Employees requiring a travel advance should complete a Travel Advance Request form and forward it to the Department of Financial and Administrative Services with a completed Travel Request form.

The University will issue travel advances to employees under the following circumstances:

a. Advance Seat Sale Airline Tickets: The University encourages employees to travel at the lowest obtainable cost which, in most cases, will be an advance purchase seat sale. The University will issue travel advances to employees who purchase advance seat sale tickets. Employees should complete a "Travel Advance Request Form" accompanied by a photocopy of the original ticket stub, or in the case of electronic ticketing, a printed version of the itinerary/receipt, and forward it to the Department of Financial and Administrative Services in St. John's or the Bursar's Office in Corner Brook with a completed Travel Request form for processing.

b. Incidental Expenditures: Travel advances will be processed for the estimated incidental expenditures of specific trips (i.e., taxis, and meals in non-major restaurants which do not accept University corporate travel cards - enRoute or American Express). Holders of an American Express Corporate Card may obtain a cash advance of up to $300 on their corporate card from the Cashier's Office during normal working hours. However, new employees or employees who have not travelled in the past may receive travel advances pending the processing of applications for the University's corporate travel cards.

c. Extended Field Travel: Travel advances will be processed for extended field trips for the estimated cost of the trip in cases where travel claim reimbursement cannot be efficiently arranged.

d. Travel to a Location Where Corporate Cards are Not Accepted: Travel advances will continue to be processed for specific trips for the estimated cost of the trip in cases where corporate cards are not accepted.

e. Hotel/Motel Accommodations, Gasoline and Meals in Major Restaurants: The University will ONLY issue travel advances to employees for these expenditures in rare cases when a Unit Head has issued an exemption or in cases where new employees have not had sufficient time to apply for a University corporate travel card. Employees who choose not to apply for a University corporate card will, in the short-term, have to pay these travel related expenses using their own personal resources.

f. Graduate Students: Graduate students who travel frequently and are in regular receipt of funds through the University payroll system are eligible to receive corporate credit cards. Graduate and undergraduate students who do not qualify for credit cards will be accommodated with a travel advance. Please contact the Staff Accountant - Disbursements, for credit card information and applications.

All travel advances must be accounted for and claims submitted within ten days of completing a trip.