'I followed the travel policy': Worker exploits company's travel policy loophole to book more expensive tickets and fly first class

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Nov 3, 2023 7:00 AM EDT

Restrictive policies are often written with a singular use case in mind, with the authoring manager's short-sighted and horse-blinded perspective generally resulting in the policy not being as cost-saving as intended in the first place and leaving ample opportunity for loopholes and malicious compliance.

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  • This Frequent Flyer used to travel a lot for work, accumulating insane amounts of miles flown. As often happens, the acquisition of the company by new owners came along with more restrictive policies, travel included. The new rule prevented employees from booking first-class tickets, limiting them to coach instead; the ticket price also couldn't exceed more than $100 above the cheapest available option. So, because of the policy, the Frequent Flyer would book the most expensive coach-class tickets they could that were in compliance with the policy before then contacting the airline and changing the seat to the (often) cheaper first-class equivalent option. While they were technically compliant with the policy, they were still able to travel in comfort. 

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    Worker exploits company's travel policy loophole to book more expensive tickets and fly first class
    via Martin Adams
  • 02
    Posted by u/ThisCant BeG00d 6 hours ago The unintended cost of stupid corporate travel policies M OC I used to fly a lot for work - my record year was more than 250,000 miles on just my favorite airline. Then the company I worked for was bought by another company with a much more restrictive (actually oppressive) travel policy.
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
  • 03
    We could only book coach class with the new company and it couldn't be more than $100 over the cheapest airline serving a particular airport. I would usually fly out of FLL, PBI, or MCO. And only once in a blue moon MLB. With the new policy I was pretty much forced to use SouthWest, Spirit, Frontier and the likes. And this is now where MLB
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    was standing out. After the big financial crash in 2008 there was only one airline left in MLB for many years and that was Delta - which happened to be my favorite airline. So instead of a $600 ticket on Delta out PBI (because there was a $400 on one of the cheap airlines) I followed the travel policy and booked a $1,400 coach ticket out of MLB.
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    Our travel policy also did not allow us to book first class. When you travel on short notice however, it is quite possible that there is discounted first class still available while all the remaining coach seats are full fare. In other words the first class ticket is cheaper than the coach ticket. So I would make sure I book my flight in compliance with the corporate travel policy and then contact the airline to adjust my
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
  • 06
    booking - turning that expensive coach seat into a first class seat plus getting the difference in Delta Dollars (too bad our corporate policy required us to also book "nonrefundable" fares LOL). That is what happens when a grumpy bean counter creates a corporate travel policy. Later they wanted us to only book through Amex Travel Service so that Amex would
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    enforce the policy. More than once I heard comments like "I've never seen such a stupid policy..." and quite often they would book a flight for me overriding the "no first class" when first class was less expensive or they would recommend to me to do exactly what I did in the past - booking the expensive "in policy" flight and then deal with the airline directly to make it better.
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    mesonofgib 5 hr. ago ● This reminds me of the story I heard here about a coporate policy that (for some reason insisted) that a guy had to take the cheapest possible flight to his destination. The only problem was that it was a flight that involved a stop over but the final destination was a small airport that only had flights during daylight.
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    The long and short of it was that, instead of giving him the flight that he originally asked for that was all done in a day, they booked the cheaper ticket where the first leg was actually the previous day, but the second leg was the same flight he originally wanted!
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    So they got a cheaper ticket but had to pay for a hotel and two taxis for him to stay overnight between the two legs of the flight (not to mention pay him for his time). When he tried to raise this ridiculousness with them he was told "Eh, the taxis and the hotel comes out of a different budget." Vote Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    ThisCant BeGOOD OP 5 hr. ago This is another great example of nonsense corporate travel policies. Makes you wonder what geniuses they hire to come up with stuff like that. Vote Reply Share ●●
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    primemonkey7.5 hr. ago Here i am and thought only public administration is capable of wasting money on stupid policies and ridiculous rules. Yet here we are... Vote Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    rentacle 4 hr. ago ● Corporate travel policies are the stupidest. I used to work for a place that said you couldn't travel 1st class on trains, you could book 2nd class only. Which sounds good in theory, however... I regularly took an express train to/from my home airport, it's a special train with no 1st/2nd class, the ticket is a flat fee. Had no issues for months. Then one
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
  • 14
    day the train company changed the way they printed tickets, so instead of saying "Class: (blank)" they now said "Class: 1st". Some accountant rejected my expense report as against policy and told me I had to find another way to get to the airport. I had a look at the policy and the only options were public transit 2nd class (not available), own car with
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    mileage refund (don't have a car), or a taxi. I asked them if I could please have in writing that I was allowed to take a taxi for the hour-long journey to the airport due to lack of other options, somehow in their infinite wisdom they decided to waive policy and allow me to take the train after all. The train ticket cost about 8€ if I recall correctly. Vote Reply Share ●●●
