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Business travel could be big business. For leaders, crafting a robust, clear, and concise corporate travel policy may be only part of the challenge. Achieving compliance from team members could also be a sticking point.
In today’s rapidly changing world, following travel and expenditure (T&E) compliance recommendations may be far from easy. Effective communications and employee education may help reduce accidental errors — and save time — by making it easier to follow the rules. But the 2025 Deloitte Corporate Travel Study found that only 42% of the business travelers surveyed always use corporate tools when booking trips. (The study draws on two July 2025 surveys, one of more than 150 travel managers and one of more than 1,000 professionals who took a business trip in 2024 and 2025.) In the era of apps, short-term rentals, and personal rewards programs, there may be multiple roadblocks to achieving corporate travel compliance.
What Is Travel Policy Compliance?
Travel policy compliance means that team members follow the rules in a company’s T&E policy. At its simplest, a travel policy is a rulebook for business trips. It might cover things like:
- Emergency procedures
- Expectations for conduct
- Reimbursable expenses
- Travel booking guidelines
- Policies for reimbursements for allowable expenses
A clear travel policy could help boost compliance by making it easier for employees to read, absorb, follow, and reference the rules. This may save a business time and money, helping to potentially reduce both accidental error and deliberate fraud as well as time spent on claiming and approving reimbursements.
This clarity may also make employees’ lives easier by helping decrease paperwork, speed up reimbursements, and reduce or eliminate overspending on non-reimbursable expenses.
The Cost of Poor Travel Policy Compliance
Travel policy compliance means that employees adhere to the company’s business travel rulebook, helping to make sure that expenses incurred are allowable, within the appropriate limits, and booked, paid for, and reimbursed correctly. T&E compliance failures could prove risky, costly, and bad for morale.
On the micro level, poor T&E compliance may leave travel managers unable to trace their travelers, finance managers uninformed about spending, and team members aggrieved after their expense claims are rejected. On the macro level, corporate travel compliance failures may lead to overspending, errors, and audit issues, as well as potentially rendering a company vulnerable to fraud, in breach of its duty of care, and/or exposed to tax investigations.
What Is Travel Expense Reimbursement?
Travel expense reimbursement is how an organization pays back its travelers for legitimate business expenses they have incurred during work trips. While modern expense management solutions such as virtual cards could help streamline business trip spending, travel may still include elements that require reimbursement.
Travel expense reimbursement may be a five-step process:
The traveler creates a report — on paper, in a spreadsheet, or in dedicated software.
The traveler provides documentation for expenses above specified thresholds.
The traveler submits the report and documentation on a timeline set by the company.
Managers, often supported by automated systems, approve the expenditure.
Accounts teams process the business trip reimbursement.
A clear, concise T&E policy may be key to having the reimbursement process run smoothly.
What Expenses Are Reimbursable on Business Trips?
Writing a corporate travel policy may require a delicate balancing act: If it’s too short, team members may lack clarity, but if it’s too long, they may not read it at all. One key element of a corporate travel policy could be to include a list of reimbursable business expenses for national and international travel, such as:
- Transportation
- Lodging
- Meals
- Client entertainment
- Business supplies
- Shipping
- Communications costs
- Incidentals (tips, laundry, baggage fees, etc.)
To help enhance travel policy compliance, consider setting clear limits as to what spending levels are acceptable and what documentation is required. For additional clarity, the travel policy may also include a list of what expenses are not reimbursable.
Steps to Help Build a Compliant Travel Reimbursement Policy
Some components of a travel policy might include required booking channels, suppliers, and reimbursement procedures, as well as emergency information and a list of reimbursable business expenses.
To write a policy that meets common compliance requirements in corporate travel policies, consider the following sections:
- An introduction that explains the purpose of the policy and its audiences
- A list of reimbursable expenses, including spending limits
- A list of non-reimbursable expenses
- Guidelines to book travel, including the approval process
- Guidelines for documenting, reporting, and getting reimbursed for expenses
- Emergency contacts, safety information, and insurance details
You might also want to consider including these travel and expense policy best practices:
- Seek input from stakeholders across your organization, including travelers.
- Align your policy with your organization’s goals.
- Use real-world examples to communicate potential sticking points (such as essential vs. extravagant).
- Simplify the presentation by using bullet points, lists, and graphics.
- Create fun tools such as video and games to communicate key messages.
