Airline Credits from Personal Travel

[Rachel Veenstra]

I am running into this situation more and more and would appreciate feedback.

• Traveler has a credit issued from an airline.  The credit was issued on a ticket that was for personal use.
• Complicating factor in current situation is the credit was earned before the traveler was a University employee.
• In every instance, the credit is due to expire, so it was applied to University business travel and reimbursement is sought for the value of the credit.
  

I have always said no to these reimbursements because I do not see the University's role as converting a personal liability into cash.  The airline credit has no cash value and we should not be laundering what are essentially coupons for cash value.  Similarly, I would not approve the reimbursement of Urber credits applied against a ride taken by the traveler. 

Surprise, surprise... this situation is not covered in policy so I am getting push back. 

While the University would pay for a ticket purchased to conduct University business, that is a red herring and simply not the point.  Reimbursement of a credit is making the traveler whole for personal expenses they would have otherwise been liable for.  Reimbursing airfare purchased for University business is a neutral transaction.

Thank you!

[Carrie Meyer]

Greetings! 

I can tell you that when policy questions come in to the Controller's Office/policy owners for business expenses and travel, the answer has been "no" to reimbursing someone for use of personal credits or use of free benefits earned elsewhere. In part because there's typically no direct proof of the financial transaction for the original purchase to support the claimed value, and there's a perception that receiving reimbursement for these things is a personal benefit. Even if there's proof of the original transaction, the perception of personal benefit outweighs that. So it's been a firm "no" each time it has come up.

If you have a specific scenario where someone is pushing back on a "no" (or you really think it should be a "yes"), Sue Paulson and Beth Tapp are always willing to discuss the situation and provide guidance or support.

Carrie

[David Hagen]

The closest statement that the University has on this topic is found in the FAQs related to the "Traveling on University Business" policy.

39. If I use my own personal frequent flyer miles to purchase a ticket for University business, can I be compensated/reimbursed?

    No. The University will not compensate/reimburse employees or non-employees for use of personal frequent flyer miles.

I realize that it isn't the exact same situation, so might not persuade your faculty, but it is a similar situation and policy makes it clear that the individual can't be compensated for something that was related to their personal travel.

[Yoga]

https://groups.google.com/g/best-esim/c/KRAiEAOHaHk
https://groups.google.com/g/best-esim/c/ZmYjqf2tMwE