Tech company tries to save money by underpaying employees for work travel expenses, employee uses their cheap policy against them: ‘I submitted my receipts for reimbursement and got pushback’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 15, 2025 7:00 AM EDT

You either love traveling for work or you hate it, and if you work for a company like the one in the story below, we wouldn't be surprised if it's the latter.

One of the only benefits of work trips is that you generally don't have to pay for them. If your job requires you to attend events far from where you live, they should also pay for it, and ensure that those events don't cost their employees anything; otherwise, employees simply will not attend.

That doesn't stop some companies from attempting to spend as little money as possible on their employees' travel necessities. Cheapest flight, cheapest hotel, and minimum food expenses–all to save a few bucks. 

When the employee below decided to drive to their work event with their own car instead of taking a flight, their company saw it as an opportunity to save even more money. First, they did it by not reimbursing for the gas, then they paid as little as possible for gas, and lastly, they forced the employee to rent a cheap car instead.

At the end, they spend much more money than they would have if they were not so cheap. Keep scrolling to read exactly how that happened.

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  • 01
    Happy businessman walking with a suitcase, looking at his phone
    via RealPeopleGroup

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

  • 02

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

    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_
  • 03
    I was fresh out of college and just thankful to have a job, especially one in my field.
    via _Magnolia_
  • 04
    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_
  • 05
    (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_
  • 06
    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_
  • 07
    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_
  • 08
    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_
  • 09
    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_
  • 10
    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_
  • 11
    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_
  • 12
    And they recommended I rent a car for this trip, since they figured it would be cheaper than getting a flight.
    via _Magnolia_
  • 13
    handing out cash, small model of a yellow car in the background
    via Alexander's Images

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

  • 14
    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_
  • 15
    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.
    via _Magnolia_
  • 16
    The only car within policy was a tiny sedan, the cheapest option.
    via _Magnolia_
  • 17
    I was 21 at this point in my life, maybe 22. Car rental companies have a daily surcharge for drivers under 25.
    via _Magnolia_
  • 18
    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_
  • 19
    After the trip I submitted my receipts for reimbursement and got pushback due to the cost. Just company policy!
    via _Magnolia_
  • 20
    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_
  • 21
    But then the pa nic happened, and all in-office visits were cancelled.
    via _Magnolia_
  • 22
    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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