1/31/2013 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- As of January 27, merchants in the United States and U.S. Territories are permitted to impose a surcharge on any credit card transaction that uses a MasterCard or Visa branded card, which includes the Government Travel Charge Card, both Individually Billed Accounts (IBAs) and Centrally Billed Accounts (CBAs).
This surcharge is permitted to be charged in all states except California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.
While some merchants may elect not to charge this additional fee, those that do are required to notify customers before they make an actual purchase - at the store entrance and at the point of sale - or in an online environment, on the first page that references credit card brands. The surcharge will be included in the total transaction amount and will be listed separately on the sales receipt.
This new surcharge has been authorized reimbursable expense while on official travel. The Joint Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR) and the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) have been updated accordingly, effective 27 January 2013. If a traveler is charged this surcharge, they should add it as a separate expense under the Non-Mileage Expense section of their voucher, ensuring that the additional surcharge is not also included in the total of the related expense.
2/4/2013 2:14:00 PM ET @ Elizabeth don't people keep receipts anymore for what they're trying to claim I know members not used to traveling think they're just scraps of paper but these charges are by law meant to show on the receipt just as tax is.@ PB the article says If a traveler is charged this surcharge they should add it as a separate expense under the Non-Mileage Expense section of their voucher ensuring that the additional surcharge is not also included in the total of the related expense.
SrA S, CONUS
2/4/2013 12:32:34 PM ET Please ensure you address the question of whether surcharges will be reimbursable for transactions that did NOT use the Government Travel Card GTC in the policy rewrite. If it is not expressly forbidden I can assure you that we will see charges on the vouchers that we cannot verify. Also if they will get reimbursed for non-GTC transactions it will reduce the use of the GTC even more.
Elizabeth A. Jodry, Hill AFB
2/1/2013 4:36:44 PM ET Barry I imagine it will be counted under meals and incidental expenses. That said ... thanks to the banks for their continued support of service members. And by support I mean screwing over.
PB, US
2/1/2013 4:32:00 PM ET @Barry - yes this is an authorized reimbursable expense.
MSgt D, CONUS
2/1/2013 12:53:52 PM ET If a person goes TDY to one of the states permitting the surcharge will the surcharge be re-embursed
