Govt Travel Card and the IRR

[BACONATOR]

Wait, what? Is this true?

I definitely have a few things I'd buy with the "free money" if this were true.

As specified earlier, the account's in my name, reported on my credit. Might as well reap the bennies of that arrangement.


Maybe they'll "penalize" me by taking it away and forcing me to use my Hawaiian Airlines Visa to buy all my Navy plane tix, and reap all the miles associated.

Are you sure it's reported on your credit? I get all three reports/scores updated monthly, so I'll have to check, but I don't recall seeing my GOVCC on my credit reports.... ever.

And to add to the pile. GOVCCs SUCK. In our command, they aren't activated until we NEED to use them, and when I was sent on the road for a day to FCF an aircraft that PELed, my CC was denied (presumably, because it wasn't un-frozen by my command even though they said it was). On top of it, if you use your card to pay for a room and you used room service/phone etc that isn't covered, now you need to go and make a personal payment in addition to the travel claim that will pay for all the things covered. MUCH easier for me to use my personal CC and just get them to reimburse me for all that's covered.

GOVCC should be used IF REQUIRED (for example, an 18 year old kid with no card or desire to pay for things him/herself and get reimbursed). But for me with a large limit credit card and a low tolerance for BS, I'd like to not get hassled when I don't use my GOVCC.

 

[Gatordev]

All reasons why I never use mine (unless someone is paying for my airline ticket).

 

[Uncle Fester]

Are you sure it's reported on your credit? I get all three reports/scores updated monthly, so I'll have to check, but I don't recall seeing my GOVCC on my credit reports.... ever.

And to add to the pile. GOVCCs SUCK. In our command, they aren't activated until we NEED to use them...

Your command's doing it wrong. They should only be doing that for E-3 and below. As an O, your card should always be on.

Serious delinquencies can be reported to a credit bureau, but regular payment (i.e., 'good' credit) doesn't do anything for you. As I said, all of the hassles, none of the airline points.

 

[MasterBates]

My HSL squadron was always bad about the "turn on when you need it" thing, since about once a month, someone would have an out an in turn into an out and stuck. At night. When nobody from Admin is around. VTs and VAW squadron always left it on.

 

[phrogpilot73]

In theory, Gov't CCs are good so that Airman Timmy can charge a Q room or rental car when on a monthlong TAD without maxing out his starter personal charge card.

The worst part now about the Govt CC is that your travel claims automatically get paid to your card, regardless of whether or not you're paying your Govt CC balance. So if they reconcile your travel claim LATE (as in my case - I submitted my travel claim in July, and didn't get it paid out until October), you are reponsible to pay the balance and they'll still pay your card. So let me get this right - You take away my ability to manage my finances (by paying my govt CC vice me), but still require me to manage my finances? Or you punish me because of your incompetence? F You. I'm using my personal card, and when you get off your ass and pay my Govt CC three months later, I'll just request my refund online.

 

[Spekkio]

GOVCC should be used IF REQUIRED (for example, an 18 year old kid with no card or desire to pay for things him/herself and get reimbursed). But for me with a large limit credit card and a low tolerance for BS, I'd like to not get hassled when I don't use my GOVCC.

Gov cc use is required for all Navy official travel. Our squadron won't book TAD orders without a gov cc on file to enter into DTS.

Now whether you actually charge the gov cc is another story. Most I've had happen is th YNs get mad at you for whipping out a personal card to pay the final bill, probably because they have to explain to someone why the gov cc wasn't charged.

 

[insanebikerboy]

The worst part now about the Govt CC is that your travel claims automatically get paid to your card, regardless of whether or not you're paying your Govt CC balance. So if they reconcile your travel claim LATE (as in my case - I submitted my travel claim in July, and didn't get it paid out until October), you are reponsible to pay the balance and they'll still pay your card. So let me get this right - You take away my ability to manage my finances (by paying my govt CC vice me), but still require me to manage my finances? Or you punish me because of your incompetence? F You. I'm using my personal card, and when you get off your ass and pay my Govt CC three months later, I'll just request my refund online.

Unless it's just drastically different in the Marines you can just click to have all your money pay to you instead of to the GCC, which will avoid the asspain of requesting a refund.

 

[PropAddict]

On top of it, if you use your card to pay for a room and you used room service/phone etc that isn't covered, now you need to go and make a personal payment in addition to the travel claim that will pay for all the things covered.

