Travel & Entertainment
Travelers are encouraged to use the UC Travel Center to make travel arrangements for your Business Trip. The UC Travel Center offers discounts and negotiated contract rates with several air carriers to those flying on University business. Travelers are also eligible for state rates, which apply to government travelers.
- UCLA Travel Center https://www.travel.ucla.edu/
- UCLA Travel Counselors: (310) 206-2639 or (800) 235-UCLA (8252)
- UCLA Travel Counselors Email: travel@finance.ucla.edu
- UCLA Travel Guidelines https://travel.ucla.edu/news-events/ucla-travel-guidelines/
- UCLA Travel Resources Page https://www.travel.ucla.edu/additional-resources/
Departmental Response Times:
Your dedicated staff will respond within 48 hours from the time they receive your request.
UCLA Travel Accounting Response Times (Travel Reimbursements):
It generally takes UCLA Travel Accounting 4-6 weeks to process payments on all orders and reimbursements. Please plan events and notify your vendors well in advance to avoid penalties or disallowances.
Travel Policies
- Direct Billed Airfare
- Personal Funds (LINK – Personal-Funds.pdf)
- Payment on Behalf of Others (LINK – Payment-of-Expenses-on-Behalf-of-Others.pdf)
- Lodging
- Internet Package Deals
- Domestic Meals & Incidental Expenses
- Transportation
- Other Travel Expenses
- Foreign Per Diem
- Travel for 30 consecutive days or longer: Please contact your assigned fund manager to discuss your travel plans prior to planning your trip.
University travelers can request reimbursements for travel expenses after the business trip is completed. All travel reimbursement requests must be submitted to Financial Services within 21 days of the completed trip.
For travel reimbursements submitted after 60 days of the travel or event, the total amount of travel expenses may be imputed as income to the employee on the employee’s W2 unless there is a reasonable justification for the late submission. In all cases, if the submission is made more than 6 months after the end of the trip or event, income will be imputed on the employee’s W-2.
As outlined by UC Policy G-28, the following list includes a brief summary of non-reimbursable expenses:
- Airfare issued by non-U.S. carrier
- First class airfare
- Personal telephone calls
- Tipping over 20%
- Rentals: GPS navigator charges
- Rentals: Vehicle upgrades
- Rentals: Renting large cars need strong justification (only rent compact or intermediate sized vehicles)
- Third party expenses (e.g., buying ticket and paying hotel/airfare and other expense on behalf of others)
- Out-of-route costs (e.g., a connecting flight/deviation from direct route for a personal business) – reimbursable expenses shall not exceed the cost of hotels, meals, and other expenses that would have been incurred on a direct route to the UCLA business destination.
- Internet package deals- see section in Business Travel section above
- T&E Card Late Fees are not reimbursable
- Others – any other costs determined to be unreasonable or which are disallowed by University guidelines.
- Meals when travel is less than 24 hours and does not involve hotel stay.
Travel Insurance & Emergencies: UCLA Office of Insurance and Risk Management
- Safe Travels – Includes Emergency Number & Policy Numbers
- Student Travel Safety Passport – Includes Emergency Number & Policy Numbers
All University travelers, including employees, faculty and students, are covered worldwide, 24 hours a day, for a variety of accidents and incidents while on business travel status. The coverage includes accidental death and dismemberment. The coverage also includes travel assistance services when the traveler is 100+ miles from his or her home or headquarters, such as emergency medical evacuation, out-of-country medical expenses, loss of personal effects, security extraction and repatriation of remains.
The carrier, ACE USA, is highly rated and provides insurance products and services throughout the U.S. and around the world. In addition, ACE works with iJet Intelligent Risk Systems to provide travelers with practical destination intelligence and real-time travel alerts.
Booking travel through Connexxus automatically enrolls the traveler in the insurance program for travel outside of California; otherwise the traveler must register their trip on the UC Trips website and complete the Traveler Insurance form before an out-of-state trip occurs. Registration is not required for travel within California as coverage is automatic.
Business meals and entertainment expenditures in all instances must clearly identify the benefit to the University even when unrestricted funds are being used. University policy requires that documentation for entertainment should include a business purpose, cost, attendee list, and itemized receipts for reimbursement. In addition, the expenditure of funds for entertainment should be cost effective and in accordance with the best use of public funds.