Business Travel: Who Keeps the Points [poll]
Loyalty points are all the rage. My credit cards offer points. The airlines and hotels I use offer points. There’s even a new one called Plenti that offers points on everything from gas to my phone bill. You get the point (no pun intended).
But when it comes to rewards on business expenses, who owns the points? I can see a couple of ways to interpret this:
Alison Green, author of Ask a Manager, had a great explanation for allowing employees to keep their points (especially travel points). It’s part of the reward for dealing with the drudgery of travel. Let’s face it – most business travel involves airline delays, cramped seats, and spotty hotel WiFi. And that’s on a good day! Personally, I can never seem to get a good cuppa tea on the road. So why not let employees keep the points for leaving their family and friends and putting up with all the hassles.
I can also see the points belonging to whoever initially pays for it. For example, if the company issues you a credit card and you use the credit card to pay for your travel, then the company gets the points. However, if you don’t have a company credit card and you have to pay for business travel and wait for reimbursement, then keeping the points can be part of the transaction. It’s your credit rating. You are ultimately responsible for the bill. You should get to keep the points.
I’m curious to hear what you think. Please take a moment to answer this one question poll. In your organization, who owns reward points on business travel?
Thanks for answering this question! I’ll publish a recap of the results in a couple weeks. And, if you have a great creative approach to this please feel free to share it.
Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby
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