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    ThisCantBeGOOD OP 3 hr. ago Yes, that sounds about right. Another brilliant part in our travel policy was that we were required to have a receipt for EVERY meal expense - regardless how cheap it was.
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    That made it impossible to purchase anything from a vending machine and a $8 lunch from a wheel cart food vendor was declined by accounting. After that I made (maliciously?) sure I always went to a place that could print a receipt and I spent the full $75 I was allowed per policy. Vote Reply Share ●●●
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
  • 18
    Sausagescifi 3 hr. ago Many moons ago I did extensive international travel for the Navy. All of our travel orders were stamped "All promotional items received as a result of official travel mist be turned in to Code 005" Code 005 was the travel office. So I would staple the 4
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    small packages of smoked almonds I received to my expense claim. After the 5th or 6th time doing this I got called to the office and was told to stop. I just pointed to the stamp and asked "So are we supposed to or not?" Never got an answer - and just kept doing it.... Peanuts, napkins headphones anything free. Vote Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    ThisCantBeGOOD OP 2 hr. ago . this is the way Vote Reply Share GO4Teater 2 hr. ago Is the skymall catalog still free? Vote Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    BiteInfamous. 4 hr. ago I love stupid travel policies. My consulting firm's biggest client is the US gov and let me tell you, having to comply with the Fly America Act is costing the government a lot of money. Can't buy the economy flight to Asia on the non-US code share airline, and the only seats available on the compliant airline is business? Ok well, explain that to the taxpayers funding our thousands of flights a year my guy. Vote Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    bopperbopper. 3 hr. ago We had "Lowest Logical Airfare"... as in it was not logical to do a 2 stop flight to save $100 but take 2 times as long. Vote Reply Share ThisCant BeGOOD OP 3 hr. ago ● smart thinking Vote ●●● Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    jibstay77 3 hr. ago An engineer I worked with had to go on a business trip to New York City. No rental car, lots of walking between hotel and site. It rained the whole week, so he purchased a $10 umbrella and put it on his expense report. The expense report was rejected with a note saying the company doesn't pay for umbrellas. He resubmitted the report without the umbrella, but the same total and a note saying, "Find the umbrella." Vote Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    ThisCant BeGOOD OP 3 hr. ago we were allowed to pay a "reasonable" amount in cash tips during a trip on a two weeks long trip that easily allowed for $200 or more in "reasonable" cash tips with no receipt - that is how we bought our umbrellas Vote Reply Share ●●●
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    plumber430 5 hr. ago I prefer to fly out of MLB. Way less travel time for me getting to the airport. Vote Reply Share ThisCant BeGOOD OP 5 hr. ago I agree. On Delta you are just a little bit limited which hub to go through. Vote Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    REEDOM crazytalk151. 3 hr. ago I used to travel alot for work too (not as much as you). When I would interview somewhere new I would always ask about expense reporting and travel policies. If I couldn't book my own stuff within reason I wouldn't take the job. Reply Share Vote ThisCant BeGOOD OP 3 hr. ago totally agree ●●● in my case it was that the company with the perfect travel policy was bought by another company and then we had to live with that "new" policy - or else ... Vote Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    StoicJim 3 hr. ago The "Our Employees Are All Thieves" Policy. Vote Reply Share Vote PatchworkRaccoon314 Which, as we can see here, can often result in: "I wasn't, but if you're going to treat me like one I may as well be within the flawed rules you have set out". ●●● ● 2 hr. ago Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    thermidorthelobster 3 hr. ago Sounds like the same logic that forces you to order an £80 dongle from the centralised purchasing department instead of a £10 dongle from Amazon, because apparently it's cheaper that way. Reply Share Vote ●●●
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    dingus a 1 hr. ago As a non-grumpy bean counter I applaud this compliance! I often enjoy helping staff circumvent policies like this that I knew were patently stupid but I wasn't able to fix on my own. Always a fun conversation to have with the "by the book" types Vote Reply Share ●●●
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
  • 30
    ThisCant BeGOOD OP 49 min. ago As I mentioned in my initial post I worked for a company with a pretty decent travel and expense policy - until we got bought by the company with the worst travel and expense policy.
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
  • 31
    With the old company I did my first trip to HK and I wasn't used to the currency exchange rate and foolishly had dinner one evening at the "American Steakhouse" on the top floor of my hotel. Turned out I had a $200+ steak that evening plus 2 sides and a drink
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    When my expense report didn't get approved after about 2 weeks I checked with my manager and she told me couldn't approve such a lavish expense but she didn't want to deny it either - so she sent it up the chain and it was by the time at the desk of the CFO. A few days later I received an email from the CFO: "Approved - I hope it was as good as I hope a $200 steak would be".
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    Then with the grumpy bean counters once our company got bought they decline a $8 lunch without a receipt and trade it in for $75 on a receipt. Reply Share Vote
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    ilikedixiechicken 5 hr. ago I may get downvoted to does this not count as fraud? Reply Share Vote , but Vote ●●● rickbb80 5 hr. ago Nope, it's full compliance with the written policy. I've had similar experiences with stupid travel policies. And had similar "compliance" solutions. Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d
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    socool111 4 hr. ago I mean not being able to book first class isn't exactly oppressive. Unless they are huge transcontinental flights. But agreed if they are counting spirit as the cheapest and you can't go more than $100 over that, th it's dumb as Vote Reply Share ●●● ThisCant BeGOOD OP 4 hr. ago How does Minneapolis-Tokio- Hong Kong in a coach class middle seat sound? Vote arriving well rested for sure Reply Share
    via u/ThisCantBeG00d

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