex offer. i asked my company's finance person, and was told that any credit card rebates belonged to me. the issue hasn't come up at my current company, but if it did, i would ask again. but i don't ask about points or cashback on my card, because both custom and tax regulations consider those as mine and as non-income. i likewise don't ask about paying for a flight/stay with points/miles and then submitting the cash fare/rate, because again that's theft (submitting an expense i never incurred).

of course, what do you do when, for example, your hotel made your stay miserable, you are offered compensation, you ask your employer, and your employer demands that compensation? especially when the miserable stay (e.g., you couldn't sleep) made you unable to do the job you were there to do, and your employer deliberately picked motel cheapo to save itself a few bucks at your expense? the simplest answer is that most employees in that situation know better than to ask for any compensation. but if it nevertheless happens, the proper approach is still to let your employer know what happened (i.e., that a previously submitted expense was later refunded/reduced), and to ask what they want done.

Often1

Better to stick to the law and your employer's travel rules rather than trying to make up twisted justifications.

roberino

Not read every post in this thread, but why is no one's first thought just to ask their boss? I got a partial refund from a parking service once after one of their staff yelled at me about nothing. I spoke to my boss about it and he said that as it was me that got yelled at I could keep the money. Then I got EU261 comp for a delayed flight, asked my boss and he said that it was mine because I was the one that had to sit in a grounded plane for three hours. OP got a refund for bad service that HE received so he has a strong case to take to his boss.

In these situations the boss can do several things: 1. Say "keep the money" like my boss did. 2. Say "heck no!". 3. Refer the matter to HR. In all of these outcomes you're covered if someone calls you on it because you've referred it upwards.

sethb

A company I worked for had an explicit policy that you could (in effect) sell them your points; they'd pay you half of what the cost (airfare, hotel) would have been if you use your points instead.

If I was less effective, then my employer was the one who suffered for the miserable stay (as well as me).

Smiley90

Same & same.

Badenoch

When I worked in government what mattered was if the expense was explainable. Public/media scrutiny varies widely and often the focus is on smaller, outrageous expenses instead of the aggregate cost. It is easier to justify a $1,000 a night hotel suite but not a $30 orange juice or submitting a receipt for a $3 bag of choco-bites. Other no-go items in government were spas, mini-bars and in-room movies. Those you paid for yourself.

But were I to receive a refund or compensation for anything while traveling with government I would not have mentioned it and kept the money.

emma69

In my specific case, my boss travels less than I do, and has far less understanding of our expense system. I got sick of follow up questions as to why I had expensed things certain ways (to be in line with company policy) so now do my expense approvals in person so she can just ask me. She's never had an issue about what I claim, or how much it is, she just gets confused when I split items, or submit for only part of a receipt (e.g. if I buy breakfasts for the week at a grocery store, plus a box of chocolates my mother likes, I won't expense the chocolates so the number on the receipt and what she sees on the form are not the same).

pinniped

OK, I'll bite: what government, or part of government, lets you expense $1,000/nt suites?

garykung

I am on defense on this, not because of what you have said, but its relevance.

AFAICT, for federal government, the agency is required to request a travel card for you to pay for your official travel. In that case, you can't use your personal card. Only in rare circumstances, you can travel without using the travel card.

While what you have said is true in principal, the reality is most federal travelers can't use personal cards for their hotels and meals during the official travel.

I can't see how this is relevant to this.

It depends.

For government travel, the hotel rate is fixed based on the cities. So regardless what room you are ending up with, the government is still paying the same rate.

So yes - you can end up with a $1,000/nt suites with government travel.

Badenoch

Senior government official on a trade mission in an foreign country with a high cost of living. My boss was in the suite which was the largest and most spacious they had. The living areas were used for staff meetings and hosting dignitaries. It was over $1,000 per night but cheaper and more efficient than a separate set of meetings rooms in the hotel.

Smiley90

Conversely, I'm literally not allowed to use our credit card for travel expenses but have to spend&reimburse.

I'm also supposed to use government rates - even though very often those are not the lowest rates, but like you said whatever they are set as.

Badenoch

Depends on the government and your place in it. I've worked for all three levels of government in Canada either as staff or consultant at one time or another and used both corporate and personal cards. Government travel rules are at times bizarre because of the increased scrutiny by political opponents and the media and can result in higher travel costs than if common sense prevailed.

evergrn

I've only gone through the first ~20 and the last ~10 posts, so I apologize if this was already discussed. (yes I did notice a few AMEx comments)

Let's say you don't have a business cc. So instead you use your $500/yr AMEx card.
The card gets you a hotel status with gives you free breakfast. It gives you airport lounge access, so you're not having to expense your airside coffee/banana/water to your company.
Your card also reimburses you for airline fees up to a certain amount, so you pay upfront for your onboard meals and seat upgrade on DL and then AMEx reimburses you a month later.

Do you not expense those airline fees because you'll be reimbursed? Or do you report that reimbursement by AMEx?

Imo you should be able to expense those airline fees to your company and also hold onto AMEx's reimbursement. After all, airline fee reimbursement is a cc benefit that you've paid for. And your company is already benefitting from free breakfast and lounge access benefits that also come with your personal cc.

FlyingHighlander

I have seen this play out for real in a large Corp. It's fine to expense items allowed within Corp policy, even if you get a rebate behind the scenes. The fact is you did pay for them and have evidence of the purchase you can provide.
What was not ok was submitting a cash expense for say $10 for lunch because you ate in a lounge. It's a bit of a grey area, because you could argue that you'd spend that or more having lunch in an airport restaurant. In effect, money was being saved, but on the other hand there was no transaction taking place. Additionally, the Corp policy specifically prohibited reimbursement of lounge memberships, which was in effect what was happening via the back door.