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News > AF CSA travel card transitions to GTC
 
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Travel Card Change
The Air Force Banking Office will start converting approximately 300,000 controlled spend account cards into government travel cards Aug. 7. For most Airmen, the process will be automatic, and they can continue to use their blue cards. However, those Airmen who are identified as failing to meet creditworthiness requirements will need to make arrangements with their agency program coordinator. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christina Brownlow)
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AF CSA travel card transitions to GTC

Posted 8/3/2012   Updated 8/6/2012 Email story   Print story

    


by Tech. Sgt. Shawn J. Jones
Air Force Public Affairs Agency


8/3/2012 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The terms and conditions for the Air Force's travel charge card are changing, but Airmen can hang on to their blue cards.

From Aug. 7 through the end of September, the Air Force Banking Office will e-mail some 300,000 Airmen, informing them that their controlled spend account card will convert back to a government travel card, which will operate like a standard charge card.

For Airmen who received a CSA card and previously had a GTC or traveled using the CSA without going delinquent, the transition will be automatic. They must complete a training course found at www.defensetravel.dod.mil/passport and sign a statement of understanding. 

However, some Airmen are being notified by their agency program coordinator that they must apply for the GTC because they never had a GTC in the past, but were issued a CSA card and either went delinquent or never used it. The application process involves a credit check that will only be performed with applicant's consent.

The current blue CSA card will now operate just like the GTC that was used for many years prior to the CSA. GTCs have fixed credit limits like a regular charge card, and cardholders no longer need to request temporary spend limit increases. If a cardholder's official travel estimate exceeds their credit limit, they need to discuss their options with their APC.

This CSA to GTC transition will bring about a few new features. New to the GTC program is the option for cardholders to request electronic balance refunds, receive automated e-mail reminders when an account is close to becoming delinquent, and a future enhancement to automatically split-disburse most non-mileage expenses such as hotel taxes, excess baggage and rental fuel to the travel card when completing a Defense Travel System voucher.

These new features aren't the only differences between the new GTC and the CSA card.

Requests for credit limit increases on the new card must be coordinated with the cardholder's supervisor and APC who is responsible for managing the travel card program. Also, the terms of the GTC include a cash advance fee of 2.2 percent, which is considered a reimbursable travel expense when used for official purposes.

"It is critical for all Air Force travelers to know their travel card status - open or closed, restricted or standard - and their APC before departing for a temporary duty or a permanent change of station," said Jim Sisson, Director, Air Force Banking Office.



tabComments
9/12/2012 1:38:33 PM ET
I just PCS'ed using the CSA card. As an FCC on tankers, the GTC was much better anyways for TDY travel. Financial confusion was rampant during our PCS as DLA is no longer paid in advance as PCS entitlements. Instead it is loaded as credit on the CSA card. Seems fishy that the DLA is MY money to pay for random unforeseeable things that come up during a PCS for my family but yet I could be held accountable for using it for something that someone in an office somewhere deems unnecessary. i.e. pet shipping 2nd POV shipping medical appointments for dependants. DLA is paid to me and if I want to drop it on red in Vegas and let it ride until I am a bazillion-aire then so be it.
Matt, Hawaii
 
9/6/2012 9:32:42 AM ET
Took them way too long to see the light on this one. I can see the CSA would be feasible for TDYs to schools or something of that nature. But as an FCC in the heavy airlift world it was a nightmare. Especially when flying back to back missions constantly. Oh just call and increase your limit you say. Sure try that in India or Cambodia. Or when a 5 day TDY turns into a 30 day TDY. And then try and get the cost of your phone calls reimubrsed. Let me know how that works out. I ended up using my personal card multiple times because the CSA was never loaded right. At least I got some airline miles out of the deal.T7yZ2
CA, JBER
 
9/5/2012 4:30:21 PM ET
I had 4 TDY's and 1 deployment on the CSA and wish they would have kept the CSA. Any time I had an issue I just called Citi and asked for an increase. Within 5-10 minutes it was there and no more problems.Oh and the gov't gets points for all the money we spend so of course they aren't going to let us charge on our own cards amazing they even let us get frequent flyer miles.
It Worked for Me, AZ
 
8/12/2012 12:07:32 PM ET
I think the concept behind the CSA was good. A card that only works when on TDY. I should have been set up so that when you went TDY your card was turned on, but when you returned and filed your final voucher it was suspended until your next trip. The way it worked, however, was silly
John, KOQU
 
