Strategy for buying F fares on company dime
#16
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At some point those proposing doing this need t step back and ask themselves, "Is it worth losing my job over this?" Not every boss or employer is going to be happy with this sort of behaviour -- even if the employee were to personally pay for every dollar of additional airfare.
#17
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 710
I worked for a Fortune 50 company that used Concur. Profiles were assigned to each employee. Those on the lowest ring of the ladder were not shown anything other than economy fares, with a profile rule that flagged any purchase that wasn't non-refundable or the lowest available fare (as determined by Concur over a 4 hour window). A notification was fired off to the employee manager and director on purchase, and at the end of the month a list was published of all policy violations over $1.
Any changes to the ticket, even on your own card were reported to the company. Those changes included no cost upgrades to the cabin. The company had a flat out ban on flying domestic first / International business. Using miles or your own card to upgrade cabins was shown to the company and I had at least one call from HR asking me to explain why I flew business to Asia on my own dime. Automatic receipts to the company expense system meant that the total cost of the ticket had to be accounted for. Exceeding a certain percentage for personal expenses on an expense report triggered an HR audit flag.
Travel is seen as the number one controllable cost. Basically, now days most companies have systems in place that will catch anything out of policy. Even if you don't like your current company, getting tagged for messing with travel can follow you. Best to make sure your boss is fully on board with what you are doing before you do it.
#18
Join Date: Mar 2012
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A few employers have policies that for business travel one cannot buy up to a FC ticket or (for a very few) even accept a free upgrade. Others require submission of your boarding pass as well as the ticket receipt. Since they can see if the ticket was reissued, they would be able to know that you're requesting reimbursement for some ticket that you technically did not use. YMMV.
(That said, they didn't care if we upgraded with our personal resources unless we were flying with a client. Another reason I'm glad to be out of client-facing work)
#19
Join Date: May 2010
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It isn't your money, so it isn't your call. If you don't like it, ask to see the travel policy as you interview somewhere else.
In addition to the above, it is quite common for Concur (or similar) to be set to log any selection of a fare higher than the lowest available. IOW: It doesn't matter how you run your search. If there was a lower economy fare available on any flight within some hours of your departure, then your decision to pay a higher fare (and the $ difference) can be logged and reviewed at any time in the future.
A travel agent who is applying specific fare basis codes for this purpose is also risking his/her job.
In addition to the above, it is quite common for Concur (or similar) to be set to log any selection of a fare higher than the lowest available. IOW: It doesn't matter how you run your search. If there was a lower economy fare available on any flight within some hours of your departure, then your decision to pay a higher fare (and the $ difference) can be logged and reviewed at any time in the future.
A travel agent who is applying specific fare basis codes for this purpose is also risking his/her job.
#20
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,115
I have never seen a corporate booking portal that does not use the primary rbd of the ticket to determine the class of service. The domestic differential fare table was all coded as ER for at least a year, and "lowest First" would always display the ER /UPDI fare. I'm very skeptical this would ever work.
If all else fails, I guess this is where the consulted TA will step in and make sure the fare is "accurately" classified by fare type. I wonder how it is displayed on actual GDS terminal screens though, knowing that our beloved EF, which bases its information on GDS queries, also goes by fare type and classifies Y-UP as an Economy fare. I'll try asking my TA for a screenshot next time.
Last edited by mozilla; Jan 5, 2019 at 4:50 pm
#21
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People who play games with petty stuff, will do it with the big stuff too. Best to edge them out the door. Sooner rather than later.
One of the easiest and best ways to accommodate employees on this is simply to permit, as many companies now do, employees to keep a personal CC on file as well. They may book anything they want, the allowable fare is in the TA record and that is paid by the employer, while the balance is direct-charged to the personal CC.
One of the easiest and best ways to accommodate employees on this is simply to permit, as many companies now do, employees to keep a personal CC on file as well. They may book anything they want, the allowable fare is in the TA record and that is paid by the employer, while the balance is direct-charged to the personal CC.
Regarding some of the other comments on this thread: my company is explicitly fine with upgrades via cash, miles or CPU so long as they aren't expensed; all changes are reported back by email through American Express since they issue the ticket so indeed there is a log of changes; my booking system allows me to select a fare class in E or F and I can see pages of rules underlying each fare but I don't think I see the level of detail to know if it's an up fare.
#22
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My company does not have corporate cards, so we pay for everything on a personal card and submit for reimbursement. Are you suggesting booking an F ticket but submit for reimbursement for the E ticket? If so, how do you document the cost of the E ticket? Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding that you're simply suggesting submitting the original TA record for an E ticket and then paying for F separately (currently what I do).
Regarding some of the other comments on this thread: my company is explicitly fine with upgrades via cash, miles or CPU so long as they aren't expensed; all changes are reported back by email through American Express since they issue the ticket so indeed there is a log of changes; my booking system allows me to select a fare class in E or F and I can see pages of rules underlying each fare but I don't think I see the level of detail to know if it's an up fare.
Regarding some of the other comments on this thread: my company is explicitly fine with upgrades via cash, miles or CPU so long as they aren't expensed; all changes are reported back by email through American Express since they issue the ticket so indeed there is a log of changes; my booking system allows me to select a fare class in E or F and I can see pages of rules underlying each fare but I don't think I see the level of detail to know if it's an up fare.
