Travel Tips
Thanks for booking your travel in the University travel program, travelND.
If you have traveled on behalf of the University before, you may already know that travelND is the University managed travel program. The travel program is always looking to continuously improve the travel and expense report experience for our travelers. Concur is the vendor of our online booking tool named travelND. You can book airline, hotel, car rental, and rail reservations through the online booking tool.
If you are new to traveling on behalf of the University or it has been a while since you last traveled, review the travel tips listed below to learn how to best prepare and manage your upcoming travel. The information below is categorized into three sections: What you should know once you book air travel, before you go, and after your trip is over.
1. Once You Book Air Travel
Where can I apply for a travel card?
Visit our travel card information page. Print and complete the application, submit it to Procurement Services, 709 Grace Hall, for processing. The travel card can be used for all University travel related expenses as well as any business related meals or expenses incurred locally. All faculty and staff are eligible to obtain a University travel card. Data from all expenses placed on the University travel card will automatically import into the travelND system, allowing you to drag-and-drop expenses on your expense report.
Where can I find a list of University preferred travel suppliers?
Please refer to our contracts page for a complete list of our preferred travel vendors for hotels, rental cars, airline, etc. You are utilizing the University negotiated rates and contracts by booking air, hotel, and car rental reservations in travelND.
How can I book transportation from the airport to my hotel?
The cost of taxis or other transportation to and from hotels, airports or railroad stations in connection with business travel is reimbursable. Ground transportation is readily available at the Ground Transportation areas. The University has discounted rates with charter bus companies and shuttle buses. For more information, please refer to our contracts page.
Did you register for Tripit Pro?
Need your own personal travel assistant? Sign-up for TripIt Pro via Concur! It’s like having your own personal travel assistant to keep you organized and in the know while you’re traveling. Access TripIt Pro by a web browser or download the TripIt Pro mobile application. Follow the simple steps in the TripIt registration information guide to connect your Concur and TripIt accounts and start your TripIt Pro membership. Once you’re up and running, you can continue to book travel through Concur, and your plans will automatically show up as an itinerary in TripIt. Plus, you can forward other activities and reservations booked outside of Concur to plans@tripit.com and they will be instantly added to your itinerary.
How will I be notified if there is a change in my flight schedule?
The Concur system will not notify you of any change in flight schedule. You can sign up for Tripit Pro through travelND for free and receive schedule, gate, and itinerary changes. You can also sign up for alerts or notifications offered by most major airlines on their website.
How do I make a change/cancel to an existing airline, hotel or car rental reservation?
After your ticket has been issued, please call Anthony Travel to make changes to an existing travel itinerary. The travel agents can navigate through the booking rules and explain any subsequent costs. If you wish to cancel a reservation booked in Concur, then you may simply click on "Cancel Trip" within the system.
How do I book a hotel that is designated as a preferred location for a conference?
The conference organizer may have a dedicated site for you to book a hotel room. You may choose to book using the information provided by the conference, or look in Concur to see if there is a better rate available than the conference rate.
How can I register for travelND course through Endeavor?
To register for a travelND course, please log into Endeavor and search for travelND under the Learning Catalog.
What if I find a lower airfare outside the program?
If you find a lower fare on a 3rd party website, please do not purchase it but rather contact Anthony Travel to obtain the fare. By contacting Anthony Travel to obtain the fare, this will ensure the reservation is within the travel program for safety and security, ability to charge to FOAPAL and discount could be applied to fare on a preferred supplier.
Can I earn travel rewards on my business travel?
You can add travel reward information in the profile section of Concur. As you make your reservations, your frequent flyer number of rewards information will be added to the itinerary.
Will my airline reservation be automatically upgraded based on my frequent flyer status?
Depending on the airline, frequent flyer status and availability, your reservation may get upgraded automatically.
Can I reserve a rental car for a guest in travelND, utilizing the Notre Dame contract rate?
If the reservation is being made for Notre Dame business travel (paid for by Notre Dame), the Notre Dame contract and any of the reservations methods can be used. However, if the traveler is an Emerald Club member, the reservation must be through Anthony Travel to ensure that the individual's Emerald Club benefits will be applied to the reservation (including counter bypass).
How do I register my email in Concur and activate my available receipts?
Receipt Store (aka Available Receipts) is a virtual repository provided by Concur for the purpose of storing and attaching receipt images to line item expense entries. Once the image is available in Receipt Store, you or your expense delegate can apply the images to an expense report line item. You will need to enter your Notre Dame email addresses in your travelND profile before you can start using the Receipt Store. Use the Concur Mobile App – travelND Expense to automatically upload receipt images to your receipt store. E-mail receipt images to your Receipt Store by sending images to receipts@concur.com . For detailed instructions on activation, refer to the Attaching Receipts Quick Reference Guide.
How do I activate and register for E-Receipts?
The term E-receipt refers to an electronic receipt that you receive in travelND after you book a reservations with a Concur partner vendor. Concur has partnered with several airline, hotel and car rental companies to provide electronic receipt data directly to you, eliminating the need for a paper receipt. For detailed instructions on activation, refer to the E-Receipt Quick Reference Guide.
I have a smartphone. Does Concur have a mobile application?
Yes, the Concur mobile application syncs to your travelND user account and allows you create expense reports while you travel. The mobile application provides functions such as enter expenses, capture and upload pictures of receipts, view card transactions, submit expense reports, check the status of expense reports, and approve expense reports. Receipt images captured in the Concur mobile application are available for your expense delegate to access in your Receipt Store. In travelND, activate the Concur Mobile App and download the app on your mobile device. Please refer to the Concur Mobile App – travelND Expense for detailed instructions.
