Travel Information

Contracted Travel Agencies

ISU has contracts for travel services with two travel agencies. ISU travelers can order air tickets from any of the contracted agencies. No comparative quotes between the agencies are required.

Each of the contracted agencies will accept a faxed copy of the Air Ticket Requisition (ATR) form as payment, and departments will be billed intramurally. Tickets ordered from Travel & Transport can be delivered by courier to campus locations, although most tickets are now E-tickets sent via e-mail.

The contracted travel agencies are:

STA Travel of Ames, Iowa

Phone 515-296-2326 (changed 1/08)
Fax 800-659-4876 (changed 5/07)
Internet statravel.com
Business Hours Monday - Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Service Fees - $25.00 per transaction (ATR) if ordered by phone, $10 if through STA's Internet site. Another service fee will be charged if the ATR is changed in a way that results in a new ticket being issued another service fee will apply.

Travel & Transport of Ames, Iowa

Phone 515-292-8182 or 800-747-8182
Fax 515-292-8952
Internet http://www.tandt.com/ts/isu
(This is a new site, effective October 2, 2006. A Quick Reference Guide is available.)
The Quick Reference Guide referred to above is for entering your own air tickets. If you are entering for others also see this attachment.
Business Hours Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Service Fees - $28.50 per transaction (ATR) fee will be charged (multiple tickets are covered by this fee). If the ATR is changed in a way that results in a new ticket being issued another $28.50 fee will apply.
Net transaction fees - For non-commissionable tickets, such as those issued for consolidators, $28.50 for issue or exchanges, voids and refunds are covered in the transaction fee.
Non-university Business Transaction Fees - $10 - $25 for issue, voids, exchanges and hand-written tickets.
Travel Insurance - $100,000 per ticket.
Airport parking discount - $4.75 per day discounted parking at Keck's is available; ask for details on how to obtain.
Value-Added Services - E-Ticket tracking, travel management reporting, hotel discount programs, rental car discount programs, credit card reconciliation and data management programs with direct on-line viewing, and report formatting, Internet fare quoting and reservation system.

Air Ticket Requisition Form

ISU requires an Air Ticket Requisition form to be faxed to travel agencies. The Air Ticket Requisition form is part of the Employee Reimbursement System in AccessPlus. If you need the ability to fax Air Ticket Requisitions to travel agencies your department chair must send a request by e-mail to Carole Gill at cagill@iastate.edu, giving her your name, phone number and ISU ID number (not your SSN).

This on-line form will automatically assign a requisition number, which will be required before the contracted agency can issue an air ticket. The air ticket will be encumbered within a week of the time the Air Ticket Requisition form is generated by the department. An Air Ticket Requisition form must be faxed to one of the contracted travel agencies. Click here for the Employee Reimbursement System on-line tutorial. The Employee Reimbursement System in AccessPlus includes the ability to fax Air Ticket Requisitions.

Individual Purchases

Since July 1, 2002 travelers have been allowed to use their personal credit cards to purchase tickets from Internet sites. Although significant savings can sometimes be realized through Internet sites, travelers need to be aware of the site's policies regarding ticket exchanges, refunds and transfers. Travelers also should review the Travelers' Responsibilities and Unallowable Expenses sections before purchasing tickets from a source other than ISU's contracted travel agencies.

When purchasing tickets with a personal credit card the traveler assumes all risk. Travel advances will not be issued to travelers who purchased air tickets on their personal credit cards, and reimbursement will not be made until after the trip has been completed. If the trip is canceled ISU will not reimburse the traveler for the ticket of a trip that was not taken, as the credit for the unused ticket goes back to the traveler's credit card. By contrast, trips arranged through our contracted travel agencies and subsequently canceled can have credits applied to the future trips of any ISU traveler, which ensures the value of the ticket will not be lost.

Travelers who are unable to accept these risks or to wait after the trip for reimbursement should consider other options, such as faxing an Air Ticket Requisition form directly to one of our contracted agencies.

When using a travel agency other than the contracted agencies, travelers and departments should use caution to determine that the agent or consolidator is reliable. Since advance payment is required for the purchase of airline tickets, the financial reliability of the agent is important in order to ensure that the purchased tickets are delivered.

See Allowable Expenses for additional details

Alternate Payment Arrangements

Payments by ISU voucher can be made directly to non-contracted agencies only for "consolidator" tickets. A comparative quote from a contracted agency is not required. Vouchers should be routed directly to the Accounting Office, as the approval of the Purchasing Office is not required. Departments must be able to defend the reasons for using the non-contracted agencies if audited.

Departments using federal funds (funds beginning with the digits 401 through 437) also need to use a U.S. flag carrier, as provided in the Fly America Act.

Please call Carole Gill at 294-5181 if you have any questions.

Back-to-Back Ticketing

Airlines usually charge a much higher rate when the traveler does not stay overnight on Saturday. This "weekday only" fare often is more than double the fare that involves a Saturday night stayover.

To avoid these high fares, some travelers have used an aggressive strategy whereby they purchased two round-trip tickets, using only half of the tickets issued. This is called "back-to-back" ticketing.

The airlines consider this practice illegal and are using software to identify the travelers who purchased the "back-to-back" tickets. If you purchase a "back-to-back" ticket you run the risk of not being able to board your flight. You also run the risk of being billed by the airline for what the higher fare would have been. For these reasons, the university discourages the use of "back-to-back" tickets.

Airline Contracts

ISU currently has only one discount program, which is for the University's official business travel only.

Northwest Airlines - United Airlines offers corporate discounts of 3% off all domestic fares.

Please call Al Brooks at 294-7040 or E-mail at acbrook@iastate.edu if you have questions concerning ISU's airline contracts.

Tickets charged to the university's American Express card carry life insurance of $350,000 through American Express. This life insurance coverage will not be available when tickets are purchased by other means.