New Travel Card Rules in Effect

A new requirement under the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act has made it mandatory for military government travel card users to use the "split disbursement" option when filing temporary duty travel claims, according to an article in the American Forces News Service.

In split disbursement, the government pays the credit card vendor directly when a traveler uses the card and files a voucher for reimbursement, while additional money owed to the traveler goes to the traveler's bank account. Without split disbursement, the traveler receives the entire voucher settlement, and in turn pays the credit card bill. Until the new policy took effect in April, military people could choose between split disbursement or receiving the entire settlement and paying the credit card bill themselves. Civilian federal workers still have that choice.