Unallowable Expenses
Reimbursement requests should not include the following unallowable
items:
- Costs associated with upgrading travel class beyond coach class. Travelers
are encouraged to use leisure and excursion fares that result in lower
fares but may restrict travel to certain times or dates.
- Costs associated with personal travel or for personal convenience.
Travelers are also reminded that when combining business and personal travel,
allowable reimbursement is limited to the lowest cost alternative for travel
to the business destination only. It is the traveler’s responsibility to
obtain and submit documentation of the lowest cost travel to the business
destination. Ticket rescheduling fees for personal reasons, rather than
business reasons, are not reimbursable. Therefore, the business purpose
of the ticket rescheduling fee should be stated on the face of the voucher.
(Exception: A ticket rescheduling fee for a health emergency of the traveler
or the traveler's "immediate family" is reimbursable.)
- Costs for travel on non-U.S. flag carriers, if charged to a federal
grant or reimbursable from another federal funding source. A U.S. Flag
Carrier is an air or ocean transport company whose country of registry
is the United States of America. Use of a foreign carrier who is a business
partner of U.S. carriers will not satisfy the requirement to use only U.S.
Flag Carriers. The ticket MUST be issued by a U.S. Flag Carrier
under a "code share" arrangement with a foreign carrier to be
considered allowable. If you are paying for travel with federal funding,
you MUST advise your travel agent that you require a U.S. Flag
Carrier or "code share" carrier. If you need assistance
in determining whether or not an airline qualifies as a U.S. Flag Carrier,
our contracted travel agencies, Sponsored Programs Accounting and the Purchasing
Department have current listings of Department of Transportation approved
U.S. Flag Carriers. It is the traveler’s responsibility to verify that
an allowable carrier is used.