Wait. . .meals are allowed to be charged to the Gov CC. It's in that stupid training they make me take every year. I put room service on the card if it was my only food option. Booze is a no-no, though.

 

[insanebikerboy]

We had a few go to mast, apparently some folks didn't get the brief not to use your government CC at a casino or other 'fine establishments'.

Do you happen to have an instruction for this? Sure, don't use your GCC at an atm in a strip club or at the Bunny Ranch but considering we can legally get rooms at a casino during travel, pulling money from the GCC from a casino atm doesn't ring as a no-no in my book.

 

[Gatordev]

Unless it's just drastically different in the Marines you can just click to have all your money pay to you instead of to the GCC, which will avoid the asspain of requesting a refund.

He's got the added complexity of doing his orders through the Reserve side, so it's slightly more complicated, or more accurately, has more oversight than when you or I go on travel. Not all Reservists (at least on the Navy side) are on DTS. They're slowly trying to get everyone over to it.

 

[Brett327]

Gov cc use is required for all Navy official travel. Our squadron won't book TAD orders without a gov cc on file to enter into DTS.

Now whether you actually charge the gov cc is another story. Most I've had happen is th YNs get mad at you for whipping out a personal card to pay the final bill, probably because they have to explain to someone why the gov cc wasn't charged.

There's no reason for the YNs to even care - it's all transparent to them and there's no requirement or mechanism to explain whether or not a Govt CC was used. Despite the rhetoric/party line, the only thing you really have to use the Govt CC for is when they put airline tickets, lodging or rental cars directly on your card. Everything else is up to you as a practical matter. I have never used my Govt CC "as intended" and nobody has ever said a thing. I ran my squadron's program for a year as the Admin O and there's really no reason to fuss about it as much as some of you seem to be. Use it as you see fit within the bounds of common sense and 99% of you will not have issues.

 

[Swanee]

Do you happen to have an instruction for this? Sure, don't use your GCC at an atm in a strip club or at the Bunny Ranch but considering we can legally get rooms at a casino during travel, pulling money from the GCC from a casino atm doesn't ring as a no-no in my book.

I used my card at the Tachi Palace for my room, never had a problem.

 

[phrogpilot73]

He's got the added complexity of doing his orders through the Reserve side, so it's slightly more complicated, or more accurately, has more oversight than when you or I go on travel. Not all Reservists (at least on the Navy side) are on DTS. They're slowly trying to get everyone over to it.

Pretty close to ZERO SMCR guys are in DTS. I am in DTS for my civilian job, and it's mostly painless. We do old school travel claims via MROWS, which is why it takes so long and is not so awesome. I had an outstanding balance on my card and got nasty grams from my APC (per the order my APC is at my civilian job, not my reserve site) while I was waiting on the USMCR's slow-ass reimbursement. Added benefit was they decided to send my ENTIRE travel claim to the card, even though I had only put lodging on it. Dicks.

This last goat-rope was so bad, my APC told me to NOT use my GTCC for my reserve unit and even went to ground to figure out the instruction/reference to write an official letter from the CO saying as such. So, all I use it for now is my lodging when we go down to Lejeune. Funny thing is, they're actually reimbursing my NEXT stay at Lejeune, since I bring the RV down and the RV park has to be paid in advance. So, the first time it went on the personal card (our command turns them on/off for everyone, regardless of rank) and now when I check out - I book the next live fire and pay with the GTCC... Works out well...

 

[Flash]

Do you happen to have an instruction for this? Sure, don't use your GCC at an atm in a strip club or at the Bunny Ranch but considering we can legally get rooms at a casino during travel, pulling money from the GCC from a casino atm doesn't ring as a no-no in my book.

It was obvious they were used to gamble while at home station and not when on travel, repeatedly in some cases. Kind of hard to claim the whole 'I needed to use the ATM' excuse when you had scores of them 20 miles closer, at your home base.

 

[magnetfreezer]

Gov cc use is required for all Navy official travel. Our squadron won't book TAD orders without a gov cc on file to enter into DTS.

Now whether you actually charge the gov cc is another story. Most I've had happen is th YNs get mad at you for whipping out a personal card to pay the final bill, probably because they have to explain to someone why the gov cc wasn't charged.

The real reason GTC use is mandated is the rebates the government gets from the card (same thing as your personal card cash back/rewards/etc). For most bases it can be several hundred K a year in no-strings-attached money (i.e, more flatscreens), depending on travel spending and delinquency rates.