Travel

E-Travel News

July 2019 - Volume 11, Issue 4

In This Issue

• FY 2019 E-Travel Program Savings
• Federal Per Diem Changes – Effective June 1, 2019
• CTS Authorization Requirements

FY 2019 E-Travel Program Savings

The State of Alaska E-Travel program is cost effective and allows the state to benefit through negotiated lower rates, increased data visibility through reporting, control of spending, enhanced safety and security information, and policy adherence.  The E-Travel Program’s net savings for FY 2019 was over $3.7 million.

The Statewide Travel Office Cost Savings Analysis for FY 2019 can be viewed on the Travel Cost & Savings Reports webpage.

DIRECT SAVINGS

• Agreements with air carriers ($2.9M)
• Managing and automating the exchange of unused tickets ($1.2M)
• Agreements with cars and hotels ($1.2M)
• Negotiated waivers ($88.3)

INDIRECT SAVINGS

• Concierge service for travelers and planners available 24/7 with minimal hold times
• Consolidated FINAL travel itinerary sent directly to the traveler
• Consolidated invoices to help reconciliation and payment
• Charge card use promoted through payment information in traveler profile, increasing state charge card rebates and policy compliance
• Credit card authorization system solution that meets PCI-DDS standards for travelers without a PCard
• Research and billing assistance

The use of the E-Travel Office is mandatory for all Executive Branch travel either through the E-Travel Online booking tool or with a CTM reservation agent. 

Contact your Department Travel Administrator for assistance with planning/booking travel. 

Federal Per Diem Changes – Effective June 1, 2019

Effective June 1, 2019 the Department of Defense (DoD) updated the per diem rates for all of Alaska. Previously there were 11 communities with federal per diem rates lower than the standard meal rate in Alaska, making those locations taxable to the traveler. The DoD update means there will be fewer OTPAY documents to process!

The Taxable Travel Allowance Payroll Report has been updated to reflect the change. 

CTS Authorization Requirements

It is undeniable that dealing with payment authorizations is cumbersome, but due to card data security vendors have had to heighten their process to manage this type of data making some level of communication between parties necessary.

When booked via E-Travel, our State Preferred hotel vendors and Budget Car Rental in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Kenai should always accept the State authorization form.  Issues with this process should be reported by calling a CTM agent and if necessary doa.dof.e-travel@alaska.gov. 

• It is the responsibility of the travel arranger to send the vendor the authorization to charge a CTS, not Corporate Travel Management as they are not the cardholder. 
• Because third parties are involved, it is recommended that arrangers contact the vendor approximately 3 days prior to check in to confirm receipt. 
• A copy of the authorization is sent to the travel email groups as it is sent to the vendor.  If not email is received, contact CTM to verify the status.

Travelers with PCards should have their card to present to the vendor when they check in and should not experience any issues upon check in.  Only travelers without PCards will need authorization from the State to the vendor to have charges issued.

The use of the State’s authorization form is not allowed for reservations booked outside of E-Travel. The travel arranger must contact the vendor directly. 

Keep in mind that as card data requirements change we expect more and more vendors to require internal corporate documents to charge to our CTS account.