Booking Travel
Travel Card & Connexxus
Introductions
• Shannon Miller – Connexxus Program Manager
• Chrissy Smith – Travel Card Programs Manager
Presentation overview
• In this training session you will learn about: – The value of the Travel Card and Connexxus programs – How they work with the travel process from start to
finish, including: • Preauthorizing your trip • Booking travel • Handling prepayments • Reconciliation
Travel Card
• Why do my travelers need a Travel Card? – Streamlines the travel process for you and your traveler
• What is it used for? – Official preauthorized business travel expense for the
cardholder only – Entertainment when acting as a host for UCSD – Not for personal use
• Who can apply? – Employees who travel or entertain on behalf of the
university
Travel Card • Benefits
– Eliminates out-of-pocket expenses • Airline charges automatically billed to UCSD • Conference registration fees and hotel deposits
– 24-Hour customer support both online via US Bank’s Access Online site and via phone
– Worldwide access to cash – Insurance
• $500,000 accident insurance coverage • $1,250 in lost baggage insurance
– Viewable transactions in MyTravel – Direct payments through MyTravel both pre & post travel
Travel Card • Responsibility
– Cardholders are ultimately responsible for balance on account – Departments are responsible to process payments in a timely manner & to
assist with ensuring cardholders make payments when due • Credit check
– US Bank does not perform credit checks – Travel Cards do not appear on credit reports
• Difference between Card Programs – Travel Card
• Used by UCSD travelers on official business travel or for entertainment when acting as a host
– Travel Event Planner Card • Used by employees who coordinate conferences, non-employee travel or certain
programmatic activities – Express Card
• Used by faculty and staff who have buying responsibilities
Preauthorization
• Before making travel plans use MyTravel to preauthorize your trip. Preauthorization is required for all travel, it generates a trip number and allows you to: – Purchase airfare – Make hotel/ conference and car rental arrangements – Request prepayments to your Travel Card prior to trip
conclusion
Preauthorizing Trip
• How to preauthorize a trip – Log into MyTravel – Select “Create a new trip” (this can be initiated by
the traveler or the travel preparer)
Preauthorizing Trip
• Once the trip is approved, you will be assigned a “trip number” which authorizes you to make your travel arrangements
Booking Travel • Once you receive your trip number you are ready to
book travel – Log into Connexxus to book travel online or call an agent
for complicated trips such as international or multiple destinations
• What is Connexxus and how does it work? – Connexxus is a travel program built to meet the needs of
UC travelers and their preparers to provide fast and accurate reconciliation, UC-negotiated rates, reduces risk and ensures policy compliance
Connexxus Overview
Connexxus Benefits • Connexxus discounts can be used for business or leisure
travel, the only variation is in the insurance coverage. When traveling on business the following applies:
Travel accident insurance Rental car coverage
What is
covered?
Includes things like accidental death,
emergency medical evacuation, non-
medical security extraction, lost
luggage and trip cancellation.
Includes rental car collision damage and, in some
cases, liability.
Who is
covered?
Applies to UC employees and
students only. (Business/ UC program
travel)
When you use Connexxus (or a UC agreement),
applies to employees, traveling companions of
employees and non-employees on official UC
business. (UC business)
Connexxus Benefits • Discounts range from 2% - 55% depending on the routing and
fare for tickets purchased with the following airlines: – American Airlines – Cathay Pacific – Delta – Emirates – JetBlue – LAN Airlines – Quantas – Singapore – Southwest via SWABIZ – United Airlines – Virgin America
Connexxus Benefits • Car Rental via Connexxus includes:
– UC negotiated rental rates – Car rental insurance – Free annual membership fee for car rental agencies with UC
agreements: • Hertz • Enterprise/ National
Connexxus Benefits • SWABIZ (Southwest): When booking online travelers can access
– UC negotiated rates including rental insurance (business) • Additional 250 Rapid Rewards points one-way, 500 round trip • Effective August 1st ending October 31st:
– All “Business Select” and “Anytime” fares receive a 25% discount (“Business Select” is considered an upgrade, requires exception to policy)
– All other fares (excluding “Wanna Get Away”) receive a 10% discount; – “Wanna Get Away” fares receive a 5% discount (trips booked 0-7 days in
advance) • When the 90-day promotional discount period ends, the following
discounts will be available to UC travelers and guests: – “Business Select” and “Anytime” fares receive an 8% discount (“Business
Select” is considered an upgrade, requires exception to policy) – All other fares - including “Wanna Get Away” receive a 5% discount (applies
only to trips booked 0-7 days in advance)
Connexxus Benefits • Fare Genius: Launched in
July 2013, Fare Genius ensures you receive the lowest available price: – Continually searches for
lowest fare – Applies to all fares booked
with Balboa Travel – Applies to business or
leisure booking – Re-ticketing is automatic
• How much have UCSD travelers saved so far?
