‘Trying to save money on travel made them spend more, oops!’: Penny-pinching contracting company bans mileage, forces a 21-year-old to rent “cheapest” car with under-25 fees, and ends up paying nearly $800 plus gas

Corporate thrift is a religion where the hymns are spreadsheets and the miracles are imaginary. A company declares money will be saved, and instantly spends more chasing the idea of savings than it ever would have spent on the thing itself. This is how a travel policy becomes a scavenger hunt for the cheapest option, not the sensible one, with faith that austerity will alchemize into value. The effect is familiar. Frugality as cosplay. Prudence performed by people who have never compared a receipt to a calendar.

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  • Trying to save money on travel made them spend more, oops!

    man sitting in a car smiling when hand hands him cer keys through the window and a quote that reads: "After the trip I submitted my receipts and got pushback due to the cost. Just company policy!"
    via dima_sidelnikov

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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  • A new grad drafted into remote-life pilgrimage a few times a year, quietly driving a personal car, choosing modest hotels, and costing the company less than the price of a middle seat and a sigh. The system was blissfully cheap until a competent manager at the client noticed the missing mileage and nudged reality into the budget. One hundred dollars appeared. Gratitude was felt. Then policy thundered down from headquarters like a fix in search of a problem. No more mileage, but rentals allowed, provided the worker is within 500 miles and serenity is optional.

  • I used to work for a tech Contracting Company that pinched pennies. This company recruited a handful of people for a Large Tech company, and got away with paying below market wages because they targeted new grads and let us all work remotely.
    via _Magnolia_
  • I was fresh out of college and just thankful to have a job, especially one in my field. My company's travel policy covered airfare (cheapest option only!!), hotel costs (very low cost cap per night), and a small per diem for food (one decent dinner would eat up most of this).
    via _Magnolia_
  • (Their "travel policy" actually started out as "we will not reimburse you for anything but will also fire you if you don't show up", which is a different story for another time!).
    via _Magnolia_
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  • Closeup of female hand handing a car keys to a man who is sitting in new car
    via Getty Images

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Most everyone on my team was out of state and would require a flight to get to the office on the rare occasion us remote workers were required in office (3- 4 times a year).
    via _Magnolia_
  • I was, however, fairly close to the office, and whenever I traveled, would just drive my car. The gas costs. were minimal and I liked having a car with me.
    via _Magnolia_
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  • And my company was happy because I could get cheaper hotels that were slightly farther from the office, and they didn't have to pay for airfare! (Flying was technically possible for me -- would have been several hundred dollars though).
    via _Magnolia_
  • After one trip, I mentioned to a manager at Large Tech that I wasn't getting mileage reimbursement for driving my personal car, and she flagged it to Contracting Company, and forced them to change their policy (which was very kind of her, but was not my intention!).
    via _Magnolia_
  • close up of young businessman with smartphone sitting in car making phone call
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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  • So I got a retroactive reimbursement for mileage for that trip, which ended up being just over $100 for a week and a half of travel. Nothing crazy -- I was glad to have it, and was happy that would be the policy going forward.
    via _Magnolia_
  • But when planning my next trip, Contracting Company mentioned their travel policy had been updated. No more reimbursing mileage for personal vehicles, but now car rentals were covered if the worker was located within 500 miles and would be driving to the office.
    via _Magnolia_

  • The worker, being helpful and under 25, followed the rules and rented the smallest car available, which came with a youth tax that turned economy into theater. Eight hundred dollars in base costs, a fuel bill that mocked the word tiny, and a reimbursement fight that cited policy as if it were physics. A month later, the company rediscovered mileage and promised to update the sacred text. Then the world closed, and travel closed with it. The emblem is that $800 compact, proof that penny pinching burns cash faster than a jet engine. She left for a place that treats people like adults and policies like tools. It turns out sane travel doesn’t require miracles, only math.

  • And they recommended I rent a car for this trip, since they figured it would be cheaper than getting a flight.
    via _Magnolia_
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  • I asked if I could just drive my car and get reimbursed like last time, but they declined and said it was the new policy.
    via _Magnolia_
  • Since they wanted to save money, and I'm such a team player, I went with their recommendation and rented a car for my next two week trip. The only car within policy was a tiny sedan, the cheapest option.
    via _Magnolia_
  • I was 21 at this point in my life, maybe 22. Car rental companies have a daily surcharge for drivers under 25.
    via _Magnolia_
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  • So the total cost for just the car ended up being close to $800, before the cost of gas. Which was actually more than before, since this tiny sedan was not actually fuel efficient at all, compared to my personal car.
    via _Magnolia_
  • After the trip I submitted my receipts for reimbursement and got pushback due to the cost. Just company policy!
    via _Magnolia_
  • They did pay me back after about a month or so. And they told me next trip, I could drive my own car again, and they'd reimburse for mileage, and would be updating their policy again to reflect this.
    via _Magnolia_
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  • But then the pan mic happened, and all in-office visits were cancelled.
    via _Magnolia_
  • I now am lucky enough to work at a different company that has a very generous travel policy, and treats its employees very well overall, which I appreciate more fully than some of my current coworkers, I think.
    via _Magnolia_

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