There is a little talked about perk that one receives when your job involves purchasing and those purchases can be made with credit card. Simply put, you can earn a serious amount of miles and points by charging company expenses to a card that you receive rewards from. It may be obvious that the executives that book expensive airfare and hotels are raking in the miles, but a little known fact is that some of the least paid in a company can gain some serious perks.
How They Rake It In
Let’s say that your company is involved in training it’s staff. The administrative assistant might be required to regularly arrange hotel accommodations for the group. A smart employee might arrange to have each employee’s stay credited to their frequent stay account with the hotel. Better yet, a savvy assistant might volunteer to pay for all of the stays on their credit card, and get reimbursed for the expense. Soon, perhaps shuttle buses and meals are put on the card as well. Before you know it, this poorly compensated assistant is taking luxury vacations with free hotel and airfare.
My Card Or Yours
I would always try to put company expenses on my personal credit card, because I have confidence in my ability to separate out my expenses with the company’s, as well as keep track of reimbursements. Others might prefer to have the company issue them a card. The problem is that whoever arranges the “company card” might also arrange to have any points earned end up in their account. In fact, if I were the owner of a company, or a supervisor, I would probably make sure each of my subordinates had a “company card” that funneled the points into my account. If your boss hasn’t figured that out yet, too bad for him or her.
Cash Or Points?
It would be tempting to just supplement your income with cash back rewards. Indeed you can do that, but I would only do so when I am charging expenses to my personal card. In that case, the company would have no claim to the cash back. If the card is in any way attached to your company, forgo the cash back options and stick to miles and points. Once deposited into your loyalty account with a hotel or airline, they are all but your property. A company couldn’t get them back even if they wanted to, short of some outrageous transfer fee that is typically more than the value of the points themselves.
The Morals Of It
I wouldn’t loose any sleep over it, as by charging expenses to my personal card, I am placing my card and my credit rating at risk, as well as handling the payments for my company. In fact, if you suspect that your company is may not be solvent, I would immediately stop using any card for expenses that you may be personally liable for. Remember, even if the card is a “company card,” if it has your name on it, you might be on the hook for unreimbursed expenses. Call the bank that issues the card to make sure.
I recently read this news story about a Republican Party official who is being criticized for earning over a million American Express Membership Rewards points. One could argue whether or not the expenses charged by the official were prudent, “among other things, Johnson spent $15,000 on a chartered flight to attend the swearing-in of Florida’s temporary senator, George LeMieux. Johnson spent $1,800 on in-flight catering.“ On the other hand, I can’t understand why anyone would be outraged that the official earned Membership Rewards points in conjunction with his approved use of the organization’s credit card.
In fact, I would more concerned if the guy was dumb enough to charge a million dollars on a credit card that did not offer any reward at all!
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