Fall Travel Supplier Showcase is a hit! |
Nearly 500 members of the U-M community attended a Travel Supplier Showcase at Michigan Stadium in October.
With 25 exhibitors, including UM-preferred travel suppliers and internal departments with travel-related services, the showcase was a great opportunity for travelers and travel arrangers to learn more about the suppliers as well the products and services they offered.
IDEMIA, for example, was onsite to conduct interviews for TSA PreCheck enrollment while JPMorgan Chase representatives explained the benefits of the PCard/Travel Card. And employees from the Shared Services Center answered questions about Chrome River and the expense report submission process.
Attendees were able to attend three demos at the showcase, including sessions on the features and functionality of the CTP Lightning travel booking tool, the Chrome River expense management tool, and the lifecycle of a CTA transaction from booking in Lightning to submitting the expense in Chrome River.
Special thanks to suppliers that exhibited at the showcase and provided a variety of donations—including a UM-branded travel backpack, a carry-on suitcase, airfare, ground transportation, and local hotel vouchers—for the giveaway drawing. Attendees were also able to pick up some great travel-related giveaways, such as suitcase scales and luggage tags, from many of the exhibitors.
Visit the Travel Supplier Showcase webpage for photos of the event, helpful handouts, and a list of suppliers and internal U-M departments that exhibited. If you have feedback on the showcase, please contact the U-M Travel Program Team.
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Reminder—Register your international trip |
All current employees and students traveling abroad for the upcoming break are strongly encouraged to follow the steps below to ensure access to a number of travel-related resources.
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Register your international travel with U-M: Travel registration takes just minutes and allows U-M to quickly and accurately locate and assist U-M travelers abroad in the event of a health, safety, or security crisis abroad. Registration is required for employees traveling on U-M business and is optional for personal travel.
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Ensure you are covered by GeoBlue, U-M’s Travel Abroad Health Insurance. U-M students and current employees traveling internationally for personal reasons can purchase GeoBlue (Leisure Plan) for $1.68 per day. Students on international U-M Related Travel are required to be enrolled in GeoBlue while abroad. Current employees on international U-M Related Travel are automatically covered under the GeoBlue (Business Plan) (for up to 364 days).
For more travel planning and travel safety resources, check out Global Michigan. If you have any questions, please contact the U-M Global Engagement Team.
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New travel authorization required to enter UK |
United Kingdom ETA Requirement for Travelers from United States
U.S. citizens are now required to obtain Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before entering the United Kingdom or connecting at a UK airport. The new requirement went into effect on November 27, 2024.
Similar to the European Union's soon-to-be-implemented ETIAS travel requirement, U.S. travelers entering the UK for a short stay (less than six months) will be pre-screened via an electronic application for security purposes. Once granted, the ETA will be linked electronically to the traveler's passport and allow visits for business and tourism.
Travelers can apply for an ETA via university-partnered CIBTvisas at a cost of approximately $14. Once submitted, the application may take three or more days to be approved. UK travel authorization is typically valid for two years and can be applicable to multiple visits during that time with a valid U.S. Passport.
Please visit CIBTvisas or the official UK ETA webpage for additional policy and requirement details.
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DOT's new automatic refund rule—What you need to know |
Last April, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) created universal standards that define when airlines are required to refund passengers for cancellations and delays.
Per DOT’s policy, which went into effect October 28, 2024, you’re entitled to a refund when your flight is:
- Canceled by the airline (for any reason) and the airline does not rebook you
- Canceled and you don’t accept rebooking. An airline may cancel your flight and offer rebooking or alternative compensation, such as a flight voucher or miles. If you don’t accept these offers, you’re entitled to a refund.
- “Significantly changed” and you don’t accept the changed itinerary, rebooking offers, or other compensation. The DOT policy has defined a "significant change" as:
- A domestic flight that departs 3+ hours earlier or arrives 3+ hours later than scheduled
- An international flight departs 6+ hours earlier or arrives 6+ hours later than scheduled
- A change to the origination or destination airport
- An increase in the number of connections
- A downgrade to a lower class of service
- Changes to connections or aircraft that are less accommodating to a person with a disability
If any of these situations apply and you’re not satisfied with the change or any alternative options offered by the airline, you may receive a refund.
How do I receive a refund?
For airfare booked with CTP, U-M’s designated travel partner, you can work directly with an agent to rebook canceled airfare or receive a refund if no options are available to meet your needs.