2. Know Before You Go
What method should I use for meal and incidental expense - actual or per diem? Where do I find the per diem rates?
There is no University policy requiring the use of actuals or per diems. However, your department may have a policy regarding this. Ask your supervisor or business manager which method to use for reimbursement of your travel expenses. Notre Dame uses the per diem rates set by the US General Services Administration (GSA) for per diem (travel allowances). You may claim a lesser amount than the GSA rate for your per diem (travel allowance).
How should I handle actual meal expenses on my travel card if you are using per diem?
Per Notre Dame's expense policy, you cannot mix a per diem (travel allowance) and actual expenses on the same business trip. Please refer to our website for more information on per diem and review the Per Diem / Travel Allowance quick reference guide.
When do I need a receipt?
The University has adopted the IRS Receipt threshold of $75 for items placed on a University Travel Card (including Meeting Cards)
Receipts are no longer required for transactions under $75 – other than airfare, lodging, car rentals and purchases of alcohol – when placed on a University Travel Card. For transactions paid by cash or personal card, receipts are no longer required for transactions under $25.
Should I keep the original receipt if I already took a smartphone picture of the receipt?
Yes, hold on to all hard copy receipts until you have been reimbursed.
What charges are allowed on the travel card?
The travel card can be used for all University travel related expenses as well as any business related meals or expenses incurred locally.
Should I purchase insurance when I rent a car?
For domestic car rentals, all faculty and staff are covered under the University policy. Additional rental car insurance that you purchase will not be reimbursed. If you are renting a car internationally, contact the Office of Risk Management & Safety to discuss insurance coverage.
3. After Your Trip is Over
Can I expense mileage to the airport?
Yes, use the expense type Personal Car Mileage (77030). A mileage calculator is available in travelND that uses Google Maps to determine the total distrance traveled.
How do I itemize a hotel expense?
Yes, hotel expenses need to be itemized. For step by step instructions on hotel itemizations, please refer to section 5 in the Lodging/Hotel Expense Type.
When do I need to submit my expense report?
Faculty and staff have 60 days from the last day of travel to submit their expense reports to avoid any personal tax implications.
How do I clear personal charges from travelND (Concur)?
You will need to import the charges into your expense report, mark each one non-reimbursable and submit the expense report to clear the charges from your list. The University travel card is only to be used for business related expenses.
If travel card charges are not yet imported into travelND (Concur), should I manually enter them?
Depending on the vendor, charges can take up to 10 days to appear in Concur. You can manually enter the data of each charge if you do not want to wait for the charges to appear in Concur. However, once they eventually appear in Concur, you would then need to import the charges into a new expense report, mark each one non-reimbursable, and submit the expense report to clear the charges from your list. If more than ten days has past and the charges are still not available in Concur, contact Procurement Services.
How do I enter per diem (travel allowances) in travelND?
Please refer to our website and the Per Diem / Travel Allowance quick reference guide.
How long should I keep actual receipts after submitting my expense report?
You are responsible to keep all hard copy receipts until you are reimbursed for the expenses.
Should I assign a delegate?
Yes, if you have a co-worker who will be entering your expense report information in Concur, you can set him/her up as an expense delegate in your travelND profile.
Can my assigned delegate use my Receipt Store?
Yes, an expense delegate can access your available receipts, a receipt image repository, to help complete your expense report. Please refer to the Profile Setup Reference Guide for further instructions.
How do I attach receipts to an expense report?
When attaching receipts to your expense report, there are two locations that you can attach receipts to your expense report - 1) Report Level 2) Individual line item level. In addition to uploading an electronic file from your PC to your expense report, there are a few other options to upload your receipts. Please refer to the image below and the Attaching Receipts Quick Reference Guide quick reference guide for detailed instructions.
What is the Full Trip Documentation Requirement?
A common request by approvers and auditors is the ability to review full costs associated with a traveler’s business trip. For example, a traveler prepays for flights either via direct FOAPAL charge at time of booking or by paying for them personally and seeking reimbursement via an expense report before the trip. In both cases, the flights were paid by the University before the trip and should be reflected (and marked as “non-reimbursable”) on the expense report filed after the trip for any additional travel costs incurred (hotel, meals, etc.).
As some of you have noticed, the expense report compliance team has been asked to place a renewed emphasis on the full trip documentation requirement. The good news is a recent enhancement was made for those who book through travelND to help with the documentation.
Please see below on how to handle whether the prepaid item was direct charged to FOAPAL or reimbursed on a previous expense report:
Direct Charge to FOAPAL
If you charged airfare to a FOAPAL at the time of booking (whether booked through Anthony Travel or Concur), please use the Airfare - Charged to FOAPAL expense type. It will automatically be reflected as non-reimbursable (because it was already charged to a FOAPAL).
Flights or travel arrangements claimed on previous expense report
A traveler who prepays for a flight by paying for them personally and seeking reimbursement via an expense report before the trip should reflect the flight as “non-reimbursable” on the expense report after the trip for the remaining travel costs incurred (hotel, meals, etc.). The traveler or arranger will manually enter this data onto their expense report. Airfare or conference fees are the most common items prepaid in this manner.
How do I set up auto pay through Chase PaymentNet website?
To schedule a recurring payment for an individual account:
- Before you can schedule a recurring payment, you must first set up your bank account information.
- Select Payments > Manager
- Click the Recurring Schedules tab
- Click the Schedule New Recurring button
- From the Account Number drop-down list, select the credit card account for which you want to make a payment.
- Click Save
- Click the Continue button
Who can help with questions about your expense report?
Contact the help desk with your travelND related questions.