sales travel policy

• Human Resources
• Tools and Samples

Company Travel Policy

A company travel policy is designed to outline a business's travel arrangement procedures and guidelines, stipulating which travel expenses are paid for by the company and how to manage the reimbursement process. A company travel policy should include a purpose statement, scope, authorization and reimbursement section, and travel arrangement processes.

Creating a detailed company travel policy will help ensure all business trips run smoothly, are secured ahead of time, and adhere to all company requirements.

Try Betterteam

Post your jobs to 100+ job boards

• Reach over 250 million candidates.
• Get candidates in hours, not days.

Company Travel Policy - Free Template

Download this company travel policy template in Microsoft Word format.

Company Travel Policy Template:

Introduction..

When employees travel for company-related purposes, it is [ company name's ] responsibility to provide safe and reliable travel arrangements. This company travel policy serves to clarify the conditions and parameters of a company-paid trip.

The purpose of this company travel policy is to (a) outline the authorization and reimbursement process for travel arrangements and expenses; (b) list the company-paid travel expenses; and (c) establish protocols that oversee the travel arrangement process.

This company travel policy is applicable to all employees under contract at [ company name ], including paid interns, contractors, as well as seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees. [ Company name ] sees traveling out of the city, state, and/or country as a fully-paid business trip, as well as one-day trips that are [ number of hours ] hours away from the office.

Authorization and Reimbursements.

All company travel arrangements must be authorized by senior employees at least [ number of weeks/months ] before the expected travel date, depending on the circumstances and the required travel arrangement time period. Employees are not permitted to authorize their own travel arrangements.

Employees are expected to submit a Travel Expense Report at least [ number of days/weeks ] after the first business day back at work. On the Travel Expense Report, employees must include all company-paid expenses and personal expenses. The finance department is responsible for examining the Travel Expense Report and finalizing reimbursement payments.

Travel Arrangement:

All travel arrangements must be reserved at least [ number of weeks ] weeks before the travel date. The finance department is responsible for the booking and payment of all transportation, accommodation, and travel-related expenses.

Travel Expenses.

[ Company name ] employees are entitled to a company-paid travel ticket for any means of transportation the employee(s) require, including a [ type of class ] return plane, boat, train, and/or coach ticket, [ number of meals ] meals, and [ number of luggage ] luggage. While traveling, employees will be able to use a company-paid taxi service from and to the airport, hotel, and business location. If an employee wishes to travel for personal reasons, they will be financially responsible for the travel fare.

Accommodation.

[ Company name ] employees are permitted to stay in a [ number of stars ][ type of accommodation ] while traveling for company purposes. The finance manager is responsible for securing the [ type of accommodation ] room and paying for an employee's stay.

Other Expenses.

[ Company employees ] will be reimbursed for [ number of meals ] lunch(s) and [ number of meals ] dinner(s) for a maximum of [ $/meal amount ] per meal. If an employee is hosting a client of [ company name ], the entire meal will be reimbursed. In addition, if an employee requires a meeting, boardroom, or conference room while traveling, [ company name ] will book the room and make payment.

Personal Travel.

[ Company name ] will not be financially responsible for any personal expenses and travel arrangements. If an employee chooses to travel with a partner, [ company name ] is not responsible for their partner's accommodation, leisure, and/or travel expenses. An employee is required to submit this information on the Travel Expense Report and produce payslips for their expenses only.

International Travel.

If employees are required to travel out of the country for business, [ company name ] is financially responsible for all travel arrangements, including accommodation, transportation, visas, travel insurance, and medical expenses. International business trips must be authorized at least [ number of months ] months before the expected travel date. The finance department is required to submit a Travel Expense Report before and after the trip. Both reports must be signed off by at least two senior officials before and after the trip.

More Policies:

• Bereavement Leave Policy.
• Cell Phone Policy.
• Company Credit Card Policy.
• Company Travel Policy.
• Company Vehicle Policy.
• Conflict of Interest Policy.
• Cyber Security Policy.
• Dress Code Policy.
• Paid Time Off Policy.
• Social Media Policy.
• Telecommuting Policy.
• Overtime Policy.
• Attendance Policy.
• Expense Reimbursement Policy.
• Sexual Harassment Policy.
• Remote Work Policy.

Company Credit Card Policy

What should be included in a travel policy?

• Introduction .
• Purpose statement .
• Authorization and reimbursements .
• Travel arrangement (both business-related and personal) .

What is corporate travel policy?

A corporate travel policy is a formal document that details the procedures and rules of business-related trips. The policy mainly focuses on the arrangements, expenses, and authorization processes.

How do you write a travel expense policy?

Use our free, customizable company travel policy template in Word format.

What is a travel and expense policy?

A travel and expense policy is an alternative name for a company travel policy, which outlines the travel arrangements and expenses required on a company-paid business trip.

Related Articles:

Employee handbook, expense reimbursement form, conflict of interest policy, code of ethics, professional code of conduct.

What's Planergy?

Modern Spend Management and Accounts Payable software.

Helping organizations spend smarter and more efficiently by automating purchasing and invoice processing.

We saved more than $1 million on our spend in the first year and just recently identified an opportunity to save about $10,000 every month on recurring expenses with Planergy.

Cristian Maradiaga

Download a free copy of "indirect spend guide", to learn:.

• Where the best opportunities for savings are in indirect spend.
• How to gain visibility and control of your indirect spend.
• How to report and analyze indirect spend to identify savings opportunities.
• How strategic sourcing, cost management, and cost avoidance strategies can be applied to indirect spend.

Travel and Expense Policy: What Is It, Example Template, and Best Practices

• Written by Rob Biedron
• 19 min read

IN THIS ARTICLE

What is a travel and expense policy.

• Why You Need a Travel and Expense Policy?

Considerations for a Policy that Works for Your Business

How to create an effective policy for your organization, travel expense policy template.

To travel for work-related purposes, employees often need to submit a travel expense report detailing their costs.

This can include travel costs like airfare, hotel, and other miscellaneous expenses like meals and incidentals.

Many companies have a travel and expense policy outlining the rules and procedures for submitting these reports.

In this blog post, we will discuss what a travel and expense policy is, provide an example template, and outline some best practices.

Why You Need a Travel and Expense Policy

Establishing a travel and expense policy for your business is a wise choice. A clear policy defines allowable expenses for any business trip, which reduces the chance of unnecessary or inappropriate charges.

It’s efficient and cost-effective to have a predetermined budget for each employee that adheres to the company’s financial regulations – this ensures employee reimbursements are issued following company standards.

Having all of these processes itemized allows you to track spending more accurately, so there won’t be unwelcome surprises during the budget season either.

With a travel and expense policy in place, your organization can manage employee journeys and reimbursements competently.

With rules in place, it’s easier to predict how much each traveler will spend on business travel expenses, making overall expense management easier.

Other benefits include:

• Tax write-offs for the company and IRS regulations compliance.
• Fraud prevention.
• Streamlines reimbursement.

Using a blanket T&E policy may be tempting, but the fact is, no two companies operate the same way. They should have customized policies that fit the company’s needs while supporting employees.

At its core, the policy should address how employees are expected to pay and be reimbursed for trips taken on behalf of their company.

The policy must also feature detailed guidelines surrounding who is authorized to book travel arrangements and any limits and restrictions.

Companies may also want to consider implementing a pre-trip authorization process, and requiring all expenses related to the trip to be documented in order due documentation for reimbursement purposes.

Keeping your travel and expense policy up-to-date with current laws, regulations, and industry standards is important for maintaining compliance with current laws, so companies should stay aware of changes that may affect their policies.

Put Finance and HR to Work Together

To start crafting a T&E policy for your organization, arrange a meeting with both finance and human resources. Collaboration and cooperation between these two teams are crucial.

The finance department provides information about current expenses and supports creating the guidelines employees need to follow. HR then communicates the policy to employees and enforces compliance.

Consider Multiple Factors Unique to Your Organization

Some companies may choose to reimburse incidental expenses. Some companies provide a per diem allowance, while others only reimburse actual expenses.

Start by looking at your organization’s current travel spend. As you analyze the data, consider the following:

• How often do employees travel?
• How much does the average business trip cost?
• What percentage of employees travel?

Measuring ROI on business trips can be difficult, depending on the nature of the trips and the reason for them.

With the answers to those questions in hand, consider:

Methods of Travel: Which methods of travel are acceptable? Will employees be able to travel in business class or first class, or is air travel limited to coach only? Will you cover any extra luggage fees? What about ground transportation? What’s the maximum spending limit? Are there special rules that apply to international travel?

Lodging Expenses: What is the limit for a hotel room? Are employees required to stay at a certain hotel or within a certain chain?

Personal Vehicle Expenses: How will employees report mileage? What’s the maximum you’ll reimburse for parking expenses?

Meal Expenses: What is the per diem for meals? Are all three daily meals covered? Are they allowed to take clients to dinner? Will you reimburse room service? Are entertainment and related expenses included while on the trip?

Miscellaneous Expenses: Think of this as the unexpected. What if an employee’s luggage is lost and they need to purchase new clothes? What if they get bumped from their flight, and there’s an additional fee to rebook? What if the car rental company doesn’t have the economy car that was booked?

Company Credit Cards: Who is allowed to use the cards, and what can they use them for?

Expense Reporting Process: How are employees to track their out-of-pocket expenses? Who do the employee expense reports go to? How do they submit them? Are original receipts required, or will scanned/photographed versions suffice?

Outline everything you deem acceptable in the above categories. If certain things aren’t covered, make sure those are clearly defined. For example, meals are covered, but alcoholic beverages are not.

Define what is considered an acceptable business purpose. Will you cover trips for continuing education?

Define who is authorized to book travel arrangements. What booking tools can be used?

Define how to turn receipts and expense reports.

Define the acceptable timeframe for reimbursement requests (such as within 15 days after the trip is complete) and when employees can expect to receive the reimbursement.

Include any other guidelines for reimbursable expenses, including rules for upgrades, tolls, mileage rate, per diem rates for each department, gratuities, etc.

Once these details are outlined, it’s time to put them together into a formal travel policy.

Your business needs a travel management policy, but it can be hectic to put one together. Our template will help.

Your policy should be broken down into six sections:

Introduction

Travel booking process, business expense categories, non-reimbursable purchases, expense reporting and reimbursement process, travel support, safety, and duty of care.

Use this section to let your staff know your policy isn’t just more red tape – it’s designed to keep them safe, keep things fair, reduce confusion, and ultimately, save time.

Depending on your organization, you may have multiple policies – different policies depending on the department or type of employee. If that’s the case, your introduction should also include who the policy is for.

Use this section to include everything your team needs to know about where and how to book travel – whether someone will make the arrangements for them or they will make the arrangements themselves.

Here’s where you outline:

How to Book Travel

Include your process, method, and platform for booking any company travel. It’s ideal to use a platform to allow employees to book options within policy. If you do, include the name of the platform.

If employees cannot book their own travel, include the name and contact information of the travel agency or company employee who will take care of booking the travel arrangements.

Approval Process

Include the details of the approval process, especially for senior management. The approval process for the C-Suite and senior employees may vary from others.

Leisure Extensions

If you want business travelers to be able to extend their trip to the weekend or use vacation days for additional time, include rules around these extensions.

Include details about the allowable difference for return flights and what separates personal expenses from business ones.

Make it known that they will incur additional costs that your company will not reimburse.

Loyalty Program Usage

Many companies don’t let employees accrue personal loyalty points on business travels.

But, if you trust your team to do the right thing, include a line that says something along the lines of, “Employees must not choose more expensive travel options for the sole purpose of gaining additional loyalty points.”

Traveling with Non-Employees

Expenses related to traveling with spouses or other family members, pets, or friends outside of the company aren’t generally eligible for reimbursement.

If any situations are subject to approval, such as attending a networking event, outline these possibilities.

This is a crucial part of your template as it outlines what employees can expense. This is key to keeping things as cost-effective as possible.

• Preferred vendors
• Approved tools or methods of booking
• Rules regarding allowed travel class
• How many days in advance must flights be booked for both domestic and international travel.

Accommodations

• Preferred vendors and negotiated rates, if any
• Maximum nightly rate
• Rules regarding standard rooms and upgrades – for instance, upgraded rooms are only allowed when standard is completely booked
• Reimbursable costs – parking, etc.
• Rules for booking house-sharing or apartment rentals

Rental and Personal Vehicles

• Allowed types of rental car class
• Number of employees expected to share a vehicle when traveling together
• Mileage reimbursement rate, per mile or kilometer

Rail Travel

• Type of ticket allowed

Taxis and Ride-Sharing Services

• Maximum amount per transaction
• When use of these services is allowed (particularly in areas where airport shuttles or public transport isn’t practical)

Events and Conferences

• Reimbursement process for registration if it was not pre-paid.
• Process for other event or conference-related expenses, such as meals or things not included in the registration cost

Meals, Travel, and Entertainment

• The maximum reimbursable amount for each breakfast
• The maximum reimbursable amount for each lunch
• The maximum reimbursable amount for each dinner
• Or a daily maximum or per diem
• Personal meal expenses throughout the trip
• Rules for business meals
• Rules for client entertainment expenses, including maximum amounts and what’s allowed

Personal Telephone Use

• The amount of the cell phone bill or percentage that can be reimbursed during the employee’s travel period. Include whether calls made for personal reasons will be covered.
• Whether or not theft of or damage to the personal phone is reimbursable during business travel, and if so, the maximum allowable amount.

Keep a list of the things your company won’t reimburse, so people know ahead of time that certain things will come out of pocket at their expense.

Get input for your chief financial officer and the employees who travel most often to determine what’s far to exclude across the board.

It should be clear that your business expense policy will only cover travel-related and business-related expenses and nothing else.

Examples include:

• In-flight purchases
• Childcare or pet boarding
• Costs related to non-employee travel
• Laundry and dry cleaning
• Room service
• Damage to personal vehicles
• Airline ticket change fees
• Traffic violations or parking tickets
• Airline club memberships
• Excess baggage fees
• Premium or luxury car rentals
• Rental car insurance coverage
• Minibar or alcoholic beverages
• Online entertainment, movies, newspapers, etc.
• Clothing and toiletries

This section should cover the following:

• The expensing tool to use
• The items that do not need to be added to the expense tool (such as if the trip is booked within the approved booking tool)
• Who to submit reports to
• What to include in the reimbursement requests
• Deadline for request submissions
• Typical processing time for requests
• Policy on personal credit card use

Your policy needs to be something people want to read. It must include information they need to know to familiarize themselves with.