8/9/2012 8:01:47 PM ET
The GTC monitor and I spent WAY too much time dealing with this. One change would have taken care of a huge number of the delinquents. Put airfare on a centrally billed account. When you purchase your ticket days before you travel and are out 3-4 weeks or deployed by the time you get back, the delinquent amount is the price of the ticket. All deployment airfare should definetly go on a central account.
Retired Shirt, Scott AFB
 
8/8/2012 11:44:03 AM ET
With the amount of documentation required to file a voucher, there is NO reason to have a GTC requirement. It should be optional. GTC's just cause more man hours to be dedicated to running people down to make all their unit's squares green. WAKE UP! Just because one person poops their pants doesn't mean we all have to wear diapers. GTC's are fiscal diapers.
Average Joe, Scott
 
8/8/2012 8:27:43 AM ET
Funny how some of the commentors want to use their personal credit cards and others complain that they had to pay out of pocket during a TDY. You'll never satisfy everyone when they each believe they know the right way to do something.
JC, NE
 
8/7/2012 1:42:54 PM ET
Now that this 3 headed monster is dead maybe they will do us all a favor and kill off DTS.
Can'twaittoretire, New Castle DE
 
8/7/2012 11:13:04 AM ET
I deployed to a high per-diem location in the desert last year. No body got the entitlements correct unitil months after I arrived on station. I had to pay over $8k out of pocket to cover my expenses until the supporting agencies got their stuff right.
RADHAZ, Georgia
 
8/7/2012 10:47:11 AM ET
I miss the days where they would issue you a cash advance equal to your per diem. If you spent it all then you could use your AMEX card for any overages. It worked great because you had cash for now and a back up in case a hotel wasn't available and you needed some more options. Bring back cash advances!
Active Duty MSgt, Tinker AFB
 
8/7/2012 10:34:25 AM ET
Does the AF really need to use a GTC? Why not use your own and take responsibility to use it correctly
Bean, PNT
 
8/7/2012 9:33:05 AM ET
I don't know why they didn't just stick to the GTC card to beging with. This going back and forth with things get's annoying.
Amused, LRAFB
 
8/7/2012 9:15:51 AM ET
For those who say the CSA program worked - did you ever actually deploy or go TDY with the stupid thing? I never had my funds loaded in time for any TDY or deployment I went to, so had to call them up every time for money. And heaven help you if something happened that made you go over your limit - another phone call and then having to explain to the person at the bank why you went over your approved budget line. And payment with the GTC was pretty straightforward; it's called maturity and most people are mature enough to take care of their bills and know where their per diem limits are to avoid overcharging.
Glad it's gone TSgt, No longer in the desert
 
8/7/2012 6:46:44 AM ET
I wish they would not make it mandatory to use the GTC for official travel. It would be great use my personal credit cards to reap in the rewards and not have to use this DoD-mandated credit card that makes things even more complicated.
Chris, Ramstein AB
 
8/7/2012 1:20:56 AM ET
Things like this happen all the time. Someone gets another star for coming up with this program and someone else gets another star for shutting it down when it fails. This happens every day in the Air Force. All of us knew that the CSA was a failure waiting for a place to happen. Thanks AF for giving yet another bungled program a place to fail.
Tommy boy, Ramstein AB
 
8/6/2012 7:13:55 PM ET
The CSA card was a better program. The GTC was a nightmare to handle. Now I have to go back to holding everyone's hand and making sure they don't screw things up on deployments or TDY's.
AETC SSgt, Hill AFB Ut
 
8/6/2012 6:51:13 PM ET
Just wondering how this affects those retiring Do they turn in their CSAGTC before they retire and is the payment made directly to them
wondering, USA
 
8/6/2012 4:40:42 PM ET
I would've thought we'd have learned a hard lesson from the Bank of America travel card fiasco in the late 90's. Apparently not.
retired dude, abroad
 
8/6/2012 8:54:09 AM ET
Here is a quote that sums up this whole ridiculous process We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. Albert Einstein
Retired, Ohio
 
8/5/2012 11:36:22 PM ET
Yet another program the Air Force has bungled. The Air Force willing bought a bill of goods from Citibank even though it was immediately apparent that the new CSAs would be a nightmare to manage. Citibank probably made a load of money off of this program--taxpayer money. Where is the accountability
Annoyed APC, CONUS
 
8/5/2012 7:17:34 PM ET
When are we going to learn
Really, Lost
 
8/3/2012 4:18:22 PM ET
The CSA card was a bad idea to begin with but someone got a promotion for thinking of it. Glad to see the Air Force can admit when it made a mistake.
SB, USA
 
8/3/2012 4:17:34 PM ET
That was a brilliant waste of man-hours and money. I bet someone is still reaping the benefits of that bullet on an EPROPR or PRF...
Openminded, PAFB CO
 
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