Best Practices for Managing Travel Expenses
The “4 Cs” of corporate travel management could vary according to who you ask, but may include “cost” and “compliance,” plus two of the following: “convenience," “care," “comfort," “culture," “communication," and “control." To help make sure your travel policy encourages compliance while controlling costs, you could help streamline reimbursements with clear reporting.
New technology could further help you save time, boost efficiency, and reduce error rates. Steps such as moving away from paper expense reports and integrating your travel and expense platforms may help stakeholders have real-time visibility over the information that they need.
Learn more about tech-forward options to help you optimize your business travel expense reporting.
Consider The American Express Corporate Platinum Card®
With the American Express Corporate Platinum Card, you can get more from your spending. Capture additional value for your employees, your company, or both when employees make eligible purchases on their Corporate Card. Plus, most Corporate Cards come with travel and lifestyle benefits that employees can enjoy. Speak to a specialist to learn about the different options for benefits, Membership Rewards® points1,2, cash back3 in the form of a statement credit (Corporate Green Card only), and incentives available with select Corporate Program products.
Terms and Conditions
1. Enrollment in the Membership Rewards® program is required. The American Express® Corporate Green Card and the Global Dollar Card - American Express® Corporate Green Card is charged a $55 annual enrollment fee. A program fee is not applied for the American Express® Corporate Gold Card, American Express Corporate Platinum Card®, Global Dollar Card - American Express Corporate Platinum Card®, and Global Dollar Card - American Express® Corporate Executive Gold Card. Some Corporate Cards are not eligible for enrollment. For a full list of eligible Corporate Cards, please see the full Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions. Card Member eligibility for enrollment is based upon the company’s participation in the Membership Rewards program. Employees with Corporate Green Cards selected to earn individual Membership Rewards® points must call the number on the back of their Card to complete enrollment. Enrolled Corporate Card Members get one Membership Rewards point for every dollar of eligible purchases charged on enrolled Corporate Green Cards, Corporate Gold Cards, and Corporate Platinum Cards®. Eligible purchases are purchases for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, cash advances, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents.
Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards® program apply. Visit membershiprewards.com/terms for more information. Participating partners and available rewards are subject to change without notice.
The value of Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them. To learn more, go to www.membershiprewards.com/pointsinfo.
2. Enrollment in the Corporate Membership Rewards program is required. Only the American Express® Corporate Green Card, American Express® Corporate Gold Card, and American Express Corporate Platinum Card® are eligible to enroll in the Corporate Membership Rewards program. The Program Administrator is charged a $90 annual enrollment fee for each enrolled Corporate Green Card. A program fee is not applied for the Corporate Gold Card and Corporate Platinum Card®. Get one Corporate Membership Rewards point for every dollar of eligible purchases charged on enrolled American Express® Corporate Cards. Eligible purchases are purchases for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, cash advances, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents. If the Corporate Card Member is transferring from an existing Membership Rewards program to the Corporate Membership Rewards program, the Card Member will have 30 days to use any existing Membership Rewards points before they are forfeited.
The redemption value of Corporate Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them.
For the full terms and conditions for the Corporate Membership Rewards® program please visit americanexpress.com/corporatemrterms for more information. Participating Corporate Membership Rewards partners, available rewards, and point levels are subject to change without notice.
3. With the American Express Corporate CashBack® Program, companies can earn one percent (1%) cash back on eligible purchases made with the Corporate Green Card earning Corporate CashBack. The cash back is issued in the form of a monthly statement credit to the company’s centrally billed account. To earn the one percent (1%) statement credit, American Express must receive and post full payment for all of the transactions included on the company’s billing statement prior to your next statement date. Company will not receive a statement credit if the Card account is cancelled or in default. The annual fee(s) for each Corporate Green Card earning Corporate CashBack include (i) an annual membership fee of up to $75 and (ii) an annual program fee of $90, which will be billed to the Card account.
The Corporate CashBack Program must be requested by the Company and is subject to American Express approval. The following transactions are not eligible purchases and will not earn the cash back statement credit: purchases of American Express® Travelers Cheques or American Express® Gift Cheques; foreign currency purchases and any related fees; convenience check transactions; purchases and reloads of prepaid cards; Card account fees and charges (including but not limited to late payment fees, Card account annual fees, interest charges and delinquency charges); fees for Card Member services enrolled in by the Company and/or the Card Member.
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