Travel & Reimbursements

Travel Reimbursements

It is the traveler's responsibility to submit complete information and receipts to the ICB Travel Coordinator. If insufficient information is given, or required receipts are missing, travelers will be contacted and asked to provide them. Required information includes:

• Airline (even if directly billed to the ICB)
• Rental car, rail, bus, airbus
• Local transportation costs (taxis)
• Itemized hotel receipts (credit card and carbon copies are not accepted in lieu of the original itemized receipt, often called a "folio" by the hotel)
• Itemized meal receipts (may not include alcohol, and may not exceed $71 per day for domestic travel)
• Conference registration documentation

It is the traveler's repsonsiblity to know the UC Travel Policy and to adhere to guidelines.

Effective July 7, 2015, travelers have 45 days to submit their reimbursements. Please note the 45 day limit is from the date you return from travel, or from the date of the entertainment event. This includes processing time for the staff in the ICB to process your reimbursement, and submit to Business and Financial Services on your behalf. The ICB will require 10 calendar days to process reimbursement requests. All reimbursement requests will need to be submitted to us no later than 35 calendar days after the expense occurred.

Travel Advance

A travel advance is money issued to you on your behalf for an upcoming trip. To obtain a travel advance, complete the travel advance form. If you have incurred expenses for a trip that is more than 30 days in the future you may use a travel advance to reimburse yourself for your expenses. If seeking reimbursement for expenses already incurred on a future trip, you will be asked to provide original documentation with your advance worksheet.

Travel advances must be cleared within 45 days after returning from travel. To clear you travel you must turn in a reimbursement worksheet and include all receipts. Even if you are not seeking additional monies you are still required to clear your travel advance. 

Per Diem

Domestic travel does not allow per diem, only actuals are reimbursed (up to $71 per day). For foreign travel you may claim per diems based on the country of travel, and time of year. To claim a per diem you must include a print out of the federal per diem rate as part of your reimbursement documentation. 

Foreign Currency

If you are seeking a reimbursement in a foreign currency you must include a currency conversion for each receipt. To obtain the currency conversion you can visit Oanda Currency Conversion and Foreign Exchange Rates. On the conversion calcuator you will select the currency your receipt is in as "The Currency You Have" and select USD as the "Currency You Want," change the date to match the date on your receipt, and print. 

If you have made a purchase using personal monies and seek reimbursement complete the form and include original receipts, as campus (Accounting) will not accept photocopies. If you are missing the original receipt please include a declaration of missing evidence form with your reimbursement worksheet request

Human Subjects Advances

If you are paying human subjects for their participation, please complete a human subject advance form. It is the requester's responsibility to comply with all of the ICB policies and procedures for Human Subjects Payments. Advances are only issued for 90 days, and are expected to be cleared with all required documentation.

Under the Fly America Act, only US air carriers shall be used for travel reimbursed from federal grants and contracts. However, there are exceptions to using only US air carrier services, depending on the scenarios below:

• Generally, U.S. air carrier services that provide nonstop or direct service from the origin to the destination must be used, unless such use would extend travel time, including delay at origin, by 24 hours or more;
• Generally, U.S. air carrier services that do not offer nonstop or direct service between origin and destination must be used on every portion of the route where it provides service, unless when compared to using a foreign air carrier, such use would:
  • Increase the number of aircraft changes outside the United States by two or more; or
  • Extend travel time by at least 6 hours or more; or
  • Require a connecting time of 4 hours or more at an overseas interchange point.
• Code-sharing agreements with foreign carriers. The ticket, or documentation for an electronic ticket, must identify the US carrier's designated code and flight number.
• Open Skies Agreements. “Open Skies Agreements” are bilateral or multilateral air transportation agreements to which the United States and the government of a foreign country are parties. Under the Open Skies Agreements, the United States government entered into several air transport agreements that allow federal funded transportation services for travel and cargo movements to use foreign air carriers under certain circumstances.

Is the UC-wide travel program developed as part of the University’s Strategic Sourcing Initiative. Connexxus offers University travelers excellent pricing options for airfares, hotels and car rentals through a secure web portal, with options ranging from full agent assistance to online booking.

What are the benefits of Connexxus?

Connexxus offers:

• Reduced car rental rates, with full insurance coverage from Hertz, National and Enterprise.
• Significant hotel discounts from Marriott, Starwood and Wyndham hotels.
• Air travel discounts on American, Continental, Delta, Jet Blue and Virgin America.
• A special UC Rapid Rewards Program on Southwest Airlines for Connexxus travelers. Logon to the Connexxus Portal using the link below. Then, once inside the Connexxus Portal, click on Southwest under Partner Programs on the left side of the page for more details on this program.

All travel booked through the Connexxus system is automatically forwarded to the University’s travel insurance provider, and no further registration is required.