Your staff wants to stay safe while traveling, so including information about their safety and what to do if an emergency arises is key.

Tracking Whereabouts

Let your employees know that when they book with your approved tools or methods, the trip is tracked, so if there is an emergency, you’ll take steps to evacuate them. If you don’t know where they are, you can’t assist.

Include the approved tool’s name, and what they need to do to ensure their trip is tracked if they cannot book within the tool for a valid reason.

Travel Support

Include information about who to call if there are trip changes or cancelations. Provide contact information for the travel support provider, such as email address, phone number, etc.

Emergencies

If an emergency arises, there should be information about who to contact, including your travel insurance policy information. Include employee and vendor contact information for the point of contact in an emergency.

Implementing Your Policy

Customize the template to your needs, and automate it when possible. This ensures employees will always book within policy guidelines at any given time.

Deploy the policy with employees, and collect feedback. Make sure your team is clear on the policy and all its details. Ask them about how easy it is to use the approved tools.

Developing and deploying a travel policy is critical for procurement to keep a close eye on corporate travel expenditures. We hope this makes the process easier for you.

What’s your goal today?

1. use planergy to manage purchasing and accounts payable.

We’ve helped save billions of dollars for our clients through better spend management, process automation in purchasing and finance, and reducing financial risks. To discover how we can help grow your business:

• Read our case studies, client success stories, and testimonials.
• Visit our Purchase Order Software page to see how Planergy can digitize and automate your purchase order process saving you time and money.
• Learn about us, and our long history of helping companies just like yours.

2. Download our “Indirect Spend Guide”

3. learn best practices for purchasing, finance, and more.

Browse hundreds of articles , containing an amazing number of useful tools, techniques, and best practices. Many readers tell us they would have paid consultants for the advice in these articles.

Related Posts

• Travel & Expense

Corporate Travel Program: How To Create a Program for Employer and Employee Needs

• 16 min read

The Top 8 Business Travel Management Tools

• 18 min read

Expense Reporting: What Is It, Templates, and How To Fill A Report

• 15 min read

PROCUREMENT

• Purchasing Software
• Purchase Order Software
• Procurement Solutions
• Procure-to-Pay Software
• E-Procurement Software
• PO System For Small Business
• Spend Analysis Software
• Vendor Management Software
• Inventory Management Software

AP & FINANCE

• Accounts Payable Software
• AP Automation Software
• Compliance Management Software
• Business Budgeting Software
• Workflow Automation Software
• Integrations
• Reseller Partner Program

Business is Our Business

Stay up-to-date with news sent straight to your inbox

Sign up with your email to receive updates from our blog

This website uses cookies

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services.

Read our privacy statement here .

A Guide to Travel Expense Control in Sales

Developing an effective sales travel expense policy is vital for companies that have a team of traveling sales representatives. However, it becomes much more critical when your top-line income is generated by them traveling across cities, states, and time zones.

If not correctly developed, your employee travel policy may actually limit your team’s desire or capacity to travel to close deals.

In today’s environment, businesses must collaborate with their human resources, sales, finance, and travel teams to develop a travel and reimbursement policy that not only your salespeople understand, but also which drives them to bring in revenue for your company when travelling.

In this article, you’ll learn why an effective sales travel expense policy is important, as well as how you can exercise travel expense control in sales.

Table of Contents

What is a sales travel expense policy & why is it important, how to develop an effective sales travel expense policy.

A sales travel expense policy outlines the responsibilities and duties of business travel in regard to expenses. It lays out a clear direction for salespeople to follow in order to maintain the validity of their costs. Additionally, it helps them use sound judgement when spending and reporting company expenses.

A travel and expense policy also identifies and describes the types of costs that an employee must report. It goes through each area in depth and explains how to track and report that specific company expense.

The sales team is often the department within a business with the largest budget for travel and leisure. They spend the most money on entertainment for prospects, suppliers, and existing customers. However, and most crucially, the sales team also contribute the most to top-line revenue.

With these two considerations in mind, it is clear that how a company develops and enforces an expense policy, as well as how it uses expense spend data, has a bigger influence on the sales team than any other department.

Now that you understand the link between an effective sales travel expense policy and a successful sales team, it’s vital to develop a policy that allows them to thrive.

Here are three key ways you can ensure your sales reps spend time closing deals, rather than worrying about their expenses.

1. Remove Tedious Expense Reporting Processes

Your sales team should be freed up to focus on doing what they were hired for, rather than spending hours on tedious admin tasks relating to their travel expenses.

This is where expense management software comes into play. It automates duties such as filling out laborious company expense reports, compiling paper receipts from months ago , and determining who should be given an expense reimbursement during critical rapport-building activities such as prospect lunches, dinners, or events.

Software such as ExpenseIn even comes with a receipt scanning feature , which allows users to simply photograph a receipt before the software automatically extracts all of the important information. This method takes just seconds, as opposed to hours. As a result, salespeople have more time to spend nurturing leads and closing strong deals.

2. Utilise Automated Spend Controls and Monitor Transactions as They Happen

Traditional corporate credit cards and travel expenditure reports have a drawback in that the data is usually delayed, often by up to a month. That’s a long time for any finance executive looking to increase policy compliance and prevent out-of-policy expenditure! Over the course of a month, a salesperson who doesn’t adhere to your expense guidelines could accumulate a mountain of employee spending.

This is why ExpenseIn has features such as Real-Time Reporting . This also enables finance departments to make decisions based on up-to-date data and trends.

Additionally, the Automated Policies feature allows organisations to configure guidelines that regulate expense claims. From limiting the maximum claim value to adjusting the requirements for the presence of a receipt, it’s easy to configure rules and apply them to groups within your business.

Receipt verification flags up any amount, date, or VAT discrepancies automatically, meaning finance managers no longer need to check receipts against every expense claim. Furthermore, automated policy checks cut down on expense rejections. This not only reduces manager workload and reimbursement time for employees, but also gives salespeople more peace of mind when they get confirmation of a successful expense submission.

3. Deter Out-of-Policy Spending

Many salespeople have become accustomed to using their personal credit card for business travel expenses in order to maximise personal reward points. These points are non-transferable, difficult to track, and have no monetary worth. Additionally, they act as a reward for spending as much as possible—the exact habit that your sales travel expense policy is trying to control.

If the maximum authorised total price for meals or other entertainment charges is £30, your workers will slash that to a penny below the limit. This isn’t the fault of your team. Personal cards are to blame for incentivising irresponsible spending .‍

Instead, you can provide a replacement bonus—in the form of money—that your salespeople will value far more than personal card points. This will deter out-of-policy spending and save your finance department numerous headaches in the process.

Get in touch today to learn how ExpenseIn can support your sales team with their travel expense policy.

Related stories, top 10 business expense tracker apps in 2024.

HMRC Subsistence Rates: Everything You Need to Know

[Free Download] Expenses Policy Template for UK Businesses

What is Spend Management? Strategies, Tools & Best Practices

Sign up to stay in the know

Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest ExpenseIn news and expense management insights straight to your inbox.

• Filter By Topics
• HR Technology
• Performance Management
• Future of Work
• Digital HR Transformation
• Employee Experience
• Recruitment
• Dialogue With Darwin
• Life at Darwinbox
• Employee Engagement
• People Analytics
• Rewards & Recognition
• Talent Management
• Company Culture
• Security & Compliance
• Leadership Interview Series
• Hybrid Work
• Product Update
• HR Evolution
• HR in Manufacturing
• Leaves & Attendance

Travel & Expense

• HR in Banking
• Smarter Worklife
• Customer Success Stories
• ChangeMakers
• Employee Benefits
• Employee Feedback
• HR Analytics
• HR Strategy
• HR in IT/ITeS
• Learning & Development
• Total Rewards
• Workplace Communication
• HR in Insurance
• Darwinbox for CIOs
• Data Security
• Employee Listening
• Employer Branding
• HR for Startups
• Time & Attendance
• Workforce Management
• Year in Review
• Employee Engagement Survey
• HR in Retail
• Localization
• HTML, HTML, HTML
• JS and jQuery
• one more tab
• another tab
• the last tab

How To Create a Travel and Expense Policy [With Template+ Industry Examples]

Stay updated, see darwinbox in action.

Business travel has seen massive changes in the last five years, and expense reimbursements are now harder to manage than ever before. In this article, we share an expense policy template and guidelines to make sure employees submit the right information from the get-go.   

A travel and expense policy is a collection of guidelines outlining how individuals should plan business-related travel, which expenses are eligible for reimbursement, and how reimbursements are managed. It outlines the company's dos and don'ts for all permitted business trips in order to prevent fraud and save expenses by enhancing budget transparency.  

Having such a policy is crucial for simplifying travel and expense (T&E) management procedures, rendering company costs more predictable, and assisting employees in understanding the spending caps of an approved business trip. This also goes a long way in improving the employee experience .  

Before we go through the business travel and expense policy template, let us look at what your policy should contain.  

Learn More :  Travel and Expense Management: Definition, Significance, Benefits, Key Features & Best Practices

Business Travel and Expense Policy Must-Haves  

A robust policy on travel and expenses should anticipate all possible questions from all stakeholders. When is it possible to upgrade or downgrade between  business class and economy class on flights? Can non-employees accompany a business traveler? Are there distinct sets of regulations for local and international travel?  

Typically, a company's finance and human resources departments are responsible for drafting its travel and spending policies. If an organization has a designated manager for business travel , they may also participate.  

Since the standards should be unambiguous and comprehensive, a travel and expenditure policy is generally extensive.  

The template we share should act as a guide, and HR managers need to customize and extend it as per their needs. But no matter which travel and expense policy template you choose, it should have the following sections:  

• Purpose : You should convey to all stakeholders that the policy is not merely a procedural step, but also a precaution to guarantee impartiality, minimize manual labor, and improve budgetary management altogether.  
• Business travel booking process : In this section, you must describe how to reserve airline tickets and lodgings, mentioning the company-approved booking tool, vendor, or platform.  
• Expense categories : Here, you will detail the various spending categories, such as business travel expenses, accommodations (hotel, Airbnb, or residences), lunches and dinners, phone charges, commute fees, and any asset management expenses incurred during the business trip.  
• Exceptions : To eliminate ambiguity, the T&E policy must specify which charges are excluded.  
• Expense reimbursement process : The policy should specify the method for submitting expenditure reports, the individual responsible for receiving them, the submission deadline, and the typical processing time for expense reimbursements .  
• Roles and responsibilities : The travel and expense policy should end with a detailed list of responsibilities assigned to the employee, their manager, various approvers, the HR team, and the T&E accountant.  

Now let us go through a policy template that covers these elements, and other essentials.  

Learn More: How To Automate Travel Expense Reporting in Enterprises    

Business Travel and Expense Policy Template  

The following T&E policy template has 12 sections, covering the most important sections you need. You can expand or add to the clauses to tailor the policy as per your organizational culture, budget, and nature of business: 

This policy is intended to:  

• Describe the categories of expenses which are reimbursable by the organization.  
• Inform personnel of their obligation to regulate and disclose travel and entertainment expenses.  
• Describe the actions an employee must take to submit and receive compensation for travel expenditures.  

Guiding principles

The policy of the organization is to compensate workers for any required, acceptable, and genuine expenditures incurred while traveling on approved business.  

The documentation and approval of travel costs must be listed on a travel expense statement. Each employee is responsible for adhering to business rules while making work-related purchases. In addition, it is the manager's job to comprehend the reasons for the expenditures and ensure that they've been reported in accordance with the established policy.    

Although these rules are meant to be exhaustive, it is difficult to anticipate every circumstance a traveler may experience. The traveler is required to follow these recommendations conservatively, commensurate with normal living standards, and use sound business judgment in situations where the policy has been exceeded by evolving circumstances.  

Preferred vendors

Our organizational travel agency is <travel agency name>. Travel plans may be scheduled with any agent who is available. The local office's telephone number is <(xxx) xxx-xxxx>.  

The travel agency will be tasked with finding the most affordable tickets and housing costs. If you must stay at a hotel that is more expensive than the allocated hotel, you must provide enough reason prior to making travel plans. The same policy applies to automobiles, air travel, etc.  

Air travel policy

LFR : All individuals flying with an airline must choose the Lowest Fare Routing (LFR) option. LFR is quoted as the minimum rational price for the business trip, (where possible).  

• Provide airfare discounts for round-trip travel.  
• The entire layover duration should not exceed one hour.  
• Allow not more than one intermediate stop each way.
• Exceptions to the policy document will be permitted with approval from the employee's supervisor in order to authorize additional costs.  

Approved travel class : Business, as well as First Class travel, isn't permitted unless the employee pays for it. Employees engaged in airline reward programs may utilize their private upgrades in conjunction with the company's reservation at the lowest available rate.  

Stopovers : Stopovers en route that are reasonable may be permitted, given that:  

• They have no negative impact on or interference with the accomplishment of the intended business goal.  
• These do not lead to significant work time loss.  
• The reported travel expenses do not exceed the appropriate airfare between the departure point and the work destination.  
• If such a layover occurs, the company takes no liability or responsibility for any employee's acts or actions that take place during or as a result of the stopover.  

Chargebacks : Airline tickets are deemed legal tender and should not be misplaced or discarded. Please return any unused tickets or ticket sections to the organization. After that, the tickets will be remitted to the travel agent for credit. Do not return unused tickets to the airline or travel agent directly.  

Car rentals and commutes

Car rentals are often the most expensive means of transportation and ought to only be used when local transit is impracticable or more expensive because of the nature of the journey or the sites being visited. Note that the taxi driver must acquire documentation for the fare charged.  

Please note that automobile rental volume discounts apply. When you make your bookings, the travel agents will be able to inform you of the car rental company we use.  

A predetermined sum of <$xxx> per mile or km> shall be paid for each mile or kilometer traveled for business purposes in a privately-owned vehicle permitted for business use and driven for such purposes.  

Accommodation

At the time hotel bookings are made via the company's tour operator, the best available pricing for rooms of reasonable quality in the most suitable area will be arranged. The passenger should confirm, upon arrival, that the rate displayed on the schedule is the price they get.  

