Posted on Mar 12, 2014
1LT Engineer Plans Officer
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We have a few soldiers that are not wanting the Government Travel Cards. Some don't feel comfortable with a credit card with this much power. It is understandable, but as I understand it, it is MANDATORY for all SM to have one for travel on TDY and Schools.
Posted in these groups: Tdy stay sign TDYAr Army Regulations
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1SG First Sergeant
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Edited 10 y ago
Bare with me as both the references on this read like VCR Instructions:

First, DoD Financial Management Regulation, Vol 9, Chapter 3:


The Department of Defense (DoD) policy is that the
Government Travel Charge Card (GTCC) will be used by all DoD personnel
(military or civilian) to pay for all costs related to official government
travel. See Section 0306 for a list of exceptions. Official government travel is
defined as travel under official orders while performing duties pertaining to
official government assignments such as temporary duty (TDY) and permanent change
of station (PCS). The purpose of the GTCC is to serve as the primary payment
method for official travel expenses incurred by DoD personnel (military or
civilian) and it also allows the cardholder access to the GSA City Pair
Program. The GTCC reduces the need to issue traditional travel advances (cash/electronic
funds transfer), eliminates the need for the traveler to pay for their own expenses,
and provides financial readiness to DoD personnel (military or civilian). Refer
to the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998 (TTRA), Public Law 105-264
for additional information regarding mandatory use of the travel card





TTRA:



SEC. 2. REQUIRING USE OF THE TRAVEL CHARGE CARD.



(a) IN GENERAL.—Under regulations issued by the Administrator
of General Services after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the
Administrator shall require that Federal employees use the travel charge card
established pursuant to the United States Travel and Transportation Payment and
Expense Control System, or any Federal contractor-issued travel charge card,
for all payments of expenses of official Government travel. The Administrator
shall exempt any payment, person, type or class of payments, or type or class
of personnel from any requirement established under the preceding sentence in
any case in which—



(1) it is in the best interest of the United States to do
so;



(2) payment through a travel charge card is impractical or
imposes unreasonable burdens or costs on Federal employees or Federal agencies;
or



(3) the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Transportation
(with respect to the Coast Guard) requests an exemption with respect to the
members of the uniformed services.




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1SG First Sergeant
1SG (Join to see)
10 y
Source of info on this is http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil<br><div class="pta-link-card"><div class="pta-link-card-picture"><img src="http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/images/header.gif"></div><div class="pta-link-card-content"><div class="pta-link-card-title"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil">Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO)</a></div><div class="pta-link-card-description"></div></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="pta-box-hide"><i class="icon-remove"></i></div></div><div class="pta-link-card"><div class="pta-link-card-picture"><img src="https://api.twitter.com/1/users/profile_image?screen_name=DTS_Help&amp;size=bigger"></div><div class="pta-link-card-content"><div class="pta-link-card-title"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.defensetravel.osd.mil">Defense Travel System</a></div><div class="pta-link-card-description">Featuring the best practices in industry and plug-and-play components, Defense Travel System streamlines the entire process involved in global Department of Defense (DoD) travel. </div></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="pta-box-hide"><i class="icon-remove"></i></div></div>
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1SG First Sergeant
1SG (Join to see)
10 y
I have to agree with you brother, but at the same time, the GTCC does allow for a lot more accountability with travel expenses.
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SSgt Senior It Security Analyst
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My advice: Avoid the GTC like the plague. It's not worth the headache.
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GySgt (Other / Not listed)
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Yes if it is a requirement.  If it is not a requirement, then no.  
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What is the Army Regulation that makes Government Travel Cards mandatory for all SM?
1SG Company First Sergeant
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Edited 10 y ago
Yes. If your position requires you to travel it only helps achieve the desired mission outcome easier.
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SFC William Swartz Jr
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If I remember right, about 7-10 years ago, I could have sworn that it was made a requirement for NCOs to apply for the GTCC for use when going TDY or did that also fall by the wayside due to OIF/OEF.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
10 y
Way back machine but I remember traveling through Europe the prefered I travel on Nato Travel Orders when I was on Leave/Vactation in Germany. I had a Passport but for some silly reason they wanted me to use those Nato Orders. Now in the Persian Gulf my Get Out of Jail Free Card (DIA Courier Card) is the only thing I carried beside my Military ID Card.
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CW2 Humint Technician
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What's the issue? Use it responsibly and there aren't issues. I've got about four or five pages of TDY travel using a GTC on DTS and never once had an issue even during funding crises. It doesn't show up on your credit at all when you pay. And I just bought a new car with a credit score of 820. So no issues there. I never understand why it scares people so much. 
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1SG S3 Operations Ncoic
1SG (Join to see)
10 y
Department Of The Army TRADOC Regulation 37-2
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1SG First Sergeant
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10 y
SFC Brown,

That only applies to TRADOC, the info I posted above applies to the entire DoD, military and DoD civilian alike.
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SFC Cryptologic Network Warfare Specialist
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SGT Micheal Adams
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I do not like them, I have had one I had to pay out of pocket, either my receipts were not handled correctly or something. I have never figured out what went wrong. No one can tell me what went wrong. I got no answers to questions fm that had to have a logical answer out there to the right person. I just never met that person.
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SSG Sean Garcia
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Funny story, I medically retired last June and I just got my new GTC in the mail. Haha
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WO1 Human Resources Technician
WO1 (Join to see)
6 y
Contact the bank that issues your card (Citibank) and cancel your card.
When you retired, your unit APC (S1/S8) office should have closed your account. Your card does NOT come as activated, so it is a non usable card.
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CPT Bde Training Oic (S3)
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I was going to ask this question but found this thread instead. I personally don't want one, and over the course of 17 years never needed one. From what I understand its mandated to be used, but if a Soldier doesn't have one then the only drawback is that they cant apply for a travel advance, which again I have never wanted or needed.

Guess I'm stuck getting one and losing out on point on my personal card...
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SFC Cryptologic Network Warfare Specialist
SFC (Join to see)
9 y
CPT (Join to see) Nowadays, the GTCC is needed to buy the plane ticket, as well as paying for lodging. However, they can't exactly make you use the GTCC to pay for meals, since some places may not accept credit card (rare I know).
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