Travel
E-Travel News
March 2019 - Volume 11, Issue 2
In This Issue
- Form Update: Moving Expense Reimb Payroll Report
- No-Show Reminder for State Travelers
- E-Traveler Profiles
- E-Travel FAQs
Form Update: Moving Expense Reimb Payroll Report
Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, qualified moving expenses are no longer excludable from wages.
All move expenses are now taxable to the employee and should be coded correctly under new Earning Codes in HRM. The Pay Events have been updated on the Payroll Report worksheet in the Moving Expense Reimbursement Payroll Report document.
No-Show Reminder for State Travelers
Airlines are continually improving their departure processes to minimize the impacts of overbooking and reduce time spent assisting with travelers in the gate area. Most major airlines and some rural air carriers have no-show policies. Most recently, Alaska Airlines has aligned with the industry standard and updated no-show policies in their contract of carriage.
As partners, we respect the fiscal impact no-shows have on all our travel vendors, including, hotels, and car rental agencies. As a state funded traveler, please make every attempt to cancel or change travel plans in advance to avoid additional costs to the State.
Please review the affects if travel is not cancelled in advance of departure:
- All of your continuing and return flights will be cancelled.
- Your unused fare may not be available as credit towards a future flight.
- Your department may need to purchase an entirely new ticket for you to complete your trip.
- Hotels will impose their cancelation policy and charge the State the applicable no-show fee.
If you think you'll miss your flight, immediately contact CTM using the phone number printed on your itinerary. If you change or cancel prior to the scheduled departure the value of your ticket can be used as a credit for a future flight (subject to change fees). When you contact CTM they will also update your car and hotel reservations to coincide with the change or cancellation. Note: CTM can only assist with cancellations if the reservation was booked through the E-Travel Office.
- Changes within 72 hours of departure:
- Contact CTM by phone at 1-866-762-8728, or
- Contact the airlines airport ticket agent
- Changes greater than 72 hours from departure:
- Change or cancel in E-Travel Online,
- Email e-travelhelp@travelctm.com, or
- Contact CTM by phone at 1-866-762-8728.
Traveler no-shows, reported by the airlines and hotel vendors, are sent to Department Travel Administrators for review and department action.
E-Traveler Profiles
On Monday, March 25th and potentially Tuesday, March 26th, CTM will be converting to an updated travel profile system.
E-Travel profiles contain department specific billing and coding and many of the profile fields are updated through State systems and access is granted via the Department Travel Administrators. Personal data is not automated and must be updated by the employee or their travel arranger.
Personal profile information is not required, but it expedites the booking process and provides secure data storage for personal information.
In preparation for the profile migration, we ask that you review your profile to ensure your personal information is accurate. Employees may use the Quick Reference Guide [PDF].
- Legal Name as it appears on your legal documents for TSA airport check-in
- REQUIRED TSA information, which includes gender and date of birth
- TSA Precheck number or Redress if applicable to the employee
- Phone contacts, including home, and mobile
- Emergency contact information
- Airline, hotel, and car frequent travel numbers.
When an employee moves to a new department they will need to request a new travel profile even if they have had an E-Travel profile previously.
No personal information is retained with a department change, the old profile is deleted, and an entirely new profile is created and must be updated with personal data (TSA, seat preferences, and frequent traveler data).
E-Travel FAQs
E-Travel Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be used to help clarify policy or processes related to booking travel. The E-Travel webpage hosts the quick link to the FAQS under References and Resources.
Updates have been made to a few FAQs and one new FAQ has been added.
Per Diems 02. What is the M&IE reimbursement rate during the first and last travel day?
The 75% rule applies to the M&IE rate for the first and last travel day in Travel Status and is applied to the M&IE rate for the travel destination.
Travel Status starts at the time a traveler leaves their duty station during normal work hours or their residence outside normal work hours and ends when a traveler returns to their duty station during normal work hours or their residence outside normal work hours.
Per Diems 17. A noncommercial lodging allowance is paid when travelers elect to stay in noncommercial lodging for short-term travel in state or out-of-state. Does this mean the traveler is to receive this allowance whether they ask for it or not, and even if they specifically state they do not want it?
If it is mandated by the collective bargaining agreement, noncommercial lodging must be paid unless a letter of agreement to the contrary is signed between the union and the Division of Personnel and Labor Relations. If not mandated by the collective bargaining agreement, an employee may decline the payment of noncommercial lodging.
Noncovered employees who wish to decline the noncommercial lodging option may do so. This choice should be documented as part of the final travel reimbursement.
Rental Cars 08. If I have to pay for a rental car while on state authorized business due to personal use, what is required to seek reimbursement for the business portion of the rental?
A State Minimum Business itinerary and receipts are required. The state will reimburse the daily contract rate reflected on the State Minimum Business itinerary or the actual receipts of the rental rate, whichever is less. Per AAM 60.120
A new Personal Travel FAQ was added for clarification in situations when a traveler may choose to drive verses fly.
Personal Travel 22. A traveler wants to drive as opposed to fly to their temporary duty station. How do we determine the cost benefit for the State?
Official Travel Expenses that can be firmly determined may be considered in the quote. The price of a rental car and mileage can be firmly determined. Parking may not be as easy to determine as rates vary depending on arrival and departure; however, it is an official Travel Expense. Fuel costs cannot be firmly determined and therefore, cannot be considered in the State cost.
A Minimum Business Itinerary quote must come from the E-Travel Online and may include any Official Travel Expenses. Approval must be obtained prior to the booking of the actual travel and submitted to SSoA prior to the reconciliation. This will ensure SSOA has adequate time to process and reimburse the expenses in accordance to the AAM.