If a canceled flight was arranged directly through the airline, the carrier is required to provide an automatic refund within seven business days if you don’t reschedule the flight. If you don’t accept the flight changes, you’ll need to contact the airline for a refund or alternative arrangements.
For additional information about this policy, please visit this U.S. Department of Transportation webpage.
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When to use a cash advance | |
When employees travel on behalf of U-M, the preferred payment method for most expenses is a U-M PCard or Travel Card. In some instances, however, cash may be needed when credit cards are not accepted. In most situations, these expenses can be paid out-of-pocket and submitted for reimbursement. A PCard/Travel Card ATM cash advance of up to $2,500 may also be possible for foreign travel.
A cash advance may be the best option when large amounts of cash are needed.
Cash advances should be used for:
- Foreign travel in destinations where credit cards are not widely accepted
- Payments to individuals for services—such as drivers, translators, site workers, and guides in foreign countries
- Limited instances where paying out-of-pocket may present a financial hardship (a PCard/Travel Card should always be the first solution considered)
Cash advances should not be used for:
- Airfare, which should be booked using U-M’s travel partner, CTP
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Advance payment of meal per diems for employees and students (exceptions apply)
- Traveling within the U.S. (use PCard/Travel Card for expenses), unless the suppliers don’t accept credit cards or a financial hardship exists
Read more information about cash advances and how to apply for one.
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Lightning Feedback sessions announced for February and April 2025 |
U-M is the largest global user of Lightning and its feedback is invaluable to CTP when the company seeks to improve its online tools. If you have suggestions for enhancements, we hope you’ll join us at one of the following Lightning Feedback Sessions:
At the sessions, which are being held via Zoom, we’ll review a number of the enhancements we’ve already requested and gather your suggestions for future improvements.
Note: The below Zoom link and passcode can be used for all sessions:
https://umich.zoom.us/j/96013633019
Passcode: 684564
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Lifecycle of a CTA transaction | |
Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes when you book a trip through CTP using the Central Travel Account (CTA) as your payment method? Here’s a breakdown of the lifecycle of a CTA transaction, from booking to reconciliation:
1. Booking in the CTP Portal
Employees are encouraged to arrange travel through the CTP Portal, which offers access to university-negotiated rates on airfare, hotels, car rentals, and more for business travel. The CTA is a virtual credit card automatically used for all U-M airfare bookings and CTP service fees. No application is required—charges are directly applied to the CTA, simplifying the travel booking process.
2. Transaction posting and data processing
After booking, charges are processed by the credit card provider (JPMorgan Chase) and loaded into Chrome River, U-M’s expense management system. Effective August 1, 2024, CTA transactions began routing to travel arrangers’ profiles in Chrome River. In Concur—U-M’s former travel expense management system—transactions were routed to the traveler. Note: If employees book their own airfare, CTA transactions will route to their own profile.
While e-receipts for CTP bookings appear in the Chrome River eWallet within 24 hours, the actual CTA transactions (airfares and agent fees) may take two to five days to post to your Chrome River profile.
👉 Tip: Before reconciling, ensure that both e-receipts and CTA transactions have posted to your profile. Once posted, merge the transactions with the corresponding e-receipts from your eWallet. Avoid creating out-of-pocket reports for e-receipts while waiting for the CTA transactions to load. This ensures accurate reconciliation and prevents discrepancies.
3. Data validation
When the transaction appears in Chrome River, it’s categorized by traveler details, trip information, and related expense type. At this stage, it’s essential to validate all details such as the traveler’s name, booking type, and transaction amount. If any discrepancies or missing information are identified, the unit’s financial operations team must collaborate with the U-M Travel Program Team, which will work with CTP to resolve the issue.
4. Reconciliation in Chrome River
The final step involves reconciling the CTA expenses by allocating them to the appropriate shortcodes. Travel arrangers or financial staff review each transaction, confirm compliance with U-M policies, and complete the required approvals. This stage is crucial for budget accuracy and ensures transparency in tracking travel expenses across departments.
👉 Tip: Double-check that you’re not submitting CTA receipts as out-of-pocket expenses. Look for the card icon and verify the "Amount" column to confirm it's a CTA transaction before reconciling. Key differences between out-of-pocket and CTA expenses:
- Out-of-pocket expenses will not have the card icon and the "Pay Me" amount will show a positive balance (indicating a reimbursement).
- CTA expenses will have a category icon with a mini-card overlay and a "Pay Me" amount of zero, meaning no reimbursement is due.
