DEFENSE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT OFFICE
May 2022
1
Government Travel Charge Card Regulations
Cardholder Reference
Edition
This Cardholder Reference Edition is derived from the GTCC Regulations
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Government Travel Charge Card Regulations: Using the GTCC for DoD Personnel, Study notes of Government & Non-Profit Accounting
The policies and procedures for using the Government Travel Charge Card (GTCC) for authorized expenses for DoD personnel. The GTCC offers benefits such as extended payment timelines, no interest charges, and direct payment. Cardholders must use the card only for authorized travel expenses and are required to complete training and maintain account access. Online account access is available through CitiManager, and cash withdrawals and split disbursement are also discussed.
What you will learn
- What are the benefits of using the Government Travel Charge Card for DoD personnel?
- How can DoD personnel access and manage their Government Travel Charge Card account online?
- What expenses can DoD personnel use the Government Travel Charge Card for?
Typology: Study notes
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May 2022
Government Travel Charge Card Regulations
Cardholder Reference
Edition
This Cardholder Reference Edition is derived from the GTCC Regulations
Government Travel Charge Card Regulations
Cardholder Reference Edition
- May - POLICY AND PURPOSE........................................................................................................... Table of Contents
- Overview
- Benefits of Using the GTCC
- Compliance...........................................................................................................
- Misuse
- GENERAL TRAVEL CARD INFORMATION
- Agency Program Coordinator (APC)
- Cardholder Responsibilities
- Two Types of Acounts
- Online Account Access
- Cash Withdrawals
- Split Disbursement
- Expenses Incident to Official Travel
- SPECIAL TRAVEL CONSIDERATIONS.................................................................................
- Mission Critical (MC) Travel
- Mission Critical Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Travel
- Local Travel
- Long-Term Travel
- ANNEX 1 TRAVEL CARD VENDOR FEES
- ANNEX 2 DELINQUENCY TIMELINE
May 2022 GENERAL TRAVEL CARD INFORMATION
- Agency Program Coordinator (APC) APCs are the primary point of contact for cardholders within their organization. They help cardholders with everything from the GTCC application process and setting up their accounts to the everyday use of the travel card. APCs are responsible for execution and management of the day-to-day operations of the DoD travel card program.
- Cardholder Responsibilities A. Training. When an individual first applies for a travel card and then every three years after that, they must complete the Programs & Policies – Travel Card Program – Travel Card 101 [Mandatory] training course that is available on the TraX website. Cardholders will ensure a copy of their certificate of completion is retained by the APC or can be obtained from TraX. Refresher training may also be completed using other training sources as approved by the applicable Component Program Manager (CPM). Refresher training and the updated Statement of Understanding (SOU) will be documented and retained either electronically or in hard copy by the APC. B. Before Travel. Cardholders must immediately verify card receipt and create a PIN with the travel card vendor upon receiving the card in the mail. Cardholders must also update their traveler profile in the applicable Travel System (DTS or MyTravel) with their GTCC account number and expiration date. Cardholders are responsible for providing a signed SOU and certificate of training to their APC upon initial card issuance, arrival and in-processing into a new organization and every three years thereafter. The DoD Statement of Understanding DD3120 is available at https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/forms/dd/dd3120.pdf. Additionally, cardholders should check their account online or confirm with their APC that their card account is open and there is sufficient available credit based on mission needs. If the cardholder’s demographic information (mailing address, email address, phone number, last name, etc.) changes at any time, they must update their account online, through their APC or by calling the number on the back of their card. Cardholders whose mail has been returned to the travel card vendor for non-delivery will have a return mail indicator placed on their account. A return mail indicator temporarily blocks the travel card until the mailing address has been updated and/or verified with the GTCC vendor by the cardholder or APC. C. During Travel. Ensure the card is used to pay for all official travel expenses, unless there has been an exemption granted. If the cardholder finds their card account is blocked or the card declines for any reason, they should contact their APC or the travel card vendor for resolution or simply check their account status on the mobile app using their smartphone. Cardholders should also maintain awareness of and stay within their available credit limit while they are traveling by accessing their GTCC account online, on the mobile app, or by calling the customer service number on the back of the travel card itself. If additional credit limit is necessary based on the travel mission (long-term travel or travel to a high cost area for example), the cardholder must contact their APC to request an increase. Notify the APC and card vendor immediately if the card is lost or stolen at any time. Cardholders may be exempt from certain state taxes for lodging
May 2022 in selected states. Travelers are directed to obtain tax information from the GSA SmartPay website and present the tax-exempt form to the merchant for the exemption to be applied. D. After Travel. Cardholders are required to submit travel vouchers within five working days of travel completion and use split disbursement to pay their travel card bill. It is the travel cardholder’s responsibility to pay any remaining balance of undisputed charges no later than the due date, regardless of the status of their travel reimbursement. Accounts are considered past due at 3 1 days past billing and delinquent if unpaid 61 days after the billing date. Cardholders are responsible for reconciling their travel card account against claimed travel expenses, taking action to avoid erroneous or improper payments and minimizing credit balances on their account. E. Disputed Charges. If the billing statement includes questionable charges, the cardholder will first contact the merchant to try to resolve the questionable charge. If unsuccessful, the cardholder will obtain a dispute form from the APC, or from the travel card vendor’s website. The cardholder will complete and send the form to the travel card vendor. All disputes must be submitted within 60 days of the date on the billing statement on which the erroneous charge first appeared. It is the responsibility of the cardholder to ensure the dispute form has been received by the travel card vendor. Once the dispute notification has been received by the travel card vendor, the travel card vendor will issue a provisional credit for the amount of the dispute pending resolution. Formally disputed charges will not age and the account will not suspend for lack of payment. Disputes found in favor of the merchant will result in the disputed charge being placed back onto the cardholders account, with the cardholder responsible for repayment as well as any applicable late fees. Disputes found in favor of the cardholder will result in a permanent credit against the account, relieving the cardholder from responsibility for the disputed amount.
