Transportation to and from duty point

A receipt showing proof of payment is required to seek reimbursement for all forms of transportation. Transportation expenses must be itemized on the Travel Voucher form.

Packaged Travel

When using travel services companies such as Travelocity or Expedia please use the following guidelines to ensure your maximum reimbursement:

•  Do NOT bundle any travel services regardless of destination.  Do not book air, hotel and/or rental car on the same purchase.  These companies do not provide sufficiently detailed receipts to satisfy the State’s auditing requirements.
• Do NOT book a hotel stay in Texas.  These companies do not provide a breakdown of taxes and fees.  As a tax exempt agency, we must be able to provide the State proof that no state taxes were paid.
• Also remember that travelers must use contracted vendors whenever possible. 

Rental Cars

University employees are required to use State Contracted Rental Cars to ensure the lowest rates.  Rental car arrangements should be made directly by the employee to ensure state rates and establish payment method.  If employees do not use a contracted rental car agency, they must complete a Contract Travel Vendor Exception form.  

Be aware that insurance is included in the State of Texas contract with all Enterprise locations and with most Avis locations.  All additional insurance and products (such as GPS) should be declined unless the traveler is willing to pay for the expense.  Charges associated with such items will not be reimbursed.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

o   1-866-398-5080

o   Texas State Rate Identifier:  TX731

Avis Rental Car System, Inc.

o   1-800-331-1212

o   Texas State Rate Identifier: F999731

Taxi, Bus or Limousine

Actual invoices are not required, but expenses must be itemized on the Travel Voucher form.  When sharing a taxi or limousine, only the employee who paid for the service may be reimbursed. 

Travel by Personal Vehicle

An employee traveling by personal vehicle must carry insurance as required by the State of Texas.  An employee traveling in any non-University vehicle does so at his/her own risk.  TWU accepts no responsibility for vehicle or other damage, personal injury, claims filing, vehicle repair, maintenance, insurance costs, towing or citations.

See State Comptroller’s Mileage Guide for the current mileage rate.

Traveling from Headquarters to Duty Point

It is TWU policy to use the State Comptroller’s Mileage Guide for all travel by personal vehicle.  If locations are not available on the website, mileage can be calculated and claimed in one of the following two ways:  

o   Using actual odometer readings from the traveler’s vehicle if a mileage log is included or referenced on the Travel Voucher that includes dates of travel and point to point locations.

o   Using MapQuest internet mapping service specifically.  No other internet mapping site will be accepted. 

Travel to and from Residence

Mileage may be calculated from employee’s residence if one of the following applies:

• Mileage from residence to airport if CHECK IN time is not during regular business hours
• Mileage from airport to residence if FLIGHT ARRIVAL time is not during regular business hours
• Mileage from duty point (outside headquarters) to residence if ARRIVAL TIME at residence is not regular business hours

Out-of-state Travel

When a personal vehicle is used for out-of-state travel, the employee must claim reimbursement based on the lesser of:

• Reasonable expense of travel from headquarters to the nearest commercial airport plus round-trip contract airfare from the nearest airport to the out-of-state destination and reasonable parking expenses.  This may include what the taxi or limousine fares would have been from the point of destination to the employee’s lodging and return had the employee traveled by plane or
• The actual out-of-state mileage at the Current State Rate per mile

Employees Traveling Together

When several employees are traveling on the same date to the same place by personal vehicle, they are expected to share transportation (four (4) persons to a car).  Each passenger may submit a Travel Voucher to claim meals/lodging and should give the name of the person who furnished transportation.  The owner of the vehicle may claim mileage in addition to meals/lodging.  Exceptions must be approved by the Chancellor or a Vice President.

Traveling by air 

This section is applicable for employees or prospective employees ONLY.  Airline arrangements should be made using the Departmental Air Card. 

The following process should occur before charges are made on the Air Card:

1. The traveler completes an Air Travel Authorization form (ATA) requesting permission to fly using departmental funds.
2. The traveler submits the ATA to the appropriate department head for approval.
3. Upon approval, the ATA is given to the Air Card Administrator so that he/she can purchase the traveler’s airline ticket(s).

For complete guidelines and policies concerning booking air travel and using the Air Card, see the Air Card Policies and Procedures.

If employees book airline reservations using online systems such as Expedia and Travelocity rather than the airline’s websites, the following should be considered:

• All airlines may not be listed
• Receipts may be provided by the online booking source rather than the airline vendor,   which may not meet reimbursement requirements.
• Transaction fees are incurred by the online booking source, which should be included when evaluating various booking methods for the lowest total cost.
• Oftentimes, direct booking with an air carrier’s web portal such as, Southwest.com or AA.com, provides a lower total cost than sites with multiple carriers’ inventories.

Caution:  Any restricted fares may have non-reimbursable penalties associated with reservation changes or cancellations.

Contracted Airlines: Direct links to the state’s two contracted airline vendors are provided below. Comparing two or three airlines for the lowest available airline fares is recommended.

American Airlines

jetBlue Airlines

Contracted Travel Agency 

National Travel Systems is the State of Texas contracted travel agency.  They have a group of agents dedicated to serving TWU and our travel needs. Their contact information is as follows. 

E-mail: twutvl@nationaltravelsystems.com

Phone: 1-800-814-3336 ext.209

Accounting/Billing questions: accounting@nationaltravelsystems.com

To update or change profiles: profiles@nationaltravelsystems.com