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An illustration of how to identify these differences can be found in this document.
By following this lifecycle, U-M ensures efficient tracking, transparency, and proper allocation of travel expenses that supports a seamless experience for employees.
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Updates to CTP portal, profile page, and Lightning | |
Portal updates
Earlier this month, CTP launched a redesigned portal page. The tiles at the top of the portal have a new look and now include subtitles, which can help you more quickly find the tools you need. The online booking tool tile is larger than other tiles, since it’s the most frequently used tool.
Additionally the “Upcoming Flights” widget becomes “Upcoming Trips” with a new design.
Profile updates
The profile page still contains the same fields, but the sections are now all displayed in one continuous list, which allows you to easily locate the section you want to update. This improves upon the previous version that displayed boxes across the page that showed all sections and fields.
Lightning updates
Updates to Lightning include the ability to share air search results by clicking on the “Share” icon at the upper right-hand corner of the page. Options for sharing include copying the results to the clipboard, emailing them, or creating a pdf.
CTP has also improved the air, hotel, and car searches by performing the searches at the same time. This allows the hotel and car results to be displayed right after making an air selection.
The ability to hide hotels that are sold out is now available in CTP’s hotel booking tool. This can be done by clicking the checkbox under the Display/Filter option. The previous version displayed all hotel results regardless of whether rooms were available at a particular rate or not.
For more information and screenshots, see Updates to the CTP Portal, Profile, and Lightning.
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Recent—and upcoming—Chrome River enhancements |
Beginning December 12, 2024, hosting expense types will be added to the hotel itemization tool in Chrome River. The hosting expense types can be used for breakfast, lunch, dinner, refreshments/snacks, and alcohol charges.
Other enhancements to Chrome River:
- The tool now displays a user’s preferred first name in place of their primary (or legal) first name. This reflects the employee’s preferred name of record that’s on file with University Human Resources. This change was implemented to support our ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- It has started sending an email notification to indicate that an expense report has been extracted to M-Pathways for payment. The expense owner and report creator will receive the email notification from Chrome River. No additional action is required from either user.
Please note this email notification differs from the Expense Report Status Change notification feature. Due to a system-wide technical issue, that feature is currently disabled. Chrome River is actively working on the issue and we’ll let you know when it’s been resolved.
For more information on Chrome River notifications, please review this Knowledge Base article.
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Virtual travel program sessions well received in 2024—New sessions and topics added for 2025! |
In 2024, 25 virtual travel program sessions have been held, with nearly 800 participants!
Due to the popularity of these events, 10 additional travel program sessions have already been scheduled through April 2025, with more to follow. Some of the new sessions will focus on a specific supplier—Delta, for example, will be featured at the January session—while others will enable attendees to offer feedback on Lightning, CTP’s booking tool. U-M is CTP’s largest user of this tool and our suggestions and feedback are extremely helpful to CTP when it considers enhancements to Lightning.
Office hours Q&A and training sessions will continue and representatives from both CTP and the U-M Travel Program will be available to answer your travel-related questions during those sessions.
Please see the schedule below for details on the upcoming sessions, including the topics. We look forward to seeing you and encourage you to add these dates to your calendar.
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December 18, 2024, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.—Training
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January 16, 2025, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.—Q&A
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January 22, 2025, 11a.m. to 12 p.m.—Training
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January 28, 2025, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.—Virtual Supplier Feature (New!) - Delta
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February 6, 2025, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.—Q&A
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February 12, 2025, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.—Training
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February 20, 2025, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.—Lightning Feedback Session (New!)
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March 6, 2025,1 p.m. to 2 p.m.—Q&A
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March 12, 2025, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.—Training
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April 2, 2025, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.—Lightning Feedback Session (New!)
Note: The below Zoom link and passcode can be used for all sessions:
https://umich.zoom.us/j/96013633019
Passcode: 684564
Dates for additional sessions will be published on the Procurement Services travel webpage as they are scheduled.
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Keep up with travel news between newsletters |
We encourage you to join the U-M Travel Program’s Slack channel, #travel-program, to stay up-to-date on all things related to U-M travel, including program updates, announcements, travel tips, events, and more.
If you haven’t heard of Slack, we encourage you to check it out! Creating an account is easy and we hope to see you on Slack soon!
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Contact Us
Please contact us with any feedback, comments, questions, or concerns at travelprogram@umich.edu. We enjoy hearing from you and welcome your feedback.
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