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Travel Card

If you are planning to travel with students, see Travel with Students.

In an effort to eliminate cash advances, and solve the complaint of employees not having credit available on their personal credit cards for business travel expenses, the Commonwealth offers an Individual Liability Travel Card (Travel Card) through Bank of America (BOA).

The Travel Card can be used ONLY FOR YOUR (you are NOT allowed to use this card to charge anyone else’s expenses!!!) OFFICIAL STATE BUSINESS TRAVEL-RELATED EXPENSES (lodging establishments, restaurants, public transportation and car rentals and associated travel services). This Individual Liability Travel Card is very similar to a personal credit card because:

  • The bill is sent directly to the employee’s personal, home address;
  • The employee is personally responsible for paying the bill on time–whether or not the employee has received reimbursement from the University;
  • Failure to pay BOA based upon BOA terms may negatively affect the employee’s personal credit; and
  • The employee is responsible for notifying BOA of home address and phone changes.

Here is the difference between a Travel Card and the personal credit cards obtained on your own:

  1. No alcohol is allowed on the card–even when taking a meal at a restaurant during travel. Any alcohol should be paid using a method other than the IL Travel Card.
  2. Movies and other incidentals from a hotel are NOT allowed on the IL Travel Card. The traveler should provide the hotel with a personal credit card for any incidentals.
  3. Grocery store purchases are NOT allowed unless used in lieu of restaurants while on travel, in which case, the amount charged should not exceed the per diem allowed for the trip. Any grocery purchases must be documented by emailing the Program Administrator at payables@umw.edu.
  4. Both the Commonwealth and UMW conduct monthly reviews of the charges on your Travel Card statements to ensure the card has been used only to make appropriate charges (official business travel-related expenses) and to ensure the card is not in “delinquent payment” status.
  5. The cardholder must complete annual online training courses administered by the Virginia Department of Accounts.
  6. If your payment is not received and posted by BOA by the 15th of each month, the UMW Program Administrator will call and email you daily until payment is made.
  7. Delinquent balances are AUTOMATICALLY DEDUCTED FROM YOUR PAYROLL AND SENT DIRECTLY TO BOA on the 61st day of delinquency whether you have been reimbursed by UMW or not.

Eligibility

UMW employees who meet the following criteria may apply for a Travel Card:

  • Full time or wage position
  • Annual salary greater than $15,000
  • Job duties which include overnight travel at least twice a year

Review and Reimbursement

The UMW Travel Card Program Administrator (PA) is mandated by the state to check each cardholder’s online statement monthly in order to ensure proper use and prompt payments.  A cardholder will be allowed two offenses before the card is permanently cancelled. An “offense” is defined as a late payment or an inappropriate charge. An “inappropriate charge” would be any charge other than an official business travel-related expense.
EXCEPTION: BOA will automatically and PERMANENTLY cancel any card that is delinquent 61 days or more.

If there are any charges on the card that appear to be inappropriate, the UMW Program Administrator for the Travel Card will email the cardholder for an explanation. If the charge is determined to be anything other than an official business travel-related charge, the charge will be considered an offense. If any cardholder has two offenses, the UMW Program Administrator will automatically, permanently cancel the card.

The cardholder is PERSONALLY responsible for payment of the charges and any late fees incurred whether or not the traveler has received reimbursement by the University.  Any late payments reflect on the cardholder’s personal credit information—not the University’s. In addition, inappropriate charges and late payments by cardholders cause the University to be listed in the Quarterly Report, which can negatively affect funding for UMW.

Travel Expense Reimbursement Request forms should be submitted immediately after returning from travel to better ensure that your reimbursement reaches you before your Travel Card payment is due.  Original, itemized, detailed receipts must be submitted with the completed Travel Reimbursement Request Form for reimbursable expenses as defined by the state.

You DO NOT need to submit receipts for meals purchased for overnight travel since a per diem is paid by the University. (See Travel Information for detailed travel regulations.)