I don't have enough experience with amex travel or other agencies to know if you're investigating legitimate ways to purchase F fares under your company's travel policies (i.e. you are allowed to purchase such), but the title sounds like not.
#23
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The basic point is that if your booking practices are misleading, you're likely to find trouble.
I don't have enough experience with amex travel or other agencies to know if you're investigating legitimate ways to purchase F fares under your company's travel policies (i.e. you are allowed to purchase such), but the title sounds like not.
I don't have enough experience with amex travel or other agencies to know if you're investigating legitimate ways to purchase F fares under your company's travel policies (i.e. you are allowed to purchase such), but the title sounds like not.
#24
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Join Date: Aug 2015
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No, it's not one bit my intention to be misleading. I am playing by the rules, using my corporate travel system to book tickets in E but upfare them on my own dime to earn more PQD. The problem is upgrading on the website prior to travel or TOD does not earn more PDQ. Can't book on United.com, so I can't get the post-purchase popup to upgrade and earn PDQ, which also seems inconsistent based on the thread about earning PDQ. Point of starting the thread was to hear if anyone buys F but screenshots what E costs and expenses E dollar amount, or if calling for buy-ups is the right way to do this and the same/similar cost to upgrading online, or learn about some other method that makes sense.
In my personal experience (which doesn't include upfaring), as long as I retain documentation that I travelled to the location I was supposed to do on the days I was supposed to do, and that all the expenses were as-permitted, I have not had trouble.
#25
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I think the most common practice is to book, then call to upfare with your own payment. If you are required to book flexible fares, then that can be tricky, as the upfare isn't guaranteed to retain the flexibility of your company's travel portal.
In my personal experience (which doesn't include upfaring), as long as I retain documentation that I travelled to the location I was supposed to do on the days I was supposed to do, and that all the expenses were as-permitted, I have not had trouble.
In my personal experience (which doesn't include upfaring), as long as I retain documentation that I travelled to the location I was supposed to do on the days I was supposed to do, and that all the expenses were as-permitted, I have not had trouble.
#26
Join Date: Nov 2012
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My company does not have corporate cards, so we pay for everything on a personal card and submit for reimbursement. Are you suggesting booking an F ticket but submit for reimbursement for the E ticket? If so, how do you document the cost of the E ticket? Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding that you're simply suggesting submitting the original TA record for an E ticket and then paying for F separately (currently what I do).
Regarding some of the other comments on this thread: my company is explicitly fine with upgrades via cash, miles or CPU so long as they aren't expensed; all changes are reported back by email through American Express since they issue the ticket so indeed there is a log of changes; my booking system allows me to select a fare class in E or F and I can see pages of rules underlying each fare but I don't think I see the level of detail to know if it's an up fare.
Regarding some of the other comments on this thread: my company is explicitly fine with upgrades via cash, miles or CPU so long as they aren't expensed; all changes are reported back by email through American Express since they issue the ticket so indeed there is a log of changes; my booking system allows me to select a fare class in E or F and I can see pages of rules underlying each fare but I don't think I see the level of detail to know if it's an up fare.
#27
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I think I can answer this question. I don't do this for domestic flights as i can easily survive in Economy on 4-5 hours flight. But for International long hauls, if I find a good P fare, I do purchase that. At the time of purchase, I print a screen-shot of the lowest Economy fare for the same flights. When I submit my expense report, I have to submit the receipt for my P fare and the screen shot for the economy fare and I get reimbursed that economy fare.
#28
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Washington DC
Posts: 1,356
My company does not have corporate cards, so we pay for everything on a personal card and submit for reimbursement. Are you suggesting booking an F ticket but submit for reimbursement for the E ticket? If so, how do you document the cost of the E ticket? Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding that you're simply suggesting submitting the original TA record for an E ticket and then paying for F separately (currently what I do).
Regarding some of the other comments on this thread: my company is explicitly fine with upgrades via cash, miles or CPU so long as they aren't expensed; all changes are reported back by email through American Express since they issue the ticket so indeed there is a log of changes; my booking system allows me to select a fare class in E or F and I can see pages of rules underlying each fare but I don't think I see the level of detail to know if it's an up fare.
Regarding some of the other comments on this thread: my company is explicitly fine with upgrades via cash, miles or CPU so long as they aren't expensed; all changes are reported back by email through American Express since they issue the ticket so indeed there is a log of changes; my booking system allows me to select a fare class in E or F and I can see pages of rules underlying each fare but I don't think I see the level of detail to know if it's an up fare.
This only works if your employer (1) allows you to use personal credit card for work travel; and (2) does not ask to see the boarding pass. YMMV!
#29
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"How do you document the cost of the E ticket?" -- what I do is a partial booking, and print out (to PDF or on paper and then scan) the record showing the cost of the E Ticket, and submit that for reimbursement. I then go ahead and book the ticket with an upgrade to F or J (whether miles or cash).
This only works if your employer (1) allows you to use personal credit card for work travel; and (2) does not ask to see the boarding pass. YMMV!
This only works if your employer (1) allows you to use personal credit card for work travel; and (2) does not ask to see the boarding pass. YMMV!
#30
Join Date: Nov 2012
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I think, in your case, it would be easy to ask your boss or travel team if this is acceptable. If not, the upfare would be a solution if that's the route that your boss or travel team prefer. However, then, it's better to do the upfare on the phone with United to make sure that you get the PQDs and PQMs. Some of the upgrades online do not give additional PQDs.