Should employees feel guilty at all?
Those of us credit card rewards aficionados who travel for our employers and are allowed to book travel with our own credit cards will know what we’re talking about. Here’s an example: you’ve got to fly to Dubai for work and Emirates has great business class fares. But — and we totally get it — you usually fly United and enjoy your 1K status, and you’ve maybe even got your sights set on Global Services Status, and if you book with your American Express Platinum Card, you’ll get an additional 5x Membership Rewards points on top of the miles you’ll earn. The rub? The fares on United aren’t as great; they’re still within the bounds of your corporate travel policy, but they’re not the best fares. Technically you’re playing by the rules if you book the United ticket, so it’s all good, right?
Well, not so fast there. United is basically saying “come fly with us, and we’ll hook you up with miles that you can use to take a personal trip some other time.” So, is this a kickback, like offering a doctor a ski vacation for prescribing a new medicine, or is it just all par for the course for frequent travelers?
Let’s ask a lawyer
Fortunately, a good friend of mine is a lawyer, so when posed this question by another friend who is new to corporate travel, I forwarded the question along. Here’s what he said:
“Loyalty programs aren’t kickbacks because all parties involved know about them. If the company didn’t know that the airline or credit card issuer was giving the employee miles to book their tickets on or with their products, then it could potentially be a different story. Also, kickbacks are traditionally used in seeking new business, not keeping existing customers happy.”
So there we have it. While loyalty programs for frequent travelers may appear to function like kickbacks on the outside, they technically aren’t kickbacks, so booking that United ticket with your Amex Platinum is fair game.
What do you think?
Do credit card rewards and loyalty programs blur the lines at all, or is it just part of doing business in the corporate travel world? Let us know in your comments below!
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