Typically, the employee should choose establishments that are appropriately priced for the area and compatible with regular living conditions.  

Date, amount, location, and description of the nature of the business must be included for business dinners with customers or other colleagues. Include a list of the names of those who were entertained.  

Only wine and bar expenses linked only with a work meeting and not exceeding $xxx> per individual present are reimbursable. Employee entertainment isn't a reimbursable cost.  

Telephony charges

Employees traveling for work are authorized to make an appropriate number of long-distance calls home to confirm their arrival, make preparations for their return, and take good care of urgent personal problems that cannot wait.  

Regular business travel ers will be issued with calling cards for local and long-distance calls while on the road.  

Request for cash advances

A cash advance of up to <$xxx> per day of business travel may be requested by filling out a Request for Cash Advance application.  

All travel advance requests must be authorized and sent to the Accounts Payable division at least three working days before the traveler's departure.  

Miscellaneous policy inclusions and exclusions

Expense reporting.

<authority> regulations demand that traveling employees maintain a proper record for each trip and display all essential information to support each expense (who, what, why, when, as well as how much).  

The due date for expense reports is <e.g., thirty (30)> days following the first expenditure.  

Entertainment expenses incurred in the course of achieving business objectives must be evidenced by invoices for all expenses and supporting documents outlining the dates and locations of entertainment, the names and number of individuals involved, the business relationship between all parties, the business purpose, and the amount of each individual expenditure.  

Roles and responsibilities

Learn More: Rethinking Your Travel & Expense Management With Smarter Technology    

Examples of Business Travel and Expense Policies to Inspire You  

Remember that there’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to adhering to a T&E policy template. Companies around the world customize their policies as per their requirements; here are a few notable examples.  

The expense policy at Netflix consists of simply five words: "Act in Netflix's best interest." It aligns with Netflix's general cultural code, which has a comprehensive subsection on freedom and accountability. For example, the company's maternity leave policy includes the phrase "take care of your baby and yourself" and specifies that new parents often need 4 to 8 months.  

The policy document for BBC's business travel and expense reimbursement is extremely detailed. In addition to being consistent with the company's employee-centric culture, there are laws limiting "late night/early morning transport" (LNEMT), which is reasonable given the operational hours of its business. If payment from the BBC was delayed, and this was the basis for the interest, employees may claim credit card interest expenses.  

 FedEx's policy reads more like a legally binding document than a statement of guidelines. Page one of the policy specifies that "termination" is a potential consequence for workers who violate the policy. It is a good idea to spell this out and avoid legal ambiguity later on.  

Learn More: Make Your Business Go Places With Darwinbox’s Brand New Travel Module!    

Policies for business travel and expense reimbursement are meaningless unless you have a system to enforce them. That’s where T&E management software like Darwinbox comes in.  

With a unified platform,  you can integrate your expense policy with payroll and attendance and automatically receive information to simplify expense reimbursements . Schedule a demo with Darwinbox to learn more !

Recommended Reading

How does travel and expense management improve employee experience, establishing a travel and expenses process: strategy, steps & best practices, how to detect and prevent expense fraud, speak your mind.

Subscribe and stay up to date

Subscribe here, unleash the true potential of your workforce.

10 travel & expense policy samples, templates & resources

Published on January 14, 2023

So it's time to write your company's expense policy. And either you have no idea where to start, or you've done this before and you just want to make sure that you hit all the important points.

Either way, we've got you covered. We've pulled together a handful of useful templates that you can copy directly. And perhaps more useful are the seven real-world expense policies from companies and institutions you've heard of.

See how each approaches its travel and expense requirements differently, and what they each expect from employees. Then use these insights to write a successful policy that team members actually use .

Let’s begin with a collection of ready-to-copy templates to help you create your company expense policy.

Disclaimer : The real expense policy examples below were easily found online and not provided by the businesses themselves. They are to be used for the purposes of comparison and inspiration, and Spendesk will happily remove them from this post if requested.

hbspt.cta.load(2694209, '496b7000-1d9a-42cb-a345-7142cd1cef17', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"});

Real travel & expense policy samples.

We’ll share hands-on, ready-to-use policy templates shortly. But perhaps more valuable is to see the real travel and expense policies successful companies use .

We’ve pulled out the most noteworthy aspects of each below, and you can click the links to see them in full. Read through a few and decide which company’s approach best matches your own philosophy . It’s always nice to know that there are thriving, famous institutions that think the same way you do.

You don’t need a link to see the full Netflix expense policy - it only contains five words:

“ Act in Netflix’s best interests. ”

For obvious reasons, this has become famous. And it matches Netflix’s overall culture code, which includes a full section on Freedom and responsibility . It’s a fascinating document, including a few highlights:

Our vacation policy is “take vacation .” We don’t have any rules or forms around how many weeks per year. Our leaders make sure they set good examples by taking vacations, often coming back with fresh ideas, and encourage the rest of the team to do the same.

Our parental leave policy is: “ take care of your baby and yourself .” New parents generally take 4-8 months.

Each employee chooses each year how much of their compensation they want in salary versus stock options . You can choose all cash, all options, or whatever combination suits you.

If that sounds like the kind of company you’re building - and you’re willing to back it up - then perhaps the Netflix approach is right for you.

Basecamp’s expense policy is not quite as simple as Netflix’s, but displays a similar ethic. We don’t have the full policy itself, but rather a set of key benefits given to Basecamp employees. These were shared by CEO Jason Fried in a 2016 blog post.

The most important aspect shared is the company’s “no-red-tape business account.” Every employee gets their own American Express card. There’s no need to ask for approval for transactions - just be reasonable.

Which is clearly a highly trusting approach to managing spending. But if you plan to replicate this, you’ll still need to ensure you have a clear process for documenting transactions - otherwise your finance team will be forever in the dark.

Because this post is full of fascinating nuggets, we’d better share a few more:

Employees receive a $100/month massage allowance.

They also receive $100/month towards their gym, yoga studio, or fitness pursuit of choice.

Employees can work from anywhere in the world. “Move cities, keep your job.”

There’s plenty more to read in there. It may not be the exact expense policy that employees use when spending, but it’s fascinating just the same.

In a word: classic. The document is comprehensive and contains all the main expense categories and key pieces of information you’d expect to find. It’s a good example of a more prescriptive (but still easy to follow) policy .

Here are a few highlights:

The BBC has a written sustainable travel policy , and explicitly requires staff to use public transport where possible.

There are specific rules governing “ late night/early morning transport ” (LNEMT), which makes sense given the operating hours of its radio and television channels.

Employees may claim interest incurred on personal credit cards if reimbursement from the BBC was late and this was the reason for the interest.

There are a huge range of incredibly specific rules in this document. Which makes for a very interesting read.

Allowances for things like food, accommodation, and mileage follow HMRC’s recommendations, as you’d expect. Read our detailed explanation of HMRC’s travel expense rules .

Note : This is an older document - last updated in 2015. So it’s possible that it’s no longer 100% up to date. But nonetheless, it’s worth looking through it to see what inspiration you can draw.

As an enormous international company, it’s probably not surprising that FedEd’s policy reads like a legal document more than a set of guidelines . The company likely feels that can’t afford to be unclear about its rules, and has been quite exhaustive in stating what’s permitted.

It’s up to you whether this matches your own philosophy. At Spendesk, we prefer overarching guidelines to prescriptive rulebooks. This suits us better.

Here are some noteworthy sections of FedEx’s travel and expense policy:

The first page of the policy explicitly states that “termination” is a possibility if employees don’t follow the policy . Which makes sense, but isn't always spelled out in a simple policy document.

Expense reports should be submitted on a weekly or per-trip basis . The latter is quite standard, but submitting reports weekly can easily put a huge burden on both travelling employees and finance teams.

Team members are expected to keep all of their receipts for 12 months . This has likely been updated with more companies using e-receipts these days. If not, that’s quite a tall order.

Vice Presidents and above are permitted to travel first class , while other employees are expected to fly coach (economy). For flights longer than six hours, business class may be allowed.

Because this travel policy is so detailed, there’s plenty more of interest to explore.

Bank of England

Similar to FedEx’s, Bank of England’s policy and long and detailed. Similar to the BBC, Bank of England is a public entity and therefore takes fiscal responsibility seriously.

The policy begins by setting out two clear operating principles :

The value-for-money principle : because the bank is accountable to Parliament and the public, it needs to take good care of spending.

The integrity principle : “we should not be influenced by the prospect of personal advantage or gain. We must use the Bank’s resources responsibly for the public good, not to profit personally.”

While quite exhaustive, this policy does read as though written by those with the best interests of both employees and the institution at heart. The language is clear and easy to understand , and many of the ideas are based on what’s good for the individual.

For example, “wellbeing is also important. Travelling long distances and being away from family and friends has a cost. The Bank wants staff to be able to perform at their best when travelling for work.”

This shows that, even if long and quite technical, a good expense policy can also show the care with which a company treats its team .

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth’s travel and expense policy is one of the more legal and technical policies we’ll see. It’s written more like a piece of legislation than a “clear and simple” playbook . Whether that suits your business is your own call, but it probably makes it more difficult to follow for employees.

On the other hand, it’s very comprehensive . And we might imagine that Dartmouth employees are naturally more used to technical and academic writing than the average company employee.

Similar to others we’ve seen above, the document sets out a list of non-allowable expenses, which is important if you want your policy to be exhaustive. It also states clearly the likely penalties if the policy isn’t followed properly.

It’s also worth examining the procurement section near the beginning of the policy . If your business handles lots of high-value purchases, you may be interested in the rules set out by Dartmouth.

Victoria University of Wellington

We can compare Dartmouth’s policy with another academic institute: Victoria University. Similarly, this policy is formulated like a legal document, setting out very clearly what’s permitted and what isn’t.

Despite this, it’s fairly easy to understand and is only 9 real pages of text . Which compared with some others isn’t too daunting.

A few things worth noting:

All University travel should be economy class , with a few narrow exceptions. These exceptions are not related to job description.

For meals, mileage, parking fees, and other on-the-road travel expenses, the University doesn’t state a fixed amount covered . Instead, it will cover “all ordinary, necessary and reasonable expenses required for the individual to undertake approved University travel.”

The second page sets out the ethical framework upon which the whole document was written .

Expense policy templates

Putting an expense policy together is often a long, drawn out process. You need buy-in from different teams, managers, and executive leadership, to ensure you’ve covered all your bases.

And even then, there’s no guarantee that everyone will read and appreciate your hard work. Expense policies are regularly overlooked or ignored , and many employees prefer to do things their own way.

Which is frustrating, of course.

Given this, it doesn’t make sense to devote hours and hours to writing it from scratch. Instead, take one of these templates and tailor it to your own company’s needs .

This is a very clear and easy to understand expense policy , written in plain English (which is always important). It can be downloaded in DOC format, with spaces for you to fill in managers’ names, points-of-contact, and any other important information.

You know, a template.

And a very good one at that. If you simply want a plug-and-play expense policy that you can get live in a hurry, this is the perfect place to start.

Corporate Traveller

This PDF from Corporate Traveller isn’t exactly a copy/paste template like the two above. But it includes the firm’s recommended top 10 elements to include in your own policy.

Some of these don’t feature in our other listed templates, but may be good ideas. For example, “traveller profile forms” which ask frequent travellers for information to the company which might help in an emergency. This isn’t rocket science, but it’s the sort of thing that you might easily forget.

This template is specifically for employee expense reimbursements . We always advise you avoid expense claims , but since most companies still rely on them on some form, it’s a good idea to make sure the rules are clearly stipulated.

Further resources

If all the above isn’t enough information and inspiration to draft a winning expense policy, here are two more excellent resources that give you principles and foundations to build upon.

Expense policy 101: understanding the basics

Company expense policy: a guide for modern businesses

Spend management guide for growing businesses

Create the perfect T&E policy with help from others

As we've seen, there's plenty of inspiration available for finance leaders and managers to craft a winning travel and expense policy. It doesn't have to be a chore.

And on top of the excellent examples we've shared, get help from the people around you. A good expense policy isn't simply a top-down affair. If other team members have input - not just your finance team - you can be confident that your policy will reflect what's best for the whole company.

In the end, it's about writing something that people will actually follow . More often than not, that means a simple, clear, and concise travel and expense policy.

And even better, it might mean a policy that's built into the tools your teams use every day. That's how it works here at Spendesk, and we'd love to help you achieve the same outcome:

More reads on Product Updates

A brief guide to Irish VAT rates & easier returns

11 top HRIS software and tools

ERPs: definition, challenges, and solutions

Get started with spendesk.

Close the books 4x faster , collect over 95% of receipts on time , and get 100% visibility over company spending.

• Travel Advisory
• Travel Podcasts for Covid Times

Corporate Travel Management Blogs

7 corporate travel policy templates to help you define.

Sajit Chacko Co-Founder

A corporate travel policy template can be a valuable tool to help companies define their policies and ensure that all employees are compliant with the company’s expectations. With a template, companies can quickly create a customized document that will ensure their travel policy meets all legal requirements as well as any other specific needs of the business.

For a business to implement a trip, it must first select and purchase the most economically viable choices for flights and accommodations. Apart from flight tickets and stay, incidental expenses commonly include trip aspects such as food, gifts to customers, newspapers, laundry services, value-added hotel services, dining charges, events tickets, local commutes, room service, and long-distance calls. 

By 2022, global corporate travel spending was expected to amount to over US $930 billion, emphasizing how expensive it can be to secure these expenses and successfully conduct a feasible business trip. 

Additionally, it is worth noting that planning and implementing these trips through traditional expense management systems makes it more expensive, tedious, and time-consuming than it needs to be. Due to the lack of transparency and restrictions of these systems, it is often a challenge for companies to track these non-budgeted expenses until post-trip reconciliation. 

By this time, it’s too late, and the employee already charges the costs to the enterprise. For a company to maintain a trip’s economic feasibility, it is crucial to establish the appropriate cost-cutting measures well before the trip’s planning phase takes place.

A well-written company travel policy can be instrumental in achieving this by providing businesses and travel stakeholders the means to reduce, streamline and curb associated corporate travel costs.

Studying the approaches leading organizations have taken to address their corporate travel and employee needs is an excellent way for aspiring businesses to devise their corporate travel strategies. 

