Government Travel Credit Card

[ElGuapo1775]

I'm fairly new to the fleet squadron, and I'm trying to figure out why anyone would want to use the damned Government Travel Credit Card (and apparently everyone is using it). Here's how I figure it's worse than a personal credit card in every way:

1. You're required to pay the full balance when it comes due, regardless of whether you've been reimbursed by DTS. Not so with a personal credit card; you're only obligated to pay the minimum (as stupid as that may be).

2. If you fail to pay your GTCC, your personal credit gets dinged. If you fail to pay your personal credit card your credit gets dinged AND your name appears on a list submitted to a general. To clamp down on delinquent accounts, commanders are tightening the penalties for officers who appear on the thirty-day delinquent list.

3. To avoid issues stemming from #2, many officers are maintaining a positive balance on their cards, generally to the tune of $1000. I used to think the worst place to keep money was under a mattress, but not anymore. Are the days of making money off per diem while on the road over?

Most responses I've gotten refer to the convenience of DTS paying off the card directly. But come on, a $1000 insurance policy for the "convenience" of not having to spend two minutes paying off your personal credit card? And why risk getting your ass handed to you if something causes you to be a day late paying the full balance? Somebody with more experience straighten me out, this is insane. :icon_rage

 

[MasterBates]

When I have not been paid in 30 days by DFAS, I tell the admin officer, and she OKs it.

If it was on a personal card, it would be racking up interest.

 

[smittyrunr]

I hate the thing, and have thus far avoided using it. Unfortunately with this new DTS thing it seems we have no choice but to use it.
My understanding is that your person credit won't get dinged until 120 days. I haven't seen that written anywhere.
Supposedly with DTS travel claims will be more automatic and this issue with bills not being paid on time will go away. Based on how well DTS has NOT worked so far, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[HooverPilot]

Problem is this, you are required to use the Gov't travel card for major items like hotel & cars. If you don't that portion of the claim at worst will not be paid and at best, will just be reported to your senior heirarchy. That is a list worse than the 30 day list.

Oh by the way, if you are traveling over 30 days, DTS will not pay your gov't CC directly until the travel is over so you actually have to pay it yourself after your intermediate liquidations. (I'm on 7 month travel orders and we deal with this daily amongst the det)

 

[MasterBates]

Hoov- Do you get higher than the $2000 limit we get here?

Just thinking a month of hotels, never mind per diem would tap mine out, just in CONUS.

 

[squorch2]

I'm the GTCC officer at my squadron. Your plight isn't unheard of, but really, things are getting a lot better. First off, the name of the card is a misnomer - it's a charge card, not a credit card. Think AmEx. Everyone is using it because of the should/shall requirements sent down from on high (DoD) - if you travel on the govt dime 3+ times a year, you HAVE to use the GTCC (should use it if it's less). Split disbursement is getting better and faster - basically, GTCC was implemented before DTS was totally ready to utilize split disbursement, and it's slowly coming around. Also, the late fees aren't charged to your card until you're 75 days late, which is "delinquent." And the late fee is a flat $29 charge. Your civilian credit isn't hit unless Bank of America has to charge off your card - at least, that's the line that they're giving me. As for the positive balance, that's being looked upon as potential fraud, waste and abuse and is treated the same way as holding a negative balance for X number of days.... so people may just want to hold that money somewhere else - maybe a savings account or something.

If you've got any other questions, feel free to ask - although your APC (GTCC officer) should know just as much.

 

[squorch2]

Oh by the way, if you are traveling over 30 days, DTS will not pay your gov't CC directly until the travel is over so you actually have to pay it yourself after your intermediate liquidations. (I'm on 7 month travel orders and we deal with this daily amongst the det)

That doesn't sound right... our guys who are going to Bahrain buy their tickets with GTCCs, and they're split disbursed for the tickets quite soon after reaching Bahrain.

 

[FA-18 Mousse]

El Guapo-

You probably won't get an argument from anyone in the Nav about the Government Credit Card. In fact, the only other thing that the card actually allows you to do (besides all those things already covered) is purchase walk up airline tickets at the government rate. Airlines will not give you the government rate without it.

