Guidelines for Permissable Business Travel Expenses

Permissable Business Travel Expenses | Permissible Business Travel Expenses with President/Division Vice President Approval | Permissible Business Expenses with Noted Restrictions | Impermissable Business Travel Expenses

Permissible Business Travel Expenses

  • Economy/Coach Class Air Travel
  • Personal Vehicle Use
  • Rental Vehicles
  • Lodging
  • Meal Expenses
  • Conference and Seminar Registrations
  • Local Rail/Mass Transit
  • Amtrak Coach Class
  • Amtrak Business Class and Acela Service of 50 miles or more

Permissible Business Travel Expenses with President/Division Vice President Approval

  • Amtrak Business Class and Acela Service under 50 miles
  • Car service/limousine/premium ride-share services
  • Airline seat upgrades to Business or First Class.

Permissible Business Expenses with Noted Restrictions

  • Gifts and Gift Cards in compliance with the Business Travel & Expense Policy
  • Gasoline for rental vehicles only. Gasoline for college-owned vehicles should only be purchased with the vehicle’s fuel card.
  • Purchases made via third-party payment providers (e.g., PayPal, Square, etc.) for conference registration and eateries; receipt must include full legal name of supplier/seller in transaction notes.
  • International Travel with registration and approval of the International Travel Risk Committee
  • The following SEPTA services for local business purposes only (commuting is impermissible and taxable):
    • One Day Convenience Pass; Quick Trip (One-Way Ticket); Travel Wallet (only enough to cover necessary business travel); Regional Rail Tickets (Single & Roundtrip)
  • The following PATCO and NJ Transit services for local business purposes only (commuting is impermissible and taxable)
    • One-Way Ticket
    • Round Trip Ticket
  • Ride share services for trips of no more than 50 miles from the Traveler's location (commuting is impermissible and taxable)
    • Uber
    • Lyft
    • Taxi
  • Airline, Rail and Bus Convenience Fees
    • In-flight Wi-Fi for business purposes only.
    • Seat upgrades to Economy Plus for flights longer than four (4) hours 
    • Excessive baggage fees if necessitated by business purpose
  • Reasonable alcohol purchases (typically under $10)
  • Short-Term Vacation Rentals (STVRs)
    • The cost of lodging through a STVR should not exceed the cost of comparable reasonably priced hotel accommodations in the same location. Because lodging on Airbnb is provided by individual property owners, the Traveler is solely responsible for booking the accommodations and for any issues associated with the Airbnb rental.
    • The College neither prohibits nor recommends the use of STRVs. In determining appropriate travel accommodations, the Traveler should consider all relevant factors, such as cost, location, accessibility, safety, security and reliability. Use of Airbnb is purely a personal choice, provided that the cost is comparable to or less than a moderately priced hotel in the same location.
  • Laundry and dry-cleaning services during extended travel (5 days or longer).
  • Gifts and gift cards/certificates per the Business Travel and Expense Policy.

Impermissible Business Expenses

The following list serves as a guide for common-occurrence yet Impermissible Expenses and is not exhaustive. 

  • Airline enhancement fees, including but not limited to:
    • Airline club fees or airline memberships
    • Subscription airline internet fees
  • ATM withdrawals and fees
  • Charitable contributions
  • Childcare expenses
  • Commuting expenses to a normal work location, including mileage and tolls. This includes traveling via a mode of transportation outside of your daily norm (car, train, bus, bike, etc.)
  • Family member/companion expenses
  • Fees related to personal banking transfers (e.g., Venmo)
  • First class airline/rail/bus tickets without prior written approval from the President or Division Vice President
  • Gasoline for personal or college-owned vehicles
  • Hotel enhancement fees, including but not limited to:
    • Room upgrades
    • Cot/rollaway Bed
    • Minibar purchases
  • Lost baggage
  • Passport, Visa and TSA Precheck/Global Entry application or processing fees
  • Personal entertainment expenses (movies, golf, gambling, etc.)
  • Pet-sitting or kennel fees
  • Prescription and over-the-counter medicine
  • Souvenirs and gifts
  • Subscription transportation passes including, but not limited to: SEPTA Weekly Transit/Trail Passes, SEPTA Monthly Transit/Rail Pass, NJ Transit Weekly, Monthly, Ten-Trip Tickets, Patron Pass, Student Monthly Pass, Student Weekly Pass, Amtrak Six-Ride, Amtrak Ten-Ride and Amtrak Monthly Passes
  • Toiletries, books, magazines
  • Travel or trip insurance (Travelers are encouraged to book refundable airfare)
  • Vehicle service cancellation charges (i.e. Uber, Lyft, etc.) unless justification for such charges is provided (e.g., cancellation due to personal safety concerns)
  • Vehicle violations including parking/moving