Accounts Payable and Travel

Travel

Transportation


Travelers should comparison shop for the airfare itinerary that most efficiently (time and cost) serves their travel needs. Flexibility in arrival or departure times will impact the ability to price the lowest cost available fares. Normally, airfare booked well in advance will result in lower airfare costs.

Travelers are highly encouraged to use the University Travel Card and book through the Concur booking tool with CTP.

If using state funds to procure airfare, the university travel card must be used. Also, the airfare must be purchased on the STMP Airline Contract or a valid exception must be documented.  Using Concur/CTP to book will automatically document any exceptions. If booking outside of Concur, the exception must be manually documented.

Travelers may claim the cost of their first checked bag as a business expense.  Additional checked bags will require a business justification in the comment field within the expense in Concur.

Receipt Requirements

A vendor receipt is required that includes the following: name of the employee, airline name, ticket number, class of transportation, amount of airfare, origin, destination and dates of each flight and proof of payment.

Receipt Requirements

A vendor receipt is required to be attached to the expense report and must show: itemization of all charges, starting and ending dates of the rental, name of the renter and proof of payment.

Contract Vendors

Travelers should purchase under contract whenever possible. Contract rates are usually much less than market rates and the contract rates include the required coverage. On domestic rentals, contract rental cars include CDW/LDW and liability insurances, so no additional coverage is necessary when picking up the car so please refuse any additional coverage offered. The contracts do not extend to foreign countries so when renting in a foreign country it is considered an off-contract rental and the insurance coverage should be accepted.

If using state funds, it is required that the purchase of the rental car be made using the STMP – Car Rental Contract or a valid exception must be documented and attached to the expense report.

State contract includes the following:

Full size vehicle – any larger requires a written reason attached to the Expense Report. 

Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) which covers any damage to the vehicle.  This is automatically included in the contract rentals so decline this option if offered.

Unlimited mileage on most rentals except specialty vehicles.

Primary Liability Insurance in the amount of $350,000 which covers persons and property outside the rental vehicle.

State agencies are exempt from the Motor Vehicle Rental Tax. When renting a car in Texas, present the Motor Vehicle Rental Exemption Certificate to the vendor when picking up the car.

State of Texas contract vendors

Avis 1-800-331-1212

Avis and Budget Rent-A-Car are partners.  Avis contract rates are also available with Budget.

Enterprise 1-800-398-5080 (Kingsville office – 592.7626)

Enterprise and National are partners. Enterprise contract rates are also available with National.

Non-Contract Vendors

Rates are normally more than our contracted rates and do not include the appropriate coverage. If procuring a non-contract rental car CDW/LDW and Supplemental Liability Insurance must be requested when picking up the car.

State agencies are exempt from the Motor Vehicle Rental Tax. When renting a car in Texas, present the Motor Vehicle Rental Exemption Certificate to the vendor when picking up the car.

Comparing Rental Car Rates

Non-contract vendor rates do not include the appropriate coverage, so to compare the listed contract rate vs. a non-contract rate contact the non-contract vendor and request the daily rate for LDW/CDW and Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI). If for some reason the listed rate from the non-contract vendor is less than the listed rate for the contract vendor, when adding the daily rate for LDW/CDW and SLI to the non-contract rate, it will most likely be much more than the contracted rate.

Fuel purchases

Fuel purchases are allowed for rental vehicles on the University Travel Card. 

May use the Pre-paid Fuel option at a rental car company, noting the cost savings to the University by comparing the price per gallon at a local retailer to the pre-paid price per gallon.  If there are no cost savings, the expense will be disallowed and must be reimbursed to the University.

Refueling Cost/Charge (any fuel costs incurred after the vehicle is turned in) are not allowable expenses and must be reimbursed to the University by the employee.

Four-Per-Car Rule

When employees travel on the same dates with the same itinerary, they must coordinate travel. When four or fewer employees travel on the same itinerary, only one rental car will be paid, or; only one employee may claim personal mileage reimbursement, if a personal vehicle is used.  Personal itinerary changes are not a valid exception, only business itinerary differences allow for an exception to the rule.

Rental Car vs. Mileage Reimbursement Comparison

Required on state-funded travel only. One must calculate the most cost-effective method of transportation and use that transportation, or the reimbursement will be limited to the most cost-effective method. The Rental Car vs. Mileage Reimbursement Calculator is an electronic tool that performs the cost comparison between rental and mileage. After completing, save the form and attach to the expense report to document the amount requested for reimbursement.

