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| Home Front: Politix |
| Congress Reveals More Hidden Perks |
| 2005-07-18 |
| Globe-trotting members of Congress reap a valuable fringe benefit they do not disclose: frequent-flier miles from trips they take at the expense of special interests or taxpayers. It does not take long for the miles to add up for free personal travel or upgrades to first class. Now this is a real scandal! |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #7 I work for the State and I get to keep the FF miles even if it's for official travel. They book my travel but when I check in I present my FF card and I get the mile too. May not be square but that's how everyone I work with (management and pee on) works the system. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-07-18 17:12 |
| #6 ...if someone else pays for the ticket for them, how do the miles get transferred to the Congressperson's personal account? They pay with their credit card, and are "reimbursed". |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-07-18 14:44 |
| #5 FF miles were designed as a semi-clean kickback. They need to be ended, they distort the travel market. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-18 11:20 |
| #4 I don't know of any private sector business that has such a policy, anyone? I worked for a major corporation that had a travel agent, and also kept track of one's flights. If you had a business flight that didn't go through the agent, you'd get a letter 'reminding' you the miles were company property. Another company I worked for also had an in-house travel agent, but the mileage was yours. The company figured it was a small incentive to do the (usually long-term) hell-hole projects. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-07-18 11:13 |
| #3 CS - some companies want you to use their "official" travel agency, who either accumulates the miles or shaves the equivalent off the price. Where I work, I have to do travel through official agency channels, but then, I'm just a peon, too. Now if someone else pays for the ticket for them, how do the miles get transferred to the Congressperson's personal account, eh? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-07-18 10:56 |
| #2 Of course the official policy was that but I knew very few people who actually followed that policy. Most people (like me) gained Frequent Flyer miles and then used them for personal use. I know it not right just because "Everybody does it" but I didn't see the harm I was doing to the government. I don't know of any private sector business that has such a policy, anyone? |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-07-18 10:37 |
| #1 Back when I used to work for the government, the regulations were very clear: we were to accumulate the miles until we earned enough for an economy-class ticket, then cash them in and turn the voucher over to the travel office for our next official trip. But then, just like Sandy Berglar, the rules only apply to peons. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-07-18 10:03 |