Make sure to emphasize the perks of following your policy for travelers, like keeping them safe and providing support, so they understand why it’s important.

This article aims to provide businesses with seven market-tested robust templates that they may leverage as inspiration to create a winning corporate travel policy. 

Before you begin, it is essential to understand what a business travel policy is and what it can help your business achieve.

What is a corporate travel policy?

A business’s travel policy is a set of regulations and parameters set by business leaders to effectively manage travel bookings and expenditures when employees travel to visit partners, sites, prospects, clients, colleagues, and conferences. 

This crucial document contains information on the extent of expense coverage and considerations that travelers must follow when making flights, accommodation bookings, and incidental expenses during all travel phases. 

For an employee to secure timely T&E reimbursements, it is an absolute must to abide by the rules and guidelines this policy sets.

Best Corporate Travel Policy Templates

To help you understand these policies better, let us take a look at seven well-established organizations and their take on corporate travel:

Netflix, the world-renowned streaming platform’s travel policy, is a reflection of its organizational work culture and merely states, ‘Act in Netflix’s best interest .’ These five worded simplistic travel policies provide employees an elevated level of freedom, control, and responsibility over planning and implementing their corporate travel than most other companies. 

Instead of restricting employees with a stringent corporate travel policy, Netflix enables its employees to make their own travel decisions how they see fit as long as they conduct themselves in the company’s best interest and continue to drive value to the organization. Employees are free to take vacations without restrictions on the number of days a year. 

The goal here is to give employees the freedom to use their best judgment and make wise decisions by understanding the context of what management considers appropriate and inappropriate without imposing strict guidelines. 

This policy is enforced by a lead-by-example approach where Netflix’s leadership takes vacations that are also productive for the company.  

Although this famous policy may not be suitable for all organizational types, it is still worth studying to gauge if any aspects of it may benefit you.

While Basecamp’s policy follows a similar approach to Netflix’s, it is not nearly as simple. Basecamp instead takes it one step further by providing all employees with an American Express card that they can use without restrictions or approvals. 

The only criterion this highly trust-based approach expects from its employees is to be reasonable regarding the expenses they charge to the company account. It is a tricky system for businesses to implement as it requires high transparency of documented transactions for finance departments to ensure that expenses are justifiable. 

Basecamp additionally offers its employees perks such as monthly capital allowances for recreational and fitness activities such as massages, yoga, and gyms. 

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) follows a traditional travel policy that provides its employees with informative and simplistic documentation of its policy coverage. This travel policy provides guidelines on all travel categories and transparent information on what expenses qualify for reimbursements. 

Being a sustainable corporate travel policy, it encourages employees to prioritize public transport, preferably rail, to reduce the company’s environmental impact. The expense policy also dictates using communication tools such as Telepresence, Skype, and other video conferencing options as an alternative means to conduct business to travel whenever possible. 

When air travel is unavoidable, the expense policy asks employees to make all flight bookings through BBC Travel & Delivery. The policy also requires travelers to obtain formal pre-approvals from the Divisional Finance Director for all bookings. 

If group bookings exceed ten travelers, the tickets must be procured well in advance with the BBC’s preferred suppliers and vendors. The company allows personal travel to be combined with business travel only if it reduces the cost of travel to the company.

Employees must book the lowest-priced economy-class tickets regardless of the airline. Travelers may book premium economy tickets if their flight duration exceeds six hours and are expected to work immediately upon arrival. 

Business-class tickets are reserved only for employees that have to travel over eight hours and are required to work immediately upon arrival. First-class tickets are entirely out of the question for employees and not covered under the company’s travel policy without any exceptions. 

The company vigorously enforces these rules and carefully monitors upgraded tickets. Employees are encouraged to stay in private accommodations, for which they can claim £20 per day, including food. Employees can claim reimbursement of incidental expenses such as personal calls and basic laundry when their official stay duration exceeds seven nights.

The expense policy for meals states that employees may claim up to a contribution of £6 per meal inclusive of taxes within working hours and £16 for any meals for work conducted after 8 pm. Employees must produce receipts for every meal and detail them individually in the Concur claim form. 

The BBC also allows employees to visit theatres and other cultural locations, provided they can assess talent and generate potentially lucrative ideas for the company. 

In such instances, the employee may purchase a single ticket reserved for themselves. They must also provide appropriate reasoning for their visit in the claims form to get reimbursed. 

For local commutes, the BBC’s corporate travel dictates that the usage of cabs is permissible only for business purposes if it is the cheapest available mode of transport. When such a requirement arises, the ride cost should not exceed £100, including all waiting time, booking fees, trip costs, and miscellaneous costs, unless it is the cheapest transportation option available. 

Employees traveling by cab must prove that they are commuting for work by filling out a passenger declaration form. When a cab ride for official work exceeds a distance of forty miles, the company will deduct it from the employee’s salary.

If it is the cheapest option, employees may engage in personal commuting for official business purposes. Their travel policy allows employees to acquire reimbursements for any fuel consumed during the commute, provided the traveler submits the appropriate receipts to the company detailing the business purpose of the journey. 

The BBC also allows employees to submit claims for car parking and toll costs as long as they are reasonable and if they occurred while conducting official business.

Federal Express, a global air freight network, provides reliable, prompt, time-definite delivery to over 200 countries and territories around the globe. As an international company that conducts its operations in numerous geographical locations, it formulated an iron-clad corporate travel and expense policy template that leaves no room for doubt for its employees on its coverage. 

All business travel ticketing, including airline tickets, rail tickets, hotels, and rental cars, must be booked through FedEx’s authorized travel agency or tools. Traveling employees are permitted to use only economy class, although travelers are allowed to use Business-class if the total travel time exceeds six hours. 

Flying First-class is reserved only for the company’s President and Vice Presidents.

FedEx Corporation has a preapproved list of hotels offering discounted corporate rates for their traveling employees across the globe. Employees may book a stay at a non-preferred hotel only when preferred hotels are busy or unavailable.

The corporate policy dictates that all employees must use the least expensive transportation option available such as public transportation, free shuttles, or personal vehicles, with the use of rental cars reserved only when it is cheaper than public transport and economically viable. 

Upon using a rental car, travelers must utilize it optimally with other team members to reduce the overall transportation cost to the company. Upon trip completion, the original receipts and rental agreements must be submitted to the finance team at FedEx for approval. 

Its corporate policy requires employees to carefully retain all receipts and submit expense reports trip-wise or weekly basis. FedEx remains clear that non-adherence to its corporate policy can lead to employee termination, depending on the circumstance. 

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College’s corporate policy template is a comprehensive document that clearly defines all allowed and disallowed expenses to keep employees clear on their expense limitations. 

It details the penalties one might face when one fails to abide by the policy. It may not be a simple playbook, but it was designed specifically for the educational institution and its employees. 

Dartmouth College recommends that all traveling employees who travel at least once a year obtain a corporate card for their travel expenses. Its policy dictates that employees book airway tickets through the Dartmouth travel portal. 

Employees not possessing a corporate card may acquire advances to cover incidental costs for a maximum daily limit of US$50 as long as they provide a valid justification for it accompanied by proper receipts. These advances must be requested at least ten business days from the travel date and under no circumstances should be used to cover personal expenses or activities. 

Non-compliance or abusing the Dartmouth travel policy will result in the Dartmouth Controller’s Office revoking the traveler’s advance privileges.

The educational institution’s policy requires employees to choose the least expensive flight tickets, factoring in reasonable comfort and convenience requirements. It also encourages employees to leverage Dartmouth College’s contract with Travel Leaders to ensure they book the lowest fares. 

A significant employee benefit of the T&E policy is that travelers can personally retain the frequent flier points they accumulate through the corporate travels they can redeem for personal benefit. These benefits do not include any membership fees the employee may pay to join the frequent flier club. 

Employees are allowed to book business class tickets when the travel time exceeds five consecutive hours in duration or during exceptional circumstances subject to the approval of the Dean, President, Vice President, Board of Trustees, or Provost. 

Value-add-ons such as preferred seat selection and baggage fees are deemed acceptable per the policy, provided they are reasonable.

This company has a simple, transparent, and easily adaptable policy template that businesses can use as a starting point for writing their corporate travel policy. Businesses must download the customizable policy template from Workable’s company website and alter it based on their unique organizational travel requirements. 

The policy requires employees to contact the office manager, HR generalist, or finance manager for travel-related bookings. The robust approach requires employees to utilize their best judgment while on their trips and submit all travel-related invoices post-trip completion.

In their policy, a ‘business trip’ is any trip whereby an employee travels to a city different from where they typically work to conduct official business. The policy recognizes employee travel for client meetings, lectures, presentations, events, conferences, off-site company locations, and research trips as reimbursable. 

In such instances, all car, bus, or train commutes employees take that exceed an hour in travel time are also considered reimbursable business trip expenses. The policy does not consider daily work commutes of employees as a business trip regardless of how far they have to travel to get to the office.

It dictates that traveling employees are eligible to book a premium economy ticket, while Executives can book business class. Employees who utilize alternative means of air transport, such as boats, coaches, and trains, are eligible to reserve premium seats to and from their destination. 

Although, Workable’s travel policy does not cover any value-added services or extra baggage. The policy mandates that employees seek written approvals from their respective managers and book travel tickets and accommodation at least two weeks before the travel date. 

However, the policy facilitates flexibility for unforeseeable circumstances where the need for travel is unexpected. 

Traveling employees are allowed to travel by their personal vehicles or taxis for their business trips. In the case of the former, fuel and toll bills, and for the latter, the cab fares, are reimbursable provided the employee provides the appropriate receipts. A rental car is a third option per the policy for trips permissible when employees travel to multiple destinations to conduct official business. 

In such instances, the employee must book a basic two-four-door, compact, automatic transmission and petrol-powered automobile.

Employees are entitled to stay in three-star hotels or the best available accommodation available in the area, which will be paid for by the company. They are further encouraged to leverage business partnerships with hotels for discounted rates. 

Pending approval from the manager, employees can upgrade rooms or stay at higher prices if they pay the price difference. The policy stipulates that the company will not pay for upgrades or value-added services. 

Employees are also permitted to travel with a friend, partner, or family member if the extra member does not increase the travel cost to the company. In such cases, the policy requires the employee to pay in full for all additional expenses incurred that may arise due to the non-employee. 

Workable’s policy allows employees to claim up to US$20 for meals, including lunch and dinner, during business trips. Client dinners also come under the policy’s coverage for up to US$150. 

The traveling employee must acquire approval from Workable’s Chief Finance Officer (CFO) if the bill exceeds that amount. 

Corporate Traveler

Although it’s not a readily usable travel policy template, it serves as a guide for businesses to deploy their T&E policy . It dictates the steps and important considerations when devising a robust policy for unique business travel demands. It focuses on streamlining the corporate travel process to reduce costs and keep travelers safe. 

Employees are encouraged to use preferred suppliers and always opt for travel insurance. It motivates employees to avoid using business class or premium economy unless the flight time exceeds 10 hours. 

Additionally, the policy encourages businesses to outline clearly and precisely to employees on all reimbursable and non-reimbursable expenses, including meals, per diems, and ground transport, amongst others. 

Create and enforce your travel policy with Tripeur

Tripeur is a state-of-the-art travel management platform that simplifies the burden and responsibility of creating, updating, and enforcing your corporate travel policy. 

Once you write your policy, our system eliminates compliance issues by logging all business travel expenditures in real-time. These logs actively give employees T&E visibility to inform them precisely on what travel expenses they are entitled to and their limitations. 

Tripeur’s platform aims to help businesses overcome compliance issues by providing managers with the functionality of delivering WhatsApp and email approvals accompanied by automated expense reports. Through our system, management can instantly identify and mitigate any non-compliance in real time and enforce preventive measures to prevent future occurrences. 

Our innovative and user-friendly product could be the solution to create a robust travel policy that can effectively handle the re-emergence of international corporate travel. Every tool you need to maintain compliance is readily available within Tripeur’s powerful platform.  

Trying to figure out how to get better compliance with corporate travel policies? When you get Tripeur to book your business trips, it’ll link in with your travel policy. This makes it easier to spot when something isn’t following the rules and enables employees to make smarter decisions quickly.

For CFOs Consistent YoY savings by changing user behavior

For Travelers Superior experience for travelers with a virtual travel assistant

About Us Passionate about bringing the much needed change in Business Travel

It’s three-in-a-box corporate travel experience solution . Check it out

The Complete Guide to Business Travel Policy (With Free Downloadable Template)

Business trips may be unavoidable if you have overseas clients or offices in multiple locations. Or there may be international conferences that you want your employees to attend. With travel comes the hassle of booking transport, accommodation, paying for meals, and managing aspects related to the trip. 

Well, the norm is for companies to pay for any business-related expenses and business travel is one such major expense. To make budgeting and paying for corporate travel easy, it is advisable to have a business travel policy in place. 

What is a business travel policy?

A business travel policy or a corporate travel policy is a formal document that sets rules, guidelines, travel reimbursement process and other aspects related to business travel. It sets the tone for how employees should book, manage and apply for reimbursement for travel expenses related to a business trip. It must also include details on how managers should approve business travel. 

A company travel policy will include a purpose statement, scope, authorization and reimbursement processes, and travel arrangements. It will include details on transportation including airfare, per diem meal allowance, accommodation, incidental expenses and any miscellaneous expenses that may arise on a business trip. 

Usually, you may have a finance manager or a travel manager taking care of corporate travel. You could also hire an external travel agency. Irrespective of whether you manage business travel in-house or outsource it, having a comprehensive company travel policy regarding domestic and international travel can ease the process.

The objective of having a business travel policy 

The objective of having a travel policy for employees in a company is to establish specific standards for corporate travel. It is essential to be prudent. A company-wide business travel policy will set the expectations for booking business travel for different levels of employees. It will provide the basis for employees claiming reimbursements, set a process for the same and make it easy for both travellers and travel approvers. 

A travel and expense (T&E) policy is also required to help employees understand the legalities of business travel. It will also help with expense reporting and explaining to authorities how you budget and spend travel expenses as a business. 

With a T&E policy in place, you will be able to budget better, monitor employee spending, and ensure that employees have a safe trip. It is also a good way to reduce overspending and limit fraud. 

