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|  **Travel Advisory Number 5 - December 31, 2001**                     |
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|                                                                       |
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|  **Description**                                                      |
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| On December 28, 2001, the President signed into law S. 1438, National |
| Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002. Section 1116 of this  |
| law authorizes Federal employees to retain promotional items,         |
| including frequent flyer miles, earned on official travel. This       |
| travel advisory provides interim details regarding this new           |
| authority.                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| **Guidelines for Official Federal Travelers---Using Frequent Traveler |
| Benefits**                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| Certain provisions of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) and the     |
| Federal Property Management Regulations (FPMR) require that           |
| promotional benefits, including frequent flyer miles, earned on       |
| official travel are considered the property of the Government and may |
| only be used for official travel. The National Defense Authorization  |
| Act for Fiscal Year 2002, signed by President Bush on December 28,    |
| 2001, now allows federal employees to retain for personal use         |
| promotional items received incident to official travel. This travel   |
| advisory provides Questions and Answers that will help the federal    |
| traveler become familiar with the new law and the new travel          |
| procedures which are being established as a result of this statutory  |
| change.                                                               |
|                                                                       |
| 1.  **Who should read this travel advisory?**                         |
|                                                                       |
| > All federal travelers, authorizing officials and travel managers    |
| > should read this advisory. This travel advisory provides guidance   |
| > for federal travelers who earn promotional materials and frequent   |
| > traveler benefits while on official Government travel.              |
|                                                                       |
| 2.  **What is the new law?**                                          |
|                                                                       |
| > This travel advisory is based on enactment of the National Defense  |
| > Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002. Section 1116 of this law    |
| > specifically states that federal employees may retain for personal  |
| > use promotional items, including frequent flyer miles, earned on    |
| > official travel.                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| 3.  **Are any other laws affected?**                                  |
|                                                                       |
| > Yes. This new law repeals Section 6008 of the Federal Acquisition   |
| > Streamlining Act of 1994 (5 U.S.C. 5702 note; Public Law No.        |
| > 103-355), which had prohibited personal retention of such           |
| > promotional items.                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| 4.  **What regulation(s) do you need to know about?**                 |
|                                                                       |
| > Certain provisions of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) (41 CFR   |
| > 301-53) and the Federal Property Management Regulations (FPMR) (41  |
| > CFR 101-25) require that promotional benefits, including frequent   |
| > flyer miles, earned on official travel are considered the property  |
| > of the Government and may only be used for official travel. These   |
| > regulations are in the process of amendment.                        |
|                                                                       |
| 5.  **How is a frequent travel promotional benefits account           |
|     established?**                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| > It is the responsibility of each traveler to communicate directly   |
| > with a service provider to establish his/her frequent travel        |
| > promotional benefits account. Any associated costs are to be paid   |
| > by the traveler, and are not a reimbursable expense.                |
|                                                                       |
| 6.  **What may the traveler do with promotional benefits or material  |
|     he/she receives from a travel service provider?**                 |
|                                                                       |
| > Any promotional benefits or material received from a travel service |
| > provider in connection with official travel may be retained for     |
| > personal use, if such items are obtained under the same conditions  |
| > as those offered to the general public at no additional cost to the |
| > Government. This includes all benefits earned, including those      |
| > earned before enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act   |
| > for Fiscal Year 2002.                                               |
|                                                                       |
| 7.  **Under what circumstances may the traveler use frequent travel   |
|     benefits to upgrade his/her transportation class of service when  |
|     on official travel?**                                             |
|                                                                       |
| > It is the policy of the Government that employees generally must    |
| > travel by coach class accommodations. However, you may upgrade your |
| > transportation class of service at your