July 2013
Original Amount
New Amount Savings
$562 $464 $98 $243 $162 $81 $965 $877 $88 $1,540 $1,336 $204 $535 $453 $82
Total Savings $552
That is an average savings of just over $100 per re-ticket fare.
Connexxus Benefits • Assistance with international travel on federal funds
– Fares considered Fly America Act compliant are represented with an American Flag, which meets one of the following:
• U.S. Carrier • Code share agreement in place • Open Skies agreement in place
– Why is one fare compliant and the other isn’t?
Connexxus Benefits • Sample of a compliant fare
– Look for code share (American) or Open Skies Agreement (Japan)
Connexxus Benefits • Sample of a non-compliant fare
– Notice there is no code share or Open Skies Agreement available (first international destination is in Korean)
Connexxus Benefits • Fly America Act can be confusing, here are things to be
aware of: – The fund determines requirements and could be more
restrictive than UC travel policy – UC Travel cannot determine compliancy, it is the responsibility
of each department – UC Travel follows GSA (General Services Administration)
guidance based on Federal Travel Regulation • Guidance is available in Blink for easy accessibility
Connexxus
• How do I access my Connexxus profile to: – Update Arranger – Add my frequent flyer and loyalty rewards programs – Add my Travel Card and personal credit card
information
Connexxus
• Log into Connexxus and select “Edit Profile”:
Connexxus • Select what you’d like to edit (you can edit multiple
fields my selecting any of the items below):
Connexxus • To add an arranger you can search by last name or email
address • Once you’ve selected the appropriate arranger you can
authorize the ability to book on your behalf and access your profile to make updates to your profile information
Connexxus
• Adding frequent flyer or loyalty programs:
Booking Travel
• Adding Travel Card and/or personal credit card information
Conference Registration Fees & Hotel Deposits
• Travelers use their UCSD Travel Card for all trip prepayments
• Declines due to merchant codes or retail limits – Email [email protected] to request access
• Use the Travel Card Prepayment option to request a payment to the account (Demo)
Travel Card Prepayment
• Select Travel Card as the Payment Type – Regardless of what was paid using the Travel Card
Travel Card Prepayment
• Complete all of the fields, including message to preparer
• Click submit to generate email notifications
Travel Card Prepayment
Check on the status of your prepayment, login to MyTravel, click View/Edit Scroll to the bottom of the page, under Payments
Travel Card Prepayment
Payments post 3 business days after approval date
View Travel Card Transactions • Cardholders with account activity can view recent
transactions & account balance from homepage • Preparer’s use the link at the bottom of each Tab
View Travel Card Transactions
• Travel Card Transaction Summary
Reconciliation
• To reconcile your trip, once travel concludes, login to MyTravel
• Select “Claim Expenses”
Reconciliation
• MyTravel – Check boxes to help you calculate the payment to
Travel Card
Reconciliation – Review & Submit Tab
Reconciliation
• MyEvents – Travel Card payments are currently reconciled via a
paper form. – Watch for direct card payments in the Fall
Questions?