Scope of a travel and expense policy 

A comprehensive T&E policy should ideally cover all regular employees of the company. That should include top management and percolate down to interns, depending on who may need to travel. It could also include contractors, seasonal employees, part-time employees and all others who may need to travel. 

The scope should include:

• Transportation including airfare, trains and buses
• Private transportation
• On-ground or local travel 

Accommodation 

• Incidental expenses such as WiFi, parking charges, etc. 
• Miscellaneous expenses such as cost of vaccinations and boosters required for Covid
• Helpline numbers 

The repercussions of non-adherence to the company travel policy should be stringent for all.  

Why do you need a business travel policy? 

If you are a company that has employees who need to travel regularly, then it is optimal for you to have a T&E policy for employees. It has a range of benefits, not just for the business but also for your employees.

A corporate travel policy will ensure employee safety 

There is a Duty of Care that all employers owe to their employees. If your employees are on business travel, you must ensure their safety and protection. Having a travel policy for employees with clear guidelines can make travel safe. For instance, you may mandate that employees fly with a carrier with the highest safety standards. Or, you may permit employees to use private transport late at night. That is a reliable place to work.

It saves costs 

One of the biggest reasons to have a business T&E policy is to regulate costs. Research suggests that business travel expenses could grow to $1.7 billion by the end of the year. Businesses usually spend an average of 10% of their annual expenses on corporate travel. Without guidelines that tell your employees what an acceptable level of spending is, your business travel expenses could shoot up considerably. Employees may be tempted to go in for the most expensive option without appropriate guidelines in place. You don't want your employees spending on presidential suites and ordering caviar at company expense. In that case, you should consider enforcing a corporate travel policy that sets per diem limits on how much employees can spend on food, accommodation, local travel, client expenses, etc. 

‍ It makes travel management easier 

Having a clear set of guidelines on what is acceptable and what isn't when travelling for work makes the process easier for both employees and the company. Imagine if your employees had to clarify every small detail regarding their travel – what airline class is permitted, whether airport parking is a claimable expense or not, are Uber fares refundable, etc. A business travel policy makes it easier for your employees and saves time answering repetitive questions.

It reduces fraud 

When you have a company-wise detailed business travel policy, the chances of employees taking you for a ride are lower. Since you set the upper limit on how much they are allowed to spend on each aspect of business travel, such as food or accommodation, they will be forced to stick to the budget or pay for the difference themselves. When you put the onus on the employee, they are less likely to overspend, on purpose or otherwise. 

It increases fairness and transparency

A well-designed and properly communicated T&E policy fosters an environment of fairness in the company. Managers can show no favouritism. The policy will set out the budget for employees and arrangements will be made according to that. When employees see that everyone is getting equitable treatment, it will foster a positive company culture. 

Makes reimbursement process smoother 

A business travel policy will clearly state the budget for business travel. It will require employees to submit receipts and invoices to support their expenses. These can then be reconciled and settled accordingly. Having a T&E platform to settle business travel expenses will make the reimbursement process seamless. 

Who should consider creating a business travel policy? 

Whether you are a big business or a startup, you should consider having a company travel policy if: 

• You have factories in multiple locations. Managers and employees may need to travel to different sites for educational or training purposes. 
• Your business is rapidly expanding across geographies. This may require senior management or other employees to travel to other locations for business purposes. Having a travel policy will make it easier to monitor and budget for these trips. 
• Your business has clients spread across the country, or in international locations, then having a corporate travel policy is a must. Employees will need to travel frequently to liaise with clients. A travel policy will make business travel fair for all. 
• You are a company that outsources a good portion of your business to offshore vendors, you may need to visit them from time to time for quality checks and supervision. Getting a travel policy will make corporate travel hassle-free. 
• You send employees for training, conferences and seminars to other locations. This will make bulk bookings easier to manage and budget. 

What to include in your business travel policy? 

When drafting your business travel policy, there are many aspects to consider. Your T&E policy needs to reflect your unique needs, including your company's and employees' needs. Some of the fundamental elements to cover are:

Overall guidelines 

Set the basic standard of your T&E policy for business travel. Section your outline to include domestic and international travel separately. Budgets for different destinations will differ. Clearly outline who will be responsible for executing the policy at different levels. Will the travel manager handle sanctioning for everyone, or will other team managers be accountable for authorising business travel? Also, mention the timeline for making bookings. Encourage your employees to make bookings early to take advantage of cheaper rates. Apart from budgetary considerations, also look into business travel safety and security aspects. It will put your employees at ease while travelling for work.

Transportation 

You need to consider how your employees will travel for a business trip. For short domestic travel, you could consider trains or road travel. If an employee is taking their vehicle, outline whether you will be paying only for fuel or a driver. International travel may require sanctioning airline budgets. You should specify the budget for flight expenses or outline whether they are permitted to travel by business class or economy. Even while travelling locally at the destination they are at, you should specify whether employees are allowed to take cabs or whether they should stick to public transport. Even minute details such as what form of transport is acceptable while travelling to the airport or train station should be mentioned so that there is no ambiguity later on. In general, you should encourage your employees to minimise travel expenses.

If your employees need to stay overnight during business travel, you will need to provide accommodation. In the T&E policy, you must clearly state what accommodation you can provide. If your budget is large enough, you may be able to provide accommodation in a star hotel. As a startup, your accommodation may be within a budget stay. If you have your guesthouses, you could put up your employees there. Depending on your means as a company, you should define the accommodation arrangements in the corporate travel policy and communicate them to your employees. 

Travel insurance 

To increase business travel safety, you may choose to insure your employees on business trips. If you have partnered with an insurance company, disclose this in your T&E policy so that employees only avail the services of the vendor you have sanctioned. If there is any aspect of travel you do not insure, disclose it in your policy.

In case of group travel, you may be able to arrange food for all employees through a caterer or a fixed menu. Setting a budget per meal or day makes sense for solo travellers who may be dining on their own. Having a per diem allocation for meals can be economical. This section should also include details about whose meals employees are allowed to pay for. For instance, if an employee is going to a business meeting, you may enable them to pay for the client. However, a personal meeting not sanctioned by the manager may not fall under the company travel expense. You must outline these clearly so that there is no confusion.

Travel by designation 

You may have a blanket policy for everyone, or you may choose to provide upgraded services to executive employees. For instance, you may allow senior management to travel by business class and book accommodation in star hotels. While this may seem like additional expenditure, it can also be a way to motivate your employees. If you plan on providing differential travel arrangements for employees, you should mention this in your T&E policy. It will make it easier for your budgeting team to allocate resources accordingly.

Reimbursements 

You cannot prepay all expenses. There may be expenses that might arise while on the business trip, such as sudden meetings with clients, an add-on fee at a conference, etc. You need to state what expenses can be reimbursed and what cannot. You could issue a corporate credit card to your travelling employees to make the process easy. Even while giving the credit card, you need to be specific about which expenses they will be able to claim. Aspire provides unlimited corporate cards that you can issue to teams that help reduce or avoid forex charges, integrates seamlessly with your accounting software and makes it easy to track expenses. We also have specialised reimbursement software that is a delight for employees, accounting teams and the entire organization. 

Non-reimbursable expenses 

It may be prudent to include a section on non-reimbursable expenses. For instance, if you don't specify that entertainment expenses are excluded from business travel budgets, your employees may assume it is allowed. That could lead to confusion later on. You may not reimburse costs such as using a hotel's spa, swimming pool, gym, minibar, room service, etc. Mention this in the T&E policy.

Non-employee travel guidelines

For extended business trips, you may allow your employee to travel with their spouse or children. However, you may require them to stay in the same room or accommodation you have provided. Suppose you are allowing your employees to travel with their families. In that case, you need to specify which family members they are allowed to take with them and whether you will be paying for their travel or sanction any additional expenses.

Miscellaneous expenses 

If your employees are going to attend a conference and there are registration fees involved, your T&E policy should specify whether you will be covering the expenses. Any other miscellaneous costs such as parking fees at an airport, excess baggage, laundry services while staying for extended durations, gifts for clients, tests and vaccinations required for travel under Covid-19 protocol, etc., should also be specified in the T&E policy. Leaving any expense uncovered could create room for doubt and increase your travel budget.

Special Circumstances and exceptions

It is essential to outline a section dedicated to special circumstances such as missed flights, trains or buses, double bookings, lost tickets, surcharge fare on public transport, etc. You should outline every possibility and have a backup plan for employees to follow. Having these in your guidelines will eliminate ambiguity and a possible overcharging by employees. 

‍ Approved list of agents and partners 

Your business travel policy should include a list of pre-approved agents, vendors and partners you have tied up with for different purposes. For instance, you may have partnered with a group of hotels to avail corporate discounts. This should be stated in the company travel policy. You should also provide contact details, customer care numbers, discount codes, etc. wherever applicable. 

Reimbursement process

For expenses that are not prepaid, you need to have a reimbursement process in place. This includes the reimbursement timeline, instructions on how to submit receipts and vouchers, which software to use while applying for reimbursement, who issues reimbursements, how long the reimbursement process will take, etc. 

Escalations and emergencies 

Your T&E policy should also include details regarding what to do in case of emergencies. You should provide a company helpline number as well as a local person of contact to lean on in case of emergency. For other issues and escalations too, you should provide a separate point of contact. Not equipping your employees with these details could leave them lost and confused in unexpected circumstances. 

Things to consider before drafting a business travel policy 

As you can see, there's a lot of detail to drafting your business travel policy. Here are some steps to keep in mind while creating a comprehensive business travel policy:

Identify your objectives 

Before drafting your travel policy for employees, outline what the objectives are. You should be considering employee safety, cost management and a streamlined process; if you want your employees to have a self-serve option, you must design your T&E policy accordingly.

Consider your employees' needs 

A business travel policy should not be solely from the company's point of view. You should also consider your employees' needs. Ask questions like whether your employee will be comfortable in the accommodation you are approving, whether the meals budget will be sufficient, is it safe to take public transport in the location they are travelling to, etc. You could employ a professional travel manager to make these decisions.

Set clear guidelines 

An ambiguous T&E policy will do as much harm as not having a policy. Make sure to set clear guidelines on what is acceptable during business travel. From transportation-related expenses to paying for clients and gifting policies, outline every detail, so there is no room for doubts.

Put it in writing and circulate it 

Write down your company travel policy in complete detail and make sure that every employee is aware of its existence. Doing this will ensure that they stick to the regulations. If you think an employee will need to travel, send the business travel policy across to them anyway. Also, make it accessible on your employee or HR portals so that employees can refer to it at any time.

Travel and expense policy best practices 

Follow these travel and expense policy best practices to ensure you have an easy-to-follow T&E policy:

Keep it simple

Your business travel policy should be comprehensive, but it should also be easy to understand. Avoid jargon and legalese in your corporate travel policy. If you have a lot of terms that are difficult to understand, include an index. That will make it easy for your employees to follow the travel policy and stick to it. If your policy is too complex, your employees may have difficulty keeping up and disregard the guidelines.

Be clear with your rules 

When drafting your travel policy, be clear and definite with the guidelines. Providing room for ambiguity can lead to your employees taking advantage, even if unintentional. If you have a comprehensive company travel policy that covers every aspect of travel, you are more likely to succeed with its implementation. Emphasise the importance of your employees sticking to your business travel policy and specify the repercussions of not adhering to the guidelines. To make the process smoother for your employees, you could create a detailed section with frequently asked questions. That will help make your business travel policy airtight.

Make your policy visible 

For your corporate travel policy to be successful, you need to communicate it to your employees. Instead of burying your T&E policy inside another policy such as employee guidelines or HR rules, make it standalone. Integrate it with your travel booking process so that there is no chance they miss it. The policy should be easily accessible on your employee portals.

Look into employees' needs

Don't limit your T&E policy to budgetary objectives alone. Frame your business travel policy keeping your employees' safety, requirements and preferences in mind. It is possible to arrive at a solution that answers all of these. For instance, you could permit business class air travel for business trips that exceed 12 hours. It will make your employees more comfortable and improve their productivity on the business trip.

Include a care plan

A travel policy should always include a care plan. If your employees fall sick during the trip or meet with an accident, you should have a healthcare option available easily. The health insurance you provide may not cover healthcare expenses in specific destinations. Evaluate what is covered under the health insurance policy and see how you can top it up for travel. Travel insurance is also a must to ensure a safe and comfortable trip.

Incorporate flexibility

Whether you are a startup, a small-sized or a medium-sized company, you should consider making your business travel policy flexible. As long as you put broader rules in place, giving your employees some freedom to decide their travel plans can make them feel more at ease. Giving your employees the option to book their travel, choose from a range of accommodation choices, different insurance providers, multiple means of transport, etc. are ways to make your corporate travel policy more flexible.

Look for feedback

Feedback and suggestions can go a long way in helping you improve your business travel policy. Make it a point to collect employee feedback on the positives and negatives of  business travel at regular intervals. You could consider monthly, quarterly or half-yearly feedback, depending on how frequently you employees travel. If you notice similar problems recurring among employees, you could consider changing that aspect of your travel policy.

Review your T&E policy frequently 

To keep up with the times, you should review and edit your travel policy from time to time. Consider the different issues that have cropped up with business travel and incorporate the changes diligently to make your procedure more effective.

You can use Aspire's Spend Management tool to track your travel expenses and employee reimbursements. Spend management will help you track all your company's business travel expenses in one place, all in real-time. Our one-click reimbursement process makes it simple to claim any expense, set limits on spending, store all receipts in one place and much more. By segregating your business travel expense spend from other reimbursement expenses, you can make travel expense management more accessible and streamlined.

Want to implement a Corporate Travel Expense Policy but still not sure where to start? Download our free travel policy template and begin your journey to create a robust business travel system!

Bonus: Travel expense reporting best practices 

Travel expense reporting is just as important as creating a comprehensive business travel policy. Following travel and expense reporting best practices can help you control your T&E spending. It has many advantages. You can understand how the travel expense budget is split. You can identify spending patterns and understand where most of the money is going. You can generate reports based on these analyses and involve the senior management to figure out how to handle the budget better.

Here are some travel expense reporting best practices to follow:

• Create a mechanism to report total spending at a company and department level.
• Report expenses both in international and your company's local currencies for an international trip.
• Issuing corporate credit cards can help you track expenses better since you can set up a system where you get real-time updates on spends.
• Use an expense management software that makes tracking easier.
• Ensure you use an expense management software that automatic categorizes expenses and syncs it with your accounting software for faster closure of books. 