Two Types of Accounts A. Standard Accounts. Standard accounts are issued to individuals with a FICO credit score above
The default limits are $7,500 for credit, $250 for cash, and $250 for retail purchases. Increased limits can be requested on a temporary basis (not to exceed 12 months) to meet mission needs when validated by commanders and supervisors. Note that the FICO credit score (soft pull) is not provided to the cardholder or their APC. B. Restricted Accounts. Restricted accounts are issued to individuals with a FICO credit score below 660. Individuals who do not consent to a credit score (soft pull), but still require a travel card must complete all responses affirmatively on the alternate creditworthiness form DD 2883 to be issued a restricted account. Credit scores are only reviewed by Citibank and not provided to the cardholder or the APC. The default limits are $4,000 for credit, $250 for cash, and $ for retail purchases. Restricted travel account cards are the same in appearance as standard account cards. Restricted account limits can also be raised temporarily (not to exceed 6 months) when necessary to meet mission needs.
Online Account Access The travel card vendor provides online account access and management through CitiManager at https://www.citimanager.com/. Cardholders have the option to manage their CitiManager account online
May 2022 SPECIAL TRAVEL CONSIDERATIONS
Mission Critical (MC) Travel Mission critical travel is defined as travel that prevents the traveler from submitting interim travel vouchers or from scheduling partial payments to pay for charges to their travel card. Mission critical status must be reflected on cardholder’s travel authorization or military travel orders. If there is an outstanding balance at the time the cardholder is removed from mission critical status, the balance must be paid within 45 days of removal from status. Travelers in this situation should contact their APC to ensure enrollment in this status.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Travel PCS status is applied to an individually billed account while an individual is traveling to a new permanent duty station. PCS status allows the traveler more time to pay amounts charged during a PCS move. Accounts may be placed in PCS status for up to 120 days and cardholders have no more than 60 days from the time of disenrollment, in which to pay their outstanding balance. The individual component policies determine whether an IBA can be used for PCS travel.
Local Travel The travel card may be used for local (reimbursable) travel expenses when authorized by the component. Local travel is defined as authorized travel when the individual is performing official duties in and around the area of the permanent duty station; however, use of the travel card to purchase meals while in this status is not permitted unless otherwise specified in the JTR.
Long-Term Travel Long-term travel is defined as travel greater than 45 days. While in a long-term travel status, the traveler is required to file interim vouchers every 30 days in order to receive partial payments and use split disbursement as the means of settlement to ensure payment to the travel card vendor in order to avoid delinquency. For DTS travel, cardholders must request scheduled partial payments as part of the authorization process, ensuring that expenses anticipated to be charged on the travel card are properly designated.
May 2022 ANNEX 1 TRAVEL CARD VENDOR FEES The following fees may be charged by the travel card vendor:
- Non-Sufficient Funds (NSFs) Fee. A NSF fee will be applied to a cardholder’s account when a payment is returned by the cardholder’s financial institution for insufficient funds. NSF fees are not reimbursable. An account that has two (2) or more NSF payments within a 12 month period or the 3 rd^ NSF payment in the life of the account is subject to immediate cancellation by the travel card vendor.
- Reinstatement Fee. Reinstatement is the process of re-establishing a previously cancelled account. The reinstatement fee is non-reimbursable.
- Late Fees. The first late fee is charged at two cycles plus fifteen days past due (day 75) and then each cycle thereafter. Late fees may be reimbursable, if the late fee was charged as the result of a late reimbursement to the traveler ( DoD Financial Management Regulation, Vol. 9, Chapter 8 ).
- Salary Offset Fees. Salary Offset fees are non-reimbursable. Salary offset is the collection (by deduction from the amount of pay owed to the cardholder) of any amount the cardholder owes to the travel card vendor as a result of undisputed delinquencies. Upon written request DFAS will, on behalf of the travel card vendor, begin the process of salary offset. Accounts become eligible for salary offset when an unpaid balance reaches 126 days past billing. Note that late fees will continue to be assessed during Salary Offset.
- Reduced Payment Plan Fee. The travel card vendor may offer a reduced payment plan to delinquent cardholders for which additional fees will be assessed and are not reimbursable. The plan allows for payment of an outstanding balance over a defined time period as an alternative to salary offset. The Reduced Payment Plan cannot be initiated once salary offset has begun. Failure to comply with the agreed-to payment schedule will result in automatic referral for salary offset.
- ATM and or non-automated Cash Withdrawal Fees. Cash withdrawal fees may be charged by the travel card vendor and or the ATM owner for each withdrawal. ATM fees and cash advance fees for non- ATM cash withdrawals associated with official government travel are included in the incidental expense portion of the applicable locality per diem rate and are not reimbursable (with rare exception) as a separate miscellaneous expense.
- Merchant Surcharge Fees. Merchant surcharge fees are reimbursable. Merchants in the United States (US) and U.S. Territories are permitted to impose a surcharge (up to 4%) on consumers when they use a Visa or Master Card credit or charge card. For more information on merchant surcharge fees, see Visa’s website.
- Foreign Currency Conversion Fees. Also listed as Cross Border Processing Fees on cardholder statements. For each purchase made in other than US dollars, the bank may pass along any charges assessed by the bankcard associations. The international transaction fees will appear as a separate transaction on the billing statement.