Can/do you get reimbursed for using FF miles?
 

Alright FTers, I've got a rather selfish question to ask... can you use (or have you ever had trouble) using your FF miles, and then getting reimbursed by your company for the actual price of a ticket?

I'm asking because 1) I've got a plethora of miles that I can use (and a NW Visa discount of 6k FF miles on an awards ticket), 2) I'd rather pose this question first to FT before asking my the folks in the finance division of my office, and 3) extra $$$ in my pocket would never hurt.

Again, this is a very selfish question and perhaps it may cross an ethics line with my company, but I'd like to hear it from you guys before acting on it. I just figured that my office is going to pay the price of a ticket anyway, so if it's me using my own miles than it's me who is shouldering some of the burden.

Thanks in advance!

I don't know how it works at your company, but here it is certainly a not-done.

You can get reimbursed for the amount you spend, not the amount you did NOT spend.

first in no way does it cross an ethics line IF procedures/policy is in place to do so.

My old company, I could regularly use FF miles for the price of a ticket and get reimbursed. The cost that I would get reimbursed for was the MARKET price for the ticket, not the ticket price for the airline I was redeeming miles on. It was an excellent deal for me, especially for last minute tickets when it would cost >$600 to go somewhere. There was a cap on total reimbursement but I can’t recall what it was.

I'm curious about how the accounting department justified this expense since there would be no actual receipt showing you spent anything on the ticket. Since you have no expense receipt to offset the reimbursement, did you claim the reimbursement as income and pay taxes on it? Seems like a can of worms to me.

I guess one way around this for a last minute ticket would be to book a refundable ticket, print the receipt, cancel it and book another ticket using FF miles, then turn in the receipt for the flight you canceled. I wouldn't want to get caught doing this at any place I've worked, it would definitely be frowned upon.

Thanks everyone for their responses. I guess this gives me enough reasoning to ask my finance folks about it.

BLI-Flyer, I've not had to produce a receipt for the actual work-related flight when I've included a personal trip. For example, when flying from DCA to LAX for work, and then from LAX-DEN-DCA for a stop to visit friends, I would print a copy of the actual ticket receipt (including the personal stopover) and then something from the airlines that showed the market-value of the work-related trip, my company only paying the work-related portion of the trip.

Perhaps this same approach would work... print something from the airlines that shows the market-value. How have the rest of you dealt with this?

For our company, it is only on $$$ spend not mileages. I've frequently used my own mileages to upgrade a company-paid business class ticket into first class but only get reimbursed for the price of the J ticket as the mileage upgrade was at my sole discretion.

The federal government has a gainsharing program for travelers on official business who get free tickets with frequent flyer miles. Normally you would get zero reimbursement for the zero expense, but gainsharing will reward you for saving the government's money. I don't know the details of how it works, You have to meet certain qualifying requirements.

It makes sense if you had no other use for the free ticket. This way you at least get some reward for using the free ticket to save the employer's money.

Where I work, absolutely not. I'm lucky that I even get to keep the miles that I earn from flying on company business for myself....recent change!