Conclusion 

To scale your business and take advantage of new opportunities, you may need to send your employees on business trips. It would be best if you could put a business travel policy in place. A business travel policy will ensure that you have clear guidelines for travel, making business trips productive for you and effortless for your employees. It is also a way to ensure employee safety and at the same time, help you save costs.

If you are unsure how to create a company travel policy, use available pre-existing business travel expense policy templates and customise it to meet your requirements. Keep travel and expense policy best practices in mind before creating your business travel policy. Aspire's Spend Management tool can help you track your T&E budget and keep an eye on your travel and expense policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Building a better travel and expense (T&E) policy: step by step 

A travel and expense policy (T&E) is a dynamic set of rules regulating how employees book travel. From setting budgets on flights and accommodations to standardizing the process for expense reports, your T&E should answer any (and all) questions about company travel, so you don’t have to. 

But whatever the scope of your policy, its main purpose is to control spending. Defining specific guidelines makes it much easier to predict how much individual travelers will spend – and determine if you need to get that number down.  

Plus, with a corporate travel expense policy in place, there’s no room for ambiguity. An expense is either authorized, or it’s not. Say bye-bye fraud. 

What happens without a T&E policy? 

Let’s just say, what can go wrong, will probably go wrong.  

At the end of the day, a travel and expenses policy aims to streamline business processes, save costs, and eliminate fraud. If these factors go unaddressed, you leave yourself vulnerable to:  

• Overspending due to hidden costs if expenses are not under constant supervision. 
• Expense reports arriving late or without essential information if employees are unaware or unsure of specific guidelines. 
• A rise in fraudulent expense claims in the form of duplicate, exaggerated, and misreported business expense claims. 
• Without guidelines, fraudulent behavior cannot be controlled or addressed, and, therefore, encouraged further. 
• Without a fixed way of recording and storing expense data, you’re left with no insights into spending trends and patterns.    

T&E is not one-size-fits-all 

No two companies are the same, so naturally, not every company’s travel and expense policy is going to look the same. For example, some companies will need to reimburse incidentals, but that won’t really apply for others. Some provide per diem allowances while others only reimburse actual expenses. You get the picture. 

The key to creating an effective and dynamic travel expense policy is to first figure out your organization’s specific needs from a control and spend perspective. And to figure out what you need, you’ll need to analyze your current expenses. Here’s some key factors to consider:  

• How much does an average business trip cost? 
• What percentage of your employee’s travel? 
• How often do they travel? To where? 
• What is your return-on-investment (ROI)? This can be easy or difficult to measure depending on the nature of the trips.  

(Pssst! All that data sound like a daunting task? Don’t worry – travel management software   can make this process so much easier. 

Defining the scope of your T&E policy 

Now that you know what you need, it’s time to set your guidelines.  

Keep in mind: T&E policies are meant to manage and regulate the process for submitting an expense report. As you create it, here are a few expense categories to keep in mind:   

1) Transportation 

Transportation expenses can include airfare, train or bus tickets, car rentals, and taxi or ride-sharing services. A comprehensive travel and expense policy should clearly state which modes of transportation are allowed and what limits are in place for each. 

For example, team members may be allowed to rent a car for up to a certain cost per-day or only use a ride-sharing service for trips under a certain distance. Are your employees flying first or business class? The policy should clearly state which class of flight bookings will be applicable for reimbursements.  

2) Lodging 

Accommodations are another important aspect of business travel. The policy should state the hotels or hotel chains your employees are allowed to stay and what the maximum per-night rate is – and be sure to consider the discounted rates your travel management company  can offer you. 

If hotels aren’t being booked through your travel booking software or dedicated travel consultant, make sure you drive travelers to your preferred booking solution. This way you can define capping amounts for hotel bookings and are not overpaying for hotels or other accommodations. 

3) Meals and Per Diems 

When defining a corporate travel expense policy, remember not to overlook meals and incidentals. The per diem – also known as a subsistence allowance – should cover these expenses, including meals, snacks, incidentals (such as laundry or tips), and even entertainment expenses. It should also provide guidance on what types of meals are covered and what limits are in place. 

For example, employees may be allowed to expense a certain amount for lunch and dinner, but not breakfast or alcoholic beverages. Most importantly, set clear boundaries not to mingle personal and business expenses. So even though your policy does cover a few drinks with clients during a sales pitch, team members shouldn’t use it as an excuse to turn up at happy hour on the company dime. 

4) Corporate credit card expenses 

These cards are typically issued to employees who frequently travel for business, allowing them to charge expenses directly to your company. Not every organization implements corporate credit cards for travel, but if you’re one of the companies that do, you’ll need to lay some ground rules.  

The expense policy should outline what types of expenses are allowed to be charged to the card (like airfare, hotel rooms, and meals), who can use one, and what limits are in place. Just as with per diems, discourage employees from using this card for non-business purposes by emphasizing the consequences for violating policy.   

Creating an effective T&E policy 

Every organization requires rules and regulations to perform its day-to-day operations smoothly. As such, you’ll need to think beyond the basics and deeply consider the current state of your travel expenses. 

A well-written and well-communicated travel and expense policy streamlines travel expense management for the company and simplifies the employee process. 

And trust us: you don’t want to get stuck scrambling for receipts when employees return from a training event or leave them in the dark while waiting for expense reimbursements (talk about a hit to employee morale). 

But the work doesn’t end after successfully writing your first draft. Like any operation, an efficient T&E policy is enforced and consistently refined.  

Communicate your policy to your employees. And if they try to claim excess reimbursement? Stand by your policy. Afterall, it’s there for a reason. 

If your policy says it won’t pay for extra luggage fees, don’t pay them. If it sets a maximum mileage rate, don’t pay above that. The easier you make it to comply, the more your employees will guide themselves. 

Phew – that was a lot. If the thought of building a business travel expense policy for your organization from scratch has you running for the nearest exit, don’t fret. Check out our travel policy  template  to guide the first draft of your policy.  

Stay in the loop.

The world of corporate travel is always changing.  Sign up and never miss a beat. 

• Book a Speaker

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus convallis sem tellus, vitae egestas felis vestibule ut.

Error message details.

Reuse Permissions

Request permission to republish or redistribute SHRM content and materials.

Travel Expense Policy

It is the policy of [Company Name] to reimburse staff for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred during approved work-related travel.

Employees seeking reimbursement should incur the lowest reasonable travel expenses and exercise care to avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety. Reimbursement is allowed only when reimbursement has not been, and will not be, received from other sources. If a circumstance arises that is not specifically covered in this travel policy, then the most conservative course of action should be taken.

Business travel policies are aligned with company reimbursement rules. All business-related travel paid with [Company Name] funds must comply with company expenditure policies.

Authorization and responsibility

Staff travel must be authorized. Travelers should verify that planned travel is eligible for reimbursement before making travel arrangements. Within 30 days of completion of a trip, the traveler must submit a travel reimbursement form and supporting documentation to obtain reimbursement of expenses.

An individual may not approve his or her own travel or reimbursement. The travel reimbursement form must be signed by the executive director or the director of finance (for travel over $[amount]) or by the business manager (for travel under $[amount]).

Travel and reimbursement for members of the management team must be approved by the executive director or the director of finance and will be reviewed annually by the internal auditor.

Designated approval authorities are required to review expenditures and withhold reimbursement if there is reason to believe that the expenditures are inappropriate or extravagant.

Personal funds

Travelers should review reimbursement guidelines before spending personal funds for business travel to determine if such expenses are reimbursable. See Section II: Travel Expenses/Procedures for details. [Company Name] reserves the right to deny reimbursement of travel-related expenses for failure to comply with policies and procedures.

Travelers who use personal funds to facilitate travel arrangements will not be reimbursed until after the trip occurs and proper documentation is submitted.

Vacation in conjunction with business travel

In cases in which vacation time is added to a business trip, any cost variance in airfare, car rental or lodging must be clearly identified on the travel request form. [Company Name] will not prepay any personal expenses with the intention of being "repaid" at a later time, nor will any personal expenses be reimbursed.

Occasionally it may be necessary for travelers to request exceptions to this travel policy. Requests for exceptions to the policy must be made in writing and approved by the executive director or by the director of finance. Exceptions related to the director's or the director of finance's expenses must be submitted to the opposite person or to the treasurer of the board of trustees for approval. In most instances, the expected turnaround time for review and approval is five business days.

Travel Expenses/Procedures

General information Authorized business travel for staff that includes prepayments must be pre-approved.

Reimbursement of parking, mileage, gasoline in lieu of mileage and ferry or bus passes do not require requests if they are under $[amount]. Requests for reimbursement of expenses over $[amount] are to be submitted on a travel reimbursement form.

Permissible prepaid travel expenses Before the travel, [Company Name] may issue prepayments for airfare, rail transportation, rental vehicles, conference registration fees and cash advances. Applicable policies and methods of payments for these prepayments follow.

Airfare. Travelers are expected to obtain the lowest available airfare that reasonably meets business travel needs. Airfare may be prepaid by the business office.

Travelers are encouraged to book flights at least [amount of time] in advance to avoid premium airfare pricing.

Coach class or economy tickets must be purchased for domestic or international flights with flight time totaling less than five consecutive hours excluding layovers.

A less-than-first-class ticket (i.e., business class) may be purchased at [Company Name]'s discretion for domestic or international flights with flight time exceeding five consecutive hours excluding layovers.

Airfare may be purchased with a credit card or check through the business office with a request for payment form.

Rail transportation. [Company Name] will prepay rail transportation provided that the cost does not exceed the cost of the least expensive airfare.

Rental vehicles. [Company Name] will pay for approved use of a rental vehicle. See the section on reimbursements below in this section.

Conference registration fees. Conference registration fees can be prepaid with a credit card or check through the business office with a request for payment form. Business-related banquets or meals that are considered part of the conference can be paid with the registration fees; however, such meals must be deducted from the traveler's per diem allowance.

Travel advances. Cash advances are authorized for specific situations that might cause undue financial hardship for business travelers. These situations are limited to staff traveling on behalf of [Company Name]. A maximum of 80 percent of the total estimated cost can be advanced.

Expenses associated with the travel must be reconciled and substantiated within two weeks of the return date. The traveler must repay [Company Name] for any advances in excess of the approved reimbursable expenses. The department initiating the travel is responsible for notifying the business office to deposit any excess funds into the appropriate departmental account.

Travel advances are processed by submitting a completed request for payment form and travel request form to the business office. Reimbursement for any remaining expenses is processed on a travel reimbursement form approved by the designated approval authority.

Reimbursements Requests for reimbursements of travel-related expenses are submitted on a travel reimbursement form. This form must be accompanied by supporting documentation. If the requested reimbursement exceeds 20 percent of the total pre-trip estimate, the travel reimbursement form must be signed by the executive director or the director of finance.

These forms must be submitted to the business office within two weeks after the trip is completed. Travel reimbursement forms not submitted within this time frame require exception approval from the executive director or from the director of finance.

Reimbursement of travel expenses is based on documentation of reasonable and actual expenses supported by the original, itemized receipts where required. Reimbursements that may be paid by [Company Name] are shown below.

Airfare. If the airfare was not prepaid by the business office, an original itemized airline receipt, an e-ticket receipt/statement or an Internet receipt/statement is required. The receipt must show the method of payment and indicate that payment was made.

Rail transportation. If rail transportation was not prepaid by the business office, an original itemized receipt, original e-ticket receipt/statement or Internet receipt/statement is required. The receipt must show the method of payment and indicate that payment was made.

Automobile (personally owned—domestic travel). A valid driver's license issued within the United States and personal automobile insurance are required for expenses to be reimbursed. Drivers should be aware of the extent of coverage (if any) provided by his or her automobile insurance company for travel that is business or not personal in nature.

Reimbursement for use of a personal automobile is based on the [Company Name] mileage rate.

A staff travel reimbursement form is required for reimbursement of all vehicle-related expenses, including gasoline, wear and tear, and personal auto insurance. As of [date], the rate is [$] per mile. Travelers may opt to request reimbursement for actual gasoline expenses in lieu of the [Company Name] mileage rate. In these instances original, itemized receipts are required.

Automobile (rental—domestic travel). Reimbursement for a commercial rental vehicle as a primary mode of transportation is authorized only if the rental vehicle is more economical than any other type of public transportation, or if the destination is not otherwise accessible. Vehicle rental at a destination city is reimbursable. Original receipts are required.

[Company Name] authorizes reimbursement for the most economic vehicle available. In certain circumstances larger vehicles may be rented, with supervisory approval. The rental agreement must clearly show the date and the points of departure/arrival, as well as the total cost. Drivers must adhere to the rental requirements, and restrictions must be followed. Original receipts are required.

When vehicle rentals are necessary, [Company Name] encourages travelers to purchase collision damage waiver (CDW) and loss damage waiver (LDW) coverage. [Company Name] will reimburse the cost of CDW and LDW coverage; all other insurance reimbursements will be denied.

Drivers should be aware of the extent of coverage (if any) provided by his or her automobile insurance company for travel that is business or not personal in nature.

Parking fees, tolls and other incidental costs associated with the vehicle use are not covered by the rental agreement.

Travelers are strongly encouraged to fill the gas tank before returning the vehicle to the rental agency to avoid service fees and more expensive fuel rates.

Conference registration fees. If the conference fee was not prepaid, [Company Name] will reimburse these fees, including business-related banquets or meals that are part of the conference registration. Original receipts to support the payment are required. If the conference does not provide a receipt, then a cancelled check, credit card slip/statement or documentation that the amount was paid is required for reimbursement.

A prorated amount for the meals provided must be deducted from the traveler's per diem. See Meals (per diem) for more detail. Entertainment activities such as golf outings and sightseeing tours will not be reimbursed.

Registration fees paid directly by an individual will not be reimbursed until the conference is completed.

Lodging (commercial). The cost of overnight lodging (room rate and tax only) will be reimbursed to the traveler if the authorized travel is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

Exceptions to this restriction may be approved in writing by the executive director or by the director of finance.

[Company Name] will reimburse lodging expenses at reasonable, single occupancy or standard business room rates. When the hotel or motel is the conference or convention site, reimbursement will be limited to the conference rate.

