Cost Comparison Requirements and Guidance

When personal travel is combined with business travel, a cost comparison is required and should be obtained from Concur, a third party travel vendor or AAA Corporate Travel prior to the trip and must meet the requirements below:

• The amount of travel expenses reimbursed when a cost comparison is required is the lesser of the cost comparison amount or the actual expense amount.
• Cost comparison will need to show most direct roundtrip flight from closest major airport from traveler’s official duty station to the closest major airport to traveler’s official business location.
• It is the responsibility of the traveler to obtain and provide a required cost comparison. In the event a traveler has not provided a cost comparison, the reimbursement will be the lesser of the actual expense or maximum reimbursement for international travel at $1,000.
• The cost comparison should be made at the same time airfare is purchased or the travel request is completed.
• The search should not be limited to a single airline.
• Any personal travel outside of the business location is not reimbursable, regardless of the number of personal days included.
• It is acceptable to provide a copy of a co-worker’s airfare itinerary/receipt who attended the same business event with no personal or other travel destinations involved. A cost comparison must reflect the business travel dates of travel without the personal dates included.  More details on how to pull a cost comparison can be found below in the linked QRG.

Domestic Travel

Cost comparisons are required for domestic flights (United States and U.S. Territories), when personal travel is combined with business travel and/or there is a change in airport or seat upgrade, due to personal travel.

The maximum reimbursement for domestic travel is $550. Purdue Travel has based this on the average flight costs reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

International Travel

A cost comparison is required for all international travel to, between or within countries outside of the United States or U.S. Territories – this includes Mexico and Canada trips, when it includes personal travel and/or airport change or seat upgrade due to personal travel.

The maximum reimbursement for international travel is $1,000.

Non-Air Cost-Comparison Requirements

Other times a cost comparison may be required include, but are not limited to:

• Vehicle rental upgrade: If a vehicle size/class is upgraded with no business need and the upgrade cost is not itemized in the original receipt.
• Vehicle rental day vs. week rate: If the weekly rate is selected due to a lower total cost than the daily rate and it is not itemized in the original receipt.
• Lodging: If a room is upgraded with no business need and the upgrade cost is not itemized in the original receipt.

Help

A Quick Reference Guide (QRG) is available to help complete a cost comparison.

Further details can be found in Purdue’s Travel Regulations document.