Policies & Procedures

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to establish an individual travel card for Longwood employees.

II. POLICY

Longwood University has entered into an agreement with Bank of America to provide an individual VISA Travel Card at no charge to faculty, staff, and others who travel on Longwood-related business. This card provides a convenient means for the traveler to charge travel-related expenses including meals, car rentals, and motel/hotel reservations, etc. The card will be the only means of obtaining advance funding for Longwood-related travel.

1. Travel Charge Card Coordinator: The Travel Charge Card Coordinator in the Office of Accounting and Financial Reporting (AFR) is responsible for program administration.
2. Eligible Employees: All employees who travel overnight at least twice a year will be eligible to apply for a Travel Charge Card. Students are not eligible to participate in this program.
3. The Travel Charge Card does replace the Travel Advance Procedure for those employees eligible for a Travel Card. The AFR Office will no longer issue travel advance checks.
4. Program Administration: The policies and procedures for the Travel Charge Card are developed and distributed by the Accounting and Financial Reporting Office, which maintains a liaison with Bank of America. Implementation of the program will be handled through AFR which provides services for the program to include distribution of new and collection of completed card applications; obtaining completed Acknowledgment of Receipt forms from card members; collection of cards from card members upon their leaving Longwood employment or upon cancellation of cards due to non-payment of accounts, or card member's request to cancel account; monitoring all cardholder accounts on a monthly basis for compliance and prompt payment; assisting employees by answering questions and responding to concerns related to the travel charge card system; serving as liaison with Bank of America concerning delinquent accounts, termination of corporate accounts due to an employee's separation from the University or personal request for cancellation, and lost or stolen cards.
   1. Issuance of Travel Charge Cards: New travel cards will be mailed to the employee's home address.
   2. Names on Cards: The travel card will show the name of the card member, the card member number, the expiration date For Official Use Only.
   3. Card Renewal: The expiration date is on the face of each card. The card will be automatically renewed on the last day of the anniversary month of the card. Cards are issued for a period of two years.
   4. Multiple Cards: Only one card will be issued in the name of each eligible employee. Authorization is only for the employee whose name appears on the card. Family members and other persons are not permitted to use the card. This program does not provide for loaning a card to a third party.
   5. Lost or Stolen/Replacement Cards: Immediately upon determining that a card is missing, has been lost, or is stolen, the card member should telephone Bank of America at 1-888-449-2273. The AFR Office should be called also and advised of the loss (434.395.2721).
5. Limitations on Use of Travel Charge Card:
   1. In general, Travel Charge Cards may be used only for reimbursable travel and related expenditures that are incurred while an employee is in a travel status.
   2. Exceptions to this rule include items that are not reimbursable under State and Longwood travel regulations, but which might be charged to a Travel Charge Card coincident to the traveler's reimbursable expenses. Examples include:
      1. Non-reimbursable telephone calls charged to a hotel room.
      2. Non-reimbursable expenses for a spouse included in a hotel bill or a restaurant bill.
      3. Travel Charge Cards may also be used for business meals and employee recruitment meals when the card member is not in a travel status.
   3. The normal charge limit on a Travel Charge Card will be 5000 dollars. Higher limits may be approved in exceptional circumstances with appropriate authorization.
6. Employee Responsibilities:
   1. The Travel Charge Card will be issued in the employee's name. The traveler is personally liable for any charges made against the card, and will be billed directly by Bank of America. The institution is not liable in the event of non-payment by the employee. Bank of America requires the card member to make full payment within thirty (30) days of the monthly billing statement cut-off date.
   2. The Travel Charge Card must not be used to circumvent the procurement procedures of the University or Commonwealth of Virginia.
   3. If the Travel Charge Card is misused, it will be revoked. The employee must submit a Travel Reimbursement Voucher within one (1) week of completing a trip in order to assure that reimbursement will be received before the Bank of America bill must be paid. The Travel Charge Card holder must return the travel card to the Travel Charge Card Coordinator in the AFR Office upon request or upon leaving Longwood employment.
   4. Termination of Employee Participation: Employee participation in the Travel Charge Card Program will be subject to termination under the following conditions:
      1. when the card member is no longer employed by Longwood;
      2. when an employee goes on leave of absence without pay for a month or longer;
      3. where there is a consistently delinquent payment history; or
      4. when a card member requests cancellation.

Revised and approved by the Board of Visitors, September 7, 2002.
Revised and approved by the Board of Visitors, December 10, 2005.
Revised and approved by the Board of Visitors, December 03, 2010.