As a result of recent changes to BOG Finance and Administration Rule 5.8 – Travel, all faculty and staff traveling on behalf of WVU are required to make travel reservations through the MyTravel platform.
However, certain exceptions are permitted in the WVU Travel and Expense Program Manual, which lists specific examples when air, hotel and rental cars may be booked outside of MyTravel, including:
Price exemptions for booking airfare or hotels directly through a conference or event.
A lack of logical or appropriate lodging options for a given destination.
Booking rental cars directly with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Trips booked through the Office of Global Affairs.
It should be noted that while this change affects how faculty and staff book travel on behalf of the University, it does not change what can be booked. Faculty and staff still are free to choose the lowest logical fares and rates that make sense for their specific situations.
Earlier this year, the University adopted American Express Global Business Travel as its standard travel management company. Using American Express provides WVU with several benefits — particularly in regard to safety, service and potential savings.
Traveler safety is one of the main reasons most large organizations and universities require using a standard travel program. Whether navigating the uncertainties of weather, international conflicts, national security issues or a global pandemic, the ability to help employees both before and during their trip is the University’s top priority.
If travel is booked outside of MyTravel, WVU does not know if faculty and staff potentially are in unsafe situations. The University also is unable to help employees return home in case of emergency.
American Express offers 24/7 support at 669-272-1301 or us.travelercare@amexgbt.com, as well as alerts and information to inform travelers of potential or ongoing issues at a particular destination. Trips booked through MyTravel also are sent to International SOS to aid international travelers.
Further, as one of the world’s largest travel management companies, American Express has a reach spanning more than 140 countries. American Express agents are travel experts and WVU benefits from their knowledge and experience.
American Express has direct lines of contact with major airlines, which is useful in avoiding or resolving issues. American Express also has an in-depth understanding of the travel industry and can help faculty and staff navigate through any challenges.
American Express offers a flight disruption service to seamlessly aid travelers in resolving issues, such as flight delays or cancellations. Travelers can apply unused or canceled tickets toward future trips so they do not miss out on using a ticket before it expires.
American Express also offers free online chat or phone support if travelers have questions or issues.
The major airlines are contractually required to make all their flights and fares available to American Express. The pricing and options available via American Express pull from the same database as the airline websites, Expedia, Google and others, and pricing will be equal or better with American Express. American Express also has a web fare price-match guarantee.
WVU has negotiated rates (typically 2% savings or more) with United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The University benefits from these negotiated rates when booking occurs through American Express — the more WVU travelers that book via the platform, the better the rates we can negotiate with airlines.
Visit go.wvu.edu/travel for more information and travel resources. Travel training can be found at go.wvu.edu/travel-training.
For questions, contact travel@mail.wvu.edu.