When travel is allowable, the following guidelines apply:
- Airfare and hotel deposits can be expensed when they are purchased and receipts showing payment are submitted to the LBC. As a general rule, the University pays economy rates for airfare. Premium airfare (I.e., business or first class) will require prior approval before purchasing. Please contact Michael Kerstiens (mjkersti@uchicagoe.edu) or Katherine Hamaguchi (khamaguchi@uchicago.edu) for further assistance.
- Rental cars – Economy class rental cars are the standard. The University does not reimburse for any collision or liability insurance when booking car rentals because employees are covered under the University’s insurance policy when traveling for business. Reimbursement for fuel and toll costs is an allowable expense for car rental.
- Travel via personal car- Reimbursement for fuel is not an allowable expense. However, employees can be reimbursed for mileage. Mapping sites such as MapQuest (mapquest.com) can be used to determine miles traveled. When visiting this site, click “get directions” and enter the start address, as well as the end address. This will provide the miles traveled. Print this page and attach it to your expense report. The mileage can also be calculated in the GEMS system. You must enter the from and to address and it will calculate the mileage.
- Travel of 50 miles or less from campus is not considered “travel” and does not qualify for lodging or meal reimbursements.
- Per diem meals – When traveling, if you do not want to collect meal receipts, you can claim per diem meals. Please include your itinerary for the trip in your expense report. For domestic and international per diem rates please visit this site: gsa.gov/perdiem.
- Neither student nor visitors may be given per diem.
- If you have a question about expenses, please contact your Business Manager, Grants Specialist, or Katherine Hamaguchi (khamaguchi@uchicago.edu).