Mileage Reimbursement Rates

Effective January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024, the maximum mileage reimbursement rate is $.67/mile, by the IRS. Concur has been updated to reflect this new rate for 2024. The reimbursable rate is the rate that is in effect at the time the travel takes place. The maximum mileage reimbursement rates are set by the IRS and listed on the State of Texas Comptroller’s Office website. TAMUK uses Concur with GoogleMaps embedded for calculating mileage.  GoogleMaps is the preferred mileage calculator.  Best Practice – use Google Maps embedded in Concur as the Mileage Calculator in your Expense Report.

In-State Mileage

Mileage can be reimbursed anytime a personally owned vehicle is used for official State business; however, mileage from home to headquarters is not reimbursable under any circumstances. GoogleMaps is the preferred mileage calculator.  Best Practice – use Google Maps embedded in Concur as the Mileage Calculator in your Expense Report.

Point-to-Point/address-to-address mileage breakdown must be provided as documentation using either the odometer readings or the online mapping services, described above.

Concur uses a built in mileage calculator (Google Maps) and posted rates to automatically calculate and document point to point mileage. The preferred method is for the traveler or delegate to use the Concur mileage calculator to document and calculate mileage.

Out-of-State Mileage

When claiming mileage to travel outside the state of Texas, mileage reimbursement will be limited to the lowest available airfare for that business itinerary. A cost comparison must be attached to the expense report for any personal mileage claimed for out of state travel. The cost comparison must contain documentation (screen print, quotes, etc.) of the costs of the airfare for that business itinerary. When calculating the mileage, it will be limited to the cost of the documented lowest available airfare. Mileage must still be calculated and, if less than the airfare, only the calculated amount may be claimed. Follow the rules under In-State Mileage to calculate and document the mileage.

Four-Per-Car Rule

When employees travel on the same dates with the same itinerary, they must coordinate travel. When four or fewer employees travel on the same itinerary, only one rental car will be paid, or; only one employee may claim personal mileage reimbursement, if a personal vehicle is used.  Personal itinerary changes are not a valid exception, only business itinerary differences allow for an exception to the rule.

Rental Car vs. Mileage Reimbursement Comparison

Required on state-funded travel only - Best Practice for all funding sources.  One must calculate the most cost-effective method of transportation and use that transportation, or the reimbursement will be limited to the most cost-effective method. The Rental Car vs. Mileage Reimbursement Calculator is an electronic tool that performs the cost comparison between rental or mileage. After completing, save the document and attach to the expense report to show the amount requested for reimbursement.

Fuel/Gasoline is not an allowable expense for a personal vehicle.

Use the Travel Card for fuel purchases for rental vehicles.  Return the rental car with the same level of fuel/gas as it had at the time of pickup.  Refueling Cost/Charge, is not an allowable expense and must be reimbursed to the University.

Vendor receipt is required and must provide the date and amount of purchase.

Vendor receipt is required and must provide the destination, purpose, amount and date of toll cost for that destination.

If toll was charged on a rental vehicle, use the Highway Toll Administration link to download the receipt.

Supporting documentation must provide the location, purpose, amount and date of each parking event.  Receipt not required. 

Vendor receipts are required for all modes.

Chauffeured services, Limousine or other extravagant transportation generally are not allowed and will require a valid business purpose to document why it was more efficient to use this type of service vs. other means of transportation.

Corporate Travel Planners is TAMUK’s contracted and preferred travel agent. Please note that if booking outside of Concur through a travel agent that the services provided and pricing has to be equal to or less than our contracted provider. Conservation of funds policy, as stated in the general section, also applies to travel agent fees and would be considered an audit finding on state accounts if paying more than the contracted rate with Corporate Travel Planners.

Corporate Travel Planners (CTP) Contact Info

CTP Full Service
Toll Free - 866-901-3377
Local - 210-524-4331
Email  - TAMUtravel@ctp-travel.com
Online Help Desk877-727-5188
Group Desk/Study Abroad - Toll Free(800) 810-2695 

 groups@ctptravelservices.com


Athletics -  Toll Free(800) 810-2695 

 athletics@ctptravelservices.com 


Keep in mind, each call to CTP will result in a charge to your form of payment – see attached price list.  Call them if you need to, however, most travel should be booked through the Concur booking tool.

If you have any questions, please contact travel@tamuk.edu!