Only single room rates are authorized for payment or reimbursement unless the second party is representing the agency in an authorized capacity. If the lodging receipt shows more than a single occupancy, the single room rate must be noted. If reimbursement for more than the single room rate is requested, the name of the second person must be included.

Meals (per diem). Per diem allowances are reimbursable for in-state overnight travel that is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

Per diem allowances are applicable for all out-of-state travel that is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

[Company Name] per diem rates are based on the U.S. General Services Administration Guidelines, which vary by city location. In addition to meals these rates include incidental expenses such as laundry, dry cleaning and service tips (e.g., housekeeping or porter tips). Incidental expenses, unless specifically cited in this policy, will not be reimbursed.

Per diem reimbursements are based on departure and return times over the entire 24-hour day and are prorated accordingly.

If a free meal is served on the plane, included in a conference registration fee, built in to the standard, single hotel room rate or replaced by a legitimate business meal, the per diem allowance for that meal may not be claimed.

Receipts are not required for per diem allowances. Per diem allowances are reimbursed after the trip is completed.

Business meals. Travelers are required to follow [Company Name] expenditure policies when requesting reimbursement for business meals. Original itemized receipts are required.

Business expenses. Business expenses, including faxes, photocopies, Internet charges, data ports and business telephone calls incurred while on travel status, can be reimbursed. Original itemized receipts are required.

Parking. Original receipts are required for parking fees (including airport parking) totaling $[amount] or more. The lodging bill can be used as a receipt when charges are included as part of the overnight stay.

Telephone calls. The costs of personal telephone calls are the responsibility of the individual.

Tolls. Original receipts are required for tolls totaling $[amount] or more.

Miscellaneous transportation. Original receipts are required for taxi, bus, subway, metro, ferry and other modes of transportation if costs are $[amount] or more for each occurrence.

Visa, passport fees and immunizations. If these items are required for international travel, their reimbursement is left to the discretion of your supervisor. If approved by the designated authority, original itemized receipts are required.

Nonreimbursable Travel Expenses The following items that may be associated with business travel will not be reimbursed by [Company Name]:

• Airline club memberships.
• Airline upgrades.
• Business class for domestic flights or first class for all flights.
• Child care, babysitting, house-sitting, or pet-sitting/kennel charges.
• Commuting between home and the primary work location.
• Costs incurred by traveler's failure to cancel travel or hotel reservations in a timely fashion.
• Evening or formal wear expenses.
• Haircuts and personal grooming.
• Laundry and dry cleaning.
• Passports, vaccinations and visas when not required as a specific and necessary condition of the travel assignment.
• Personal entertainment expenses, including in-flight movies, headsets, health club facilities, hotel pay-per-view movies, in-theater movies, social activities and related incidental costs.
• Travel accident insurance premiums or purchase of additional travel insurance.
• Other expenses not directly related to the business travel.

Travel for Non-Employees Additional costs for travel, lodging, meal or other travel expenses for spouses or other family members will not be reimbursed unless the individual has a bona fide company purpose for engaging in the travel or attending the event. Such travel is generally limited to senior management and should occur infrequently.

Related Content

Rising Demand for Workforce AI Skills Leads to Calls for Upskilling

As artificial intelligence technology continues to develop, the demand for workers with the ability to work alongside and manage AI systems will increase. This means that workers who are not able to adapt and learn these new skills will be left behind in the job market.

Employers Want New Grads with AI Experience, Knowledge

A vast majority of U.S. professionals say students entering the workforce should have experience using AI and be prepared to use it in the workplace, and they expect higher education to play a critical role in that preparation.

Advertisement

Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace

​An organization run by AI is not a futuristic concept. Such technology is already a part of many workplaces and will continue to shape the labor market and HR. Here's how employers and employees can successfully manage generative AI and other AI-powered systems.

HR Daily Newsletter

New, trends and analysis, as well as breaking news alerts, to help HR professionals do their jobs better each business day.

Success title

Success caption

• English (CA)
• Deutsch (DE)
• Deutsch (CH)

The complete guide to corporate travel policies

Corporate travel policy (+ free template).

Start writing your own corporate travel policy with our comprehensive template

What’s inside our travel policy template.

• Introduction
• Travel booking process
• Expense categories
• Non-reimbursable purchases
• Expense reporting and reimbursement process
• Travel support, safety and duty of care

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: travel booking process.

• How to book travel – What is your approved process, method and/or platform for booking business travel? If your company use a platform to enable travelers to book within policy , include the name of your approved booking platform. Otherwise, write out the name and contact details of the company or person they’re supposed to contact in order to request a booking.
• Approval process for senior management - the approval process for c suite and senior members of staff will likely differ from that of other employees. Senior management might require approval from an executive, and executives might require sign-off from other c suite members. All of this must be included in your policy.
• Use of loyalty programs – Many companies don’t allow travelers to collect points for their personal loyalty programs. But if you trust your travelers to do the right thing, you can allow this and include a line in your policy like “Employees may not choose more expensive options only to get loyalty points.”
• Leisure extensions – Sometimes business travelers want to extend their trip into the weekend, or use up some of their vacation days. You should include rules around leisure extensions (or “bleisure”), such as what cost difference is allowable for return flights. It's important to outline what expenses you will cover and what you consider "personal expenses" for "personal travel". Make clear that these are additional costs that do not fall within the ambit of business expenses under your travel policy.
• Traveling with non-employees - travel expenses related to travel with spouses, family members, pets or anyone outside of the company are not normally eligible for reimbursement. These situations can be subject to approval if they are accompanying staff members for business reasons such as attending a conference or for a networking event.

Section 3: Expense categories

Here’s the information to include in each expense category:.

• Approved tool or method for booking
• Preferred vendors (if any)
• Rules on whether or not business class is allowed, such as for flights over a certain duration, or flights taken by employees of a certain seniority level. Highlight whether travelers should go in economy class or business.
• How many days in advance international flights must be booked
• How many days in advance domestic travel must be booked

Accommodation

• Maximum nightly rates per city for hotel rooms
• Preferred vendors and negotiated rate details (if any)
• Rules on standard rooms and upgrades, for example standard rooms are required but room upgrades are allowed if offered at no additional charge
• Reimbursable hotel costs, such as parking
• Rules for booking Airbnb or apartment rentals

Rail travel

• Type of train ticket allowed, such as economy

Taxis and ride-sharing

• When taxis and ride-sharing is allowed, for example when public transportation isn’t viable
• Maximum amount per transaction

Rental and personal car

• Type of rental car class allowed, such as compact or mid-size
• The number of employees expected to share a rental car when traveling together
• How much is reimbursed per mile or kilometer

Conferences & events

• Expense reimbursement process for conference or event registration in cases where it was not pre-paid.
• Process for other conference or event related expenses such as business meals or anything not included in the registration cost.

Food, travel and entertainment

• Reimbursable amount, per breakfast
• Reimbursable amount, per lunch
• Reimbursable amount, per dinner
• Alternatively, a daily maximum or per diem
• Personal meal expenses throughout their trip
• Rules for business meals, such as who approves the amount
• Rules for client entertainment expenses, such as what is allowed

Personal telephone usage

• Cell phone bill amount or percentage that is reimbursable during the weeks that the employee travels. Clarify whether calls for personal reasons will be covered by your company.
• Whether or not personal phone damages or theft are reimbursable during business travel, and if so up to what amount?

Section 4: Non-reimbursable purchases

• In-flight purchases, not airfare
• Excess baggage fees
• Childcare, pet care, and pet boarding
• Costs for family members joining travelers on their trip
• Toiletries or clothing
• Airline club memberships
• Minibar purchases or bar bills
• Laundry or dry cleaning
• Parking fines or traffic violations
• Airline ticket change fees
• First-class rail transportation
• Premium, Luxury or Elite car rentals
• Movies, online entertainment or newspapers
• Spa and health club usage
• Flowers, sweets and confectionery
• Room service
• Additional beds or bedding
• Damage to personal vehicles
• Rental car company insurance

Section 5: Expense reporting and reimbursement process

• What tool to use for expensing
• What items do not need to be added in the expense tool, for example if a trip is booked with your approved booking tool
• Who to submit expense reports to
• What to include in reimbursement requests, such as original receipts
• Deadline for submitting reimbursement requests
• Typical processing time for receiving reimbursement

Section 6: Travel support, safety, and duty of care

• Tracking travelers’ whereabouts – Use this opportunity to let travelers’ know that when they book using your approved method or tool, their trip is tracked. In the event of an emergency, steps will be taken to evacuate them. If you don’t know where they are, you can’t help! Include the name of your approved tool, and what they should do to ensure their trip is accurately tracked if they must book outside of it for a valid reason.
• Travel support – In case of trip cancellations, changes, etc., who should your travelers call? Include contact details for your travel support provider, including phone numbers, email addresses and whatever applies. If there are multiple numbers based on region or language, include those as well.
• Support for emergency needs – In this sub-section, include your duty of care vendor (if you have one) and your travel insurance policy details. Also include the employee name or vendor name they should contact in the event of an emergency.

How to implement your travel policy

• Customize – Customize and finalize the travel policy template. Work with stakeholders to make all of the necessary edits and customizations to the policy; collect all details like travel insurance, nightly rates, etc.
• Automate – Update your automated travel policy. Create or update an automated travel policy so travelers and/or admins can book within policy all the time.
• Deploy – Roll out changes to employees. Depending on the size of your company, roll out your new policy document and automated policy to all employees or an initial subset.
• Listen – Collect feedback on the new policy. Get feedback from employees on the clarity of your travel policy, as well as the ease-of-use of your approved tools and automated policy.

How to improve corporate travel policy compliance

How to improve travel policy compliance with travelperk.

• Is your policy outdated? This could be down to changes within your organization or simply that your current policy isn’t being adhered to. Maybe it’s time to revisit and revamp your policy.
• Monitor your compliance issues. Use travel management software that monitors your policy compliance and use that data to help you understand the reasons behind the barriers you’re facing.
• Self-booking improves policy compliance. Your preferred booking tool plays a role here too. Make use of one that allows your team to book the business trip they want within your policy to avoid confusion and breach of policy.
• Choose an easy-to-use booking tool. Your employees aren’t going to want to use software that is difficult to use, offers little to no support, and has limited options.
• Build your travel expense policy into the booking tool. By doing this, you create an automatic system that allows or rejects different types of travel arrangements based on your business needs.

Make business travel simpler. Forever.

• See our platform in action . Trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, TravelPerk makes business travel simpler to manage with more flexibility, full control of spending with easy reporting, and options to offset your carbon footprint.
• Find hundreds of resources on all things business travel, from tips on traveling more sustainably, to advice on setting up a business travel policy, and managing your expenses. Our latest e-books and blog posts have you covered.
• Never miss another update. Stay in touch with us on social for the latest product releases, upcoming events, and articles fresh off the press.
• Business Travel Management
• Offset Carbon Footprint
• Flexible travel
• Travelperk Sustainability Policy
• Corporate Travel Resources
• Corporate Travel Glossary
• For Travel Managers
• For Finance Teams
• For Travelers
• Thoughts from TravelPerk
• Careers Hiring
• User Reviews
• Integrations
• Privacy Center
• Help Center
• Privacy Policy
• Cookies Policy
• Modern Slavery Act | Statement
• Supplier Code of Conduct

2018 Primetime Emmy & James Beard Award Winner

R&K Insider

Join our newsletter to get exclusives on where our correspondents travel, what they eat, where they stay. Free to sign up.

A History of Moscow in 13 Dishes

Featured city guides.

Microcity Sales Office by Mossine Partners, Moscow, Rusia

Mossine Partners have designed this futuristic bubbles structure as a temporary sales office. It is located in Moscow region, Russia.The initial design was created by Studio Mossine Partners and resembles the use of membrane as a structural elements. This temporary structure meets all requirements and apart from creating a very innovative facade system. The structure houses a showroom and office for the real estate company that’s developing the site. The internal program is organized into three zones: the largest central ‘bubble’ houses an exhibition area with 1:1 apartment models. Branching off this are two smaller ‘bubbles’ with a sales area for managers in one and a relax area, complete with café and playroom for children, in the other.

Copyright © 2016 - 2024 DesignRulz . All rights reserved.

Dallas Weather

Affected Airports - City , State Association:

• Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW)

For complete details View

American Airlines has implemented a special exception policy to our travel partners that is now available for our mutual customers due possible Operational disruptions, including delays and cancellations  due to DFW Weather Our Travel Notice exception policies on American are also available when ticketed to/from/through on our Joint Business partners: This applies to both prime and codeshare flights as shown below:

Inventory Requirements

Lowest Inventory, Same Cabin

If original inventory is not available rebook lowest inventory available in the same ticketed cabin. As a reminder, customers that do not hold a Basic Economy fare should never be booked into B inventory.

Basic Economy -

• Must be booked in B inventory only. If B inventory is not available, then an alternate flight must be selected. Advance Purchase and Ticket Change restrictions are waived.

Instant Upsell -

Refer to Travel Notice Policy - Travel Agency Guidelines for rebooking guidelines and Endorsement Box requirement when the customer purchased Instant Upsell (IU) directly with American on aa.com . IU PNRs contain the following SSRs:

• OTHS AGENCY RETAINS CONTROL OF TKT FOR REISSUES
• OTHS INSTANT UPSELL ANCILLARY EMD ISSUED 001xxxxxxxxxx

Refer to Exceptions to Fare Rules .

Note: If customers are unable to rebook or reissue their ticket within the given timeline, they can cancel their reservation and use the value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket; all rules and restrictions apply. Travel must commence no later than one year from the date of original issuance.

Endorsement Box Requirements

• Refer to individual Travel Notice for Event Name
• Ticket Reissue required. This is the only required verbiage and supersedes all other information.

Instant Upsell (IU) tickets must use waiver code: TNADV/IU when rebooking in the Instant Upsell Inventory IU PNRs contain the following SSRs:

Refer to Travel Notice Policy - Travel Agency Guidelines for Endorsement Box requirement when the customer purchased Instant Upsell (IU) directly with American on aa.com .

