government travel card training test out

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Travel Training

Required training.

Receive Travel Card Training on AgLearn+ by searching for: " USDA Travel Card Training "

Travel Aid Brochures

• Travel Steps for New Employees (PDF, 382 KB)
• Travel Charge Card Do’s and Dont’s (PDF, 426 KB)

An official website of the United States government

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Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

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Travel charge card

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• Per Diem Lookup

What is the travel charge card? The GSA SmartPay® 3 program provides charge cards to U.S. government agencies, as well as tribal governments, through master contracts that are negotiated with major banks. 

There are currently more than 560 Federal agencies, organizations and Native American tribal governments participating in the program, spending $30 Billion annually, through 100 million transactions on more than three million cards.

There are three types of travel accounts:

• Individually billed accounts are issued to employees to pay for official travel and travel-related expenses. The government reimburses employees for authorized expenses. The employee is responsible for making payment to the bank.
• Centrally billed accounts are established by some agencies to pay for official travel expenses. Centrally billed accounts are paid directly by the government to the bank.
• GSA SmartPay Tax Advantage Travel accounts  are new product offerings that combine an Individually Billed Account (IBA) and Centrally Billed Account (CBA), providing a means to obtain tax exemption automatically at the point of sale for rental cars and lodging charges. The combined features of CBAs and IBAs are a key characteristic of this product. When using the Tax Advantage Travel Account, charges for rental cars and lodging will be automatically billed to a CBA for payment. Charges for other travel-related purchases, such as meals and incidentals, are billed to the IBA portion of the account.

What is the benefit for federal agencies? Each agency or organization using the travel charge card receives a rebate based on sales volume. The sale refund is remitted to the organization. In addition, a separate refund is provided to agencies and organizations based on improving speed of payment.

How can travel managers make it happen? In 1988, Congress mandated that federal employees use the government travel charge card for all payments of expenses related to official government travel, with some exceptions. 

Travel managers should ensure that all of their travelers use their government-issued travel charge card for all purchases of travel-related services or products such as rental cars, hotel rooms, and telephone or Internet service.

Looking for more information on SmartPay?

The GSA SmartPay program provides charge cards to U.S. government agencies/departments, as well as tribal governments, through master contracts that are negotiated with major national banks. Additionally, to contact Travel Program call 888-472-5585 or email [email protected]

• Download the complete Federal Travel Regulation
• Joint Travel Regulations
• Foreign Affairs Manual

PER DIEM LOOK-UP

1 choose a location.

Error, The Per Diem API is not responding. Please try again later.

No results could be found for the location you've entered.

Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories and Possessions are set by the Department of Defense .

Rates for foreign countries are set by the State Department .

2 Choose a date

Rates are available between 10/1/2021 and 09/30/2024.

The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.

Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Card/Account Holders and Approving Officials Travel Training

Lesson 4: Obtaining a Travel Card/Account

How do i apply for a gsa smartpay® travel card/account.

To apply for a GSA SmartPay Travel card/account, prospective applicants should:

• Provide an address (typically your home address) where a GSA SmartPay Travel card should be mailed.
• Keep on hand the identifier to activate your travel card/account.
• Talk about ATM access with your A/OPC.
• You are personally liable and responsible for all charges whether or not you are reimbursed by your agency.
• Your credit rating may be affected if the card/account is canceled.
• You may be subject to disciplinary action and/or salary offset for late payment.
• Sign and submit the application. Most agencies also require a supervisor’s signature.

Am I required to have a creditworthiness assessment before receiving a card/account?

A creditworthiness assessment is used as an internal control to ensure that card/account holders are financially responsible. If you are a new travel card/account applicant, then your agency is required to assess your creditworthiness in accordance with Public Law 112-194 (Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012) [PDF, 7 pages] before a card/account is issued.

In some cases, a restricted card/account may be issued if the applicant has a low creditworthiness score or refuses a credit check. A restricted card includes constraints such as:

• Reducing the limit on individual transaction amounts.
• Limiting the types of transactions allowed.
• Issuing a declining balance card that automatically restricts dollar amount and transaction types.
• Limiting the dollar amount of transactions that can be applied to the card within a particular time period.
• Limiting the length of time a card remains active, such as for the length of time the card/account holder is in official travel status.
• Restricting use at ATMs.

Please contact your agency/organization program coordinator (A/OPC) for your agency-specific process for assessing creditworthiness.

When will I receive my GSA SmartPay Travel card/account?

New applicants should receive their GSA SmartPay Travel card/account from the contractor bank to the address provided in your application within 10–14 calendar days from the time the application is submitted by your A/OPC.

Replacements for lost, stolen, broken or otherwise unusable cards will be sent within 48 hours of the agency/organization request.

In the case of an emergency, such as response to a natural disaster, threat to national security, and military mobilization, the contractor bank will send a GSA SmartPay Travel card within 24 hours of the request.

If you have ATM authorization, the contractor bank will mail the PIN for your ATM separately. Typically, you should receive the PIN within a few days after receiving your travel card/account; however, you may receive the PIN before you receive the travel card/account.

When you receive your GSA SmartPay Travel card/account:

• Read the Cardholder Agreement.
• Sign the back of your GSA SmartPay Travel charge card, if applicable.
• Activate your GSA SmartPay Travel card/account.
• Secure your GSA SmartPay Travel card/account until you are ready to travel.
• Read and understand your agency specific travel policy and procedures.
• Find out what documents or receipts you will need to keep.
• For civilians, become familiar with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) - 41 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapters 300-304 .
• For DoD employees, become familiar with the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) .
• For U.S. Department of State Foreign Service members, become familiar with the Foreign Affairs Manual (Volume 4, Chapter 460 (4 FAM 460) and Volume 14, Chapter 500 (14 FAM 500)).

training.smartpay.gsa.gov

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