 

[HooverPilot]

That doesn't sound right... our guys who are going to Bahrain buy their tickets with GTCCs, and they're split disbursed for the tickets quite soon after reaching Bahrain.

That's great that it doesn't sound right, but as we are trying to liquidate the 30 day claim right now and they are refusing to do the split disbursment no matter how high we go in the heirarchy, that's the reality. Are your guys WinATOS or DTS? We are DTS. DTS is not the end all, be all that they claim it to be. Maybe split pay will become a reality in the future with DTS, but as of now, we would rather still be on the old system.

 

[HooverPilot]

Hoov- Do you get higher than the $2000 limit we get here?

Just thinking a month of hotels, never mind per diem would tap mine out, just in CONUS.

Our cards have $10K limits but very low cash advance limits. We had to get our Commodore to get BoA to approve a $2k cash limit for the troops. I guess there is a recent new policy limiting cash advances to $750 or so.

 

[FlyinSpy]

I hate the thing, and have thus far avoided using it. Unfortunately with this new DTS thing it seems we have no choice but to use it.
My understanding is that your person credit won't get dinged until 120 days. I haven't seen that written anywhere.
Supposedly with DTS travel claims will be more automatic and this issue with bills not being paid on time will go away. Based on how well DTS has NOT worked so far, I'm not holding my breath.

Like NMCI, the GTCC is a great example of a good idea gone wrong in execution. The first time I tried to use it for a rental car as an ENS it was declined because "it hadn't been activated by my command." YGBSM. I use it for COMAIR tickets and that's it.

 

[Brett327]

Like NMCI, the GTCC is a great example of a good idea gone wrong in execution. The first time I tried to use it for a rental car as an ENS it was declined because "it hadn't been activated by my command." YGBSM. I use it for COMAIR tickets and that's it.

Concur. It works fine if you only use it for required items (airfare, rental cars/gas, and hotels). It's mostly the troopers who end up having problems, oftentimes of their own creation.

Brett

 

[fudog50]

govt travel card

Another topic that has numerous personal answers. Sailors have different experiences, mine included.

My last command- Special Missions unit in China Lake, I traveled 22 times in 18 mos., mostly PMA conferences. We were "required" to use the card, and certainly only for "authorized" payments, (hotels, food, car rentals, gas, etc.) We also had a min. 5 g's that could get bumped up with a phone call, if needed. No problem because we were all E-7 and above and responsible, plus we had an awesome travel guy at PSD that liquidated our claims pronto. It helped to be at a small base and a small command.

Now my current command (CVN) is a totally different story. They do not let 3500 sailors have the card. If you had one prior to checking in, they do not activate it. I don't know how the Training Officer gets away with it, but I guess it must be legal. Besides can you imagine trying to track 3500 sailor's govt cards?

There are 10 persons onboard that have activated cards, I am one of them because I travel a lot. (14 times to conferences in 26 months). I don't mind using it at all, never had a problem and never been late on a bill. I turn my travel claim in pronto and then manage it, follow up. The folks in training and dispursing always liquidate me on time and pay my bank account which i then transfer to B of A, no problem. And that is on a CVN.

You get used to it and its just part of doing business. I like it because I know it "won't" go against my credit. I don't know where y'all are getting that info from. When was the last time you checked your Equifax, transunion or Experian records? My account doesn't even show up on there......

Again different experiences, I don't know why the differences, works great for me.

 

[fudog50]

re: govt travel card

Sorry, I forgot to add this:

What MasterBates posted is the bottom line-

If all your charges are "authorized", the command card program manager (ie admin "O", or training "O"), can simply go into your account and fix it.

The Wardroom is a great place to be, now use it!

/R

 

[hscs]

I think a fair bit of the problems can be handled at the squadron level -- whether it is rapid submission of travel claims or following up that claims have been paid. If there is still a screw up, then do like Masterbates and Mefesto said -- talk to the person in charge of the program.