You DO need to submit original, detailed, itemized meal receipts for Business Meal reimbursements. (See Business Meals Regulations and Form for more information.)

Application Procedures

UMW employees who meet the stated eligibility requirements above and wish to apply for an Individual Liability Travel Card should follow these procedures:

  1. Complete the state-mandated online training course at UMW Global.  (See * below if you have trouble signing into UMW Global.)
    • In the “Search” box, type in  “Travel Cardholder Training” (and the appropriate year) and click the Search box
    • Click on DOA–Travel Cardholder Training (the year) and open the training session
    • Go through the training
    • Take the Quiz

    This online training is required annually. *IMPORTANT* – The training consists of a course module and a quiz module. Be sure to follow the directions in order to ensure credit for taking it. If the cardholder does not successfully complete the training annually, the UMW PA will cancel the card.

  2. PRINT and read CAPP Section 20360 from the State Comptroller’s web site. Section 20360 contains some information that is not applicable to cardholders; however, the state mandates that each cardholder have a copy of this section 20360, so print it and read it in order to be in compliance with state regulations. You will be held responsible for information that applies to the cardholder in this section.
  3. PRINT, READ, COMPLETE, SIGN and DATE the UMW Travel VISA Card ANNUAL Employee Agreement and send to Accounts Payable. (Email payables@umw.edu with questions.)
  4. The UMW PA will set up a user ID on the Bank of America WORKS web site and will request a card for the employee.
  5. The UMW PA will email the new cardholder the verification/authorization code and the Travel Card will be mailed to the employee’s home address.
  6. The employee should notify the UMW PA when the card arrives, and the employee should register the Travel Card by CREATING (Register) an account in the Payment Center http://www.baml.com/paymentcenter .

Annual Requirements

UMW employees who hold a Travel Card must complete the annual requirements mandated by the state comptroller’s office by following these procedures:

Step #1:  Complete the state-mandated online training course at UMW Global.  (See * below if you have trouble signing into UMW Global.)

  • In the “Search” box, type in  “Travel Cardholder Training” (with the appropriate year) and click the Search box
  • Click on DOA–Travel Cardholder Training (the year) and open the training session
  • Go through the training
  • Take the Quiz

This online training is required annually. *IMPORTANT* – The training consists of a course module and a quiz module. Be sure to follow the directions in order to ensure credit for taking it. If the cardholder does not successfully complete the training, the UMW PA will cancel the card.

Step #2:  PRINT, READ, COMPLETE, SIGN, and DATE the UMW Travel VISA Card ANNUAL Agreement and send to Accounts Payable.

*If you’re having trouble logging into UMW Global, try these suggestions:

  • Try another browser such as Firefox (or Google Chrome or Safari).
  • If you are using Internet Explorer, it could be a security setting that is causing the problem.  Make sure that the site is a “trusted site” in IE.  (In order to set this, go to: Tools > Internet Options > Security tab > Trusted sites > Sites > Add the link.
  • If you’re not sure of your Login ID or password, contact Pam Lowery in Human Resources at plowery@umw.edu .

Frequently Asked Questions

1.  How do I make sure my payment is received at BOA BEFORE the 15th of each month?

The cardholder should pay online in WORKS following the directions using this guide Payment Center Quick Start Guide Statements 112017.  NOTE: If there is a credit balance on your credit card account, call the customer service phone number on the back of the credit card and request a refund.

2.  What happens when the Travel Card is canceled?

CAPP section 20360 requires the cardholder to pay the full balance on the day the card is canceled regardless of reimbursement status from UMW. If the cardholder does not pay the balance immediately upon cancellation of the card, Payroll will withhold the amount as agreed upon in the UMW Travel Card Employee Agreement signed by the cardholder at the time of application and annually.

Please contact Accounts Payable payables@umw.edu with questions regarding the BOA VISA Travel Charge Card.