Changes to Origin/Destination - Not Allowed

• Waive Change Fee
• Ticket reissue for original ticketed fare
• 300 Mile Radius is always allowed, unless otherwise stated in the notice
• Changes to origin/destination are not permitted for the travel notice
• Any changes made to origin/destination all fare rules apply

300-Mile Radius Only - Allowed

• Within same country
• For booking inventory, view Inventory Requirements

Basic Economy Short-haul fares

book in B inventory only.If B inventory is not available, then an alternate flight must be selected.

Changes to Connection City

Changes to Co-Terminal

Changes to Co-terminal and MAC airports on AA Prime and AA*/Codeshare flights are allowed

• Co-terminal & MAC Airports are considered the same routing.  

Reissue Policy Information

American Airlines will waive change fees and travel agents may rebook and reissue tickets provided the below guidelines are met and applied:

• Ticket issued on the following ticket stock: AA 001, AY 105, BA 125, El053, IB 075, JL 131, QF 081
• Applies to AA*/ one world flights
• Travel has not commenced on the affected flight segment and the ticket has not been reissued by American Airlines
• The first departure flight is more than 2 hours away
• Affected coupons are in OK status
• Travel reissuance only in accordance to dates identified in the applicable Travel Notice Exception Advisory
• More than one change allowed without an additional collection, including penalty or change fee within the Travel Notice dates
• Original issuing agency responsible for ticket reissue
• Ticket Revalidation not permitted
• The return travel must be booked in the original class of service (inventory)
• Refer to Extend Travel Rebooking after the Travel Event
• Basic Economy must be rebooked in the appropriate Basic Economy inventory
• Please ensure the above procedures are accurately followed to prevent debit memo issuance

Rebooking - Exception to Fare Rules

Exception to Fare Rules: All fare rules apply with the exception of the following:

• Advance Purchase requirement waived
• Minimum/Maximum Stay requirement waived
• Change Fee waived
• When changes to the outbound travel occur, the unaffected return date may be changed to protect the original length of the trip. The return travel must be booked in the original class of service (inventory).

SalesLink Request

• Rebook flights in compliance with Travel Notice Exception Policy
• Log-in to SalesLink at www.saleslink.aa.com
• Request Type: select 'Service'
• Input AA PNR
• Waiver Type: select 'Travel Notice'
• Travel Notice: select applicable Travel Notice event name
• Select 'Next' - and complete request
• Verify: SalesLink approval remarks in PNR
• New Ticket Endorsement Box: Enter event name only
• Ticket Reissue required

Endorsement Box requirement: 16APR24 or the exchange will be subject to a debit memo

Extend Travel Rebooking Guidelines

If customers are unable to rebook within the New Travel Dates, may reschedule their reservation to/from the same city or alternate cities and reissue their ticket with the below guidelines:

• Cancel their itinerary and apply the value of the original ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket for travel commencing within 1 year from the date of original issuance
• Change fee only is waived as long as the original ticket is reissued within ticket validity and the impact dates are in accordance with those identified in the Travel Notice
• Basic Economy fares may only be used towards the purchase of other Basic Economy fares.
• Residual MCO's are not allowed when using the TNADVE waiver code for reissue.
• Extend Travel Rebooking does not apply to tickets in conjunction with Instant Upsell (IU)

Refund Policy Information

When the flight is cancelled or the length of delay is 91+ minutes , travel agents may refund ticket(s) through normal GDS/ARC/BSP processing. Refer to our Schedule Irregularity policy for delays 90 minutes or less.

• Refund To Original Form Of Payment - All penalties/fees waived
• Non-Refundable Fare
• Refundable Fare with cancellation Fee
• Basic Economy Fare
• Bulk/Opaque Fare

Note: If the ticket has been exchanged by American as an INVOL submit the refund request directly with American. Refer to American Airlines Refunds .

When the flight is not cancelled or the length of delay is 90 minutes or less , a refund does not apply:

• If customer elects to cancel their reservation and use the value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket outside the Travel Notice dates; may use Extend Travel Rebooking or may hold ticket for future travel; all rules and restrictions apply.
• Travel must commence no later than one year from the date of original issuance.

En route/Diversion

• Connecting customers' en route to one of the above-listed destinations or whose flights are diverted will have the option to return to their original departure city and rebook travel to alternate future dates.
• Customers should work directly with the airport to obtain a boarding pass for return travel to their original departure city. If the customer wishes to rebook travel to alternate future dates, please contact American Airlines Reservations for assistance. Alternatively, they may receive a refund if re-accommodation options are unacceptable.
• If a ticket has already been reissued by American Airlines or the ticket is partially used, travel agents must submit the refund request online at https://prefunds.aa.com/refunds/

American Airlines will continue to monitor this Travel Notice Exception Advisory and adjust this policy if needed. Changes will be posted on AA.com and www.saleslink.aa.com reference. Please check these sources frequently for the most up to date information.

• www.saleslink.aa.com Reference: Select Travel Notice Policy - Travel Agency Guidelines
• Visit www.saleslink.aa.com and navigate to AA News and Offers to view current travel notices.
• Contact your Sales Support Center 800-621-8489 or American Airlines Reservations 800-433-7300 (U.S. and Canada) or for Reservations outside the U.S. and Canada, please see our Worldwide Reservations Numbers American Airlines encourages all customers to check flight and gate status prior to leaving for the airport. For complete travel information, visit AA.com .
• Group reservations must be changed by AA Group & Meeting Travel
• Information contained on this web site is subject to change at any time without notice. American Airlines shall not be liable for any consequences resulting from your reliance on the information.

Disney is changing its DAS program: What guests with disabilities should know

Walt Disney World and Disneyland are changing their policies for guests with disabilities .

The Florida and California resorts will keep their popular Disability Access Service (DAS), but adjust qualifications, registration procedures, and length of validity to help ensure guests receive the accommodations they need.

“Disney is dedicated to providing a great experience for all guests, including those with disabilities, which is why we are so committed to delivering a wide range of innovative support services aimed at helping our guests with disabilities have a wonderful time when visiting our theme parks,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.

Here’s what travelers with disabilities should know:

What is DAS? 

Disney World and Disneyland previously described their Disability Access Service as a program “to assist guests who have difficulty tolerating extended waits in a conventional queue environment due to a disability.”

Guests who qualify for and enroll in DAS wait just as long as guests in the standby line, sometimes a little longer, but they don’t have to physically stay in the queue. Instead, they can join the line virtually, wait out the designated time elsewhere in the park, and then return to the attraction for a shorter in-person wait.

Who qualifies for DAS at Disney?

Not all disabilities impact the ability to tolerate long waits in traditional queues. For example, guests in wheelchairs or electric conveyance vehicles may still be able to wait in many lines in their mobility devices. 

New updates to the resorts’ accessibility webpages further clarify DAS’ intended audience: “Guests, who due to a developmental disability like autism or similar, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time.”

How do you qualify for a Disney disability pass?

Registering for DAS involves meeting with a specially trained cast member, who can determine if DAS is the right fit.

In the past, that could be done in advance online or in person at both resorts. The conversation lasts just minutes, though online waits have historically taken longer.

Need accomodations? Travelers with disabilities will need this card at some theme parks

How is DAS changing?

Starting May 20 for Disney World, guests may only enroll in DAS with a virtual video meeting, not in person at the parks. It’s highly recommended to do so in the planning stages of the trip, but virtual chats will also be available on the day of visits. Again, they will no longer be available in person at Disney World.

Disneyland guests may continue to register for DAS with a virtual video call ahead of their trip, which is strongly encouraged, or in person on the day of visits, but starting June 18, the location for registration will move from Guests Services inside the parks to the outside esplanade area between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

Virtual video calls will be similar to what existing and past DAS enrollees are used to having with cast members, but Disney is also partnering with Inspire Health Alliance , whose experts may be brought in.

DAS may be used by the enrollee and up to four companions (or more if there are more than four immediate family members who all want to experience an attraction together).

How long is DAS at Disney good for?

Guests who have already enrolled in DAS may use it for 60 days from their date of registration, with no changes required.

New enrollees registering between now and May 19 at Disney World or June 17 at Disneyland will have up to 30 days to use the service, starting from their date of registration.

Beginning May 20 at Disney World and June 18 at Disneyland, new DAS enrollments will be valid for 120 days, double the previous 60.

Why is Disney making these changes?

DAS has become the most requested service at Disneyland and Disney World in recent years, with the volume of users eclipsing the program’s intended audience and numbers only expected to grow. That in turn impacts waits and experiences for those who need the accommodations. 

The changes are designed to help ensure DAS reaches its intended audience. Meanwhile, Disney is also increasing the number of specially trained cast members to help guests with other access needs find the right accommodations. 

Those may include American Sign Language interpretation, Disney Handheld Devices that provide captions and visual descriptions for guests with hearing impairment, braille guidebooks and maps, sensory guides for attractions, and at Disneyland, Location Return Times for guests with mobility devices or other physical needs that can’t be accommodated by older, non-wheelchair accessible attraction queues.

What does Disney consider a disability? 

Disney recognizes all kinds of disabilities and access needs, many of which are invisible.

While guests won’t find an exhaustive list of disabilities on Disney’s websites, their newly updated accessibility pages serve as a first stop in navigating accommodations.

Cast members are also available to answer questions in staffed virtual chats. 

Does Disney request proof of disability?

Disney does not require documentation proving disability or access needs, nor will they be required with these upcoming changes.

How the alt-right used X to exploit the Bondi attacks, a Meta complaint dismissed and reindeer vs North Korea?

Analysis How the alt-right used X to exploit the Bondi attacks, a Meta complaint dismissed and reindeer vs North Korea?

Hello and welcome to Screenshot, your weekly tech update from national technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre, featuring the best, worst and strangest in tech and online news. As always, read to the end for an A+ Subreddit recommendation you didn't know you needed.

How the alt-right used X to exploit the Bondi attacks

It's true that nature abhors a vacuum, but nature's got nothing on X (formerly Twitter) in a crisis.

On Saturday afternoon, in the aftermath of the mass stabbing at Bondi Junction, there was a yawning news void on the topic of the attacker's identity or motive.

In the hours that followed, Australian journalists had little choice but to repeat ad nauseum the few confirmed facts they had, whilst everyone from Anthony Albanese down reminded us that speculation was unhelpful.

Sensing an opportunity, anti-Semitic and white supremacist accounts on X began suggesting with varying degrees of certainty that a Muslim terrorist was to blame , or that the attacker must be Jewish.

Then, roughly four hours in, one of the accounts fed the vacuum a name: Ben Cohen, a 20-year old Jewish man from Sydney's eastern suburbs.

The rumour festered on alt-right Twitter overnight, and journalists, also famous for their allergy to a vacuum, picked it up.

Early the following morning, two 7 News reporters named Ben Cohen as the "confirmed" attacker on TV and online.

Those stories have since been deleted, and 7 News has apologised for what it's described as a "human error".

So how does an ideologically motivated lie travel from alt-right internet backwaters to a national newsroom?

The finer points are so far a mystery and I hear speculation is unhelpful, but we know for sure that it passed through two main gates along the way.

The first was X's content moderation policies, and the second was at least one journalist's bullsh*t detector.

Regarding the first gate, I wouldn't be the first or last person to complain about how X is run.

Since entering its (selective) free speech era under Elon Musk , banned accounts have been reinstated and content moderation has been gutted.

In fact, late last year, the platform was officially kicked out of Australia's voluntary misinformation code for noncompliance , meaning technically, it no longer has to comply at all.

Crucially, no-one anywhere is expecting X to change in the foreseeable future.

Which brings us to the second gate: how journalists treat X.

In general, the media and the world more generally has an unhelpful habit of sorting the social web into two discrete tiers.

Above, we have the street level, consisting of Instagram, Facebook, and on a good day, TikTok — platforms which employ safety teams, engage with regulators, and at least attempt to label or remove misinformation.

Beneath that, there's the lawless, lightless sewer of unmoderated platforms like Gab, 4Chan, and Truth Social.

In the past, Twitter would have blended in more neatly on the street level.

For a decade prior to being absorbed into Musk's empire, it had cemented itself as a legitimate source of information, and a flawed but genuinely useful tool for newsgathering.

But in 2024, as 'X', it has a foot in both worlds, at best.

Part of the problem might be that we're confusing X with Twitter: a platform that no longer exists.

Meta complaint dismissed (aka how transparent should a transparency report be?)

Last month, Meta was accused of exaggerating its response to disinformation on Facebook .

A complaint was made to the regulator that Meta's most recent transparency report promised more comprehensive labelling for known falsehoods that it was delivering — a claim the company rejected.

On Monday, the committee dismissed the complaint, saying there was "no convincing evidence" .

It's likely the end of the road for the matter.

Australia's code of conduct for misinformation on platforms is voluntary, and was co-designed by companies such as Meta.

Under the code, complaints are considered by an independent subcommittee set up by DIGI, the same industry body that represents tech companies interests in Australia.

The safety research group that made the complaint, Reset Tech, says the decision shows that "platforms can say what they like in their Transparency Reports" .

"This is an embarrassment for a country that once led the world on online safety," Reset's executive director Alice Dawkins said.

In an (irony-free) statement explaining why the transparency complaint had been dismissed, the committee expressed its disappointment "that Reset Australia chose to share the substance of its complaint with the media". 

No win (yet) for Twiggy Forrest in his war on a Facebook crypto scam

While we're on Meta, mining magnate Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest was going after the company in a WA court over dodgy crypto ads using his name and image to defraud investors, but the matter was dropped late last week.

One woman lost $670,000 as part of the scam , which also made use of fabricated ABC articles.

Watch this space though, because he's also pursuing it in a California court, which is due to give a verdict next month.

And if it's all too much…

(Which it might be, this week, and fair enough) then I hope you find some comfort in this Rorschach test of a subreddit, devoted to mysterious cookie cutters .

Recommendations and tips are always welcome. You can reach me securely on Proton Mail .  

• X (formerly Twitter)

Related Stories

Ben was falsely accused of stabbing six people to death. here's how this falsehood spread.

'It doesn't happen in our own backyard': After tragedy unfolded, disbelief followed

Spooky theories on the big-bad-almost hack and an ugly window into the world of 'alt social media'

Apple is being sued by… the US? Plus, Instagram switches off your news tap, and cozzie livs comes for hackers

• Bondi Junction
• Discrimination
• Disinformation and Misinformation
• Information Technology Industry
• Internet Culture
• Religious Discrimination
• Science and Technology