Credits in Travel: Why Businesses Should Care?

Before we attempt to understand the concept of travel credits from the perspective of business travel, we’ll begin by addressing its scope in general travel first.Travel credits are usually handed out to passengers by their travel suppliers in cases where their travel has been cancelled or disrupted, and the booking conditions of the reservation keep them from processing a refund.Instead, they let the passengers use the booked amount as credit for future travel. In business travels, even though these credits apply primarily to air tickets, they can also extend to cases of car rentals and pre-paid accommodation.

How Do Travel Credits Work?

People usually confuse the scope of travel credits with those that they hold from clothing or other retail stores. In the case of air credits earned from business travel disruptions, you can’t redeem them with a different supplier or airline. This is because these air credits don’t represent just a value that can be consumed. Their value exists as a function of the original ticket number and is subject to the conditions of the fare that the ticket stands for. Simply put, the credit gained from one ticket may only be used for a single new ticket and not more.

Can You Just Get a Refund Instead?

Tickets that are non-refundable can’t be refunded for cash. In these cases, the total booked amount is held as credit.In the case of corporate travel, one has to abide by the original ticket rules while changing the original ticket to a new one, in order to redeem airline credit. Keep in mind that for domestic flights, you can only opt for the same fare type as your original ticket. In the case of international flights, you might be granted an upgrade.

Why Should Businesses Leverage Credits?

Businesses that manage travel programmes stand to gain the most by leveraging travel credits.This is because doing so would pave the path for them to optimise their travel budgets in the months to come and allow them to position themselves better than their competitors in the process.Subsequently, this could also play a significant role in contributing to their financial and business success as they stage their recovery from COVID-19.

Unused Ticket Management Strategies

The following techniques can help you make the most of your unused tickets.

• Establish a system that allows you to clearly review the balances and expirations of your unused tickets. This will allow you to identify the credits that can be utilised for any of your upcoming trips.
• In order to minimise wasted costs from unused tickets, make use of an automated ticket tracking system. A travel agency accounting software can come in handy as well.
• Report your ticket losses without fail. A qualified tax professional might be able to assist you in recovering a certain portion of your loss through applicable tax write-offs.

Quest2Travel’s streamlined corporate travel management services help you manage your employee travel procurement in a transparent and secure manner and makes your lives easier in the process. From approvals and bookings to documentation and expenditure management, we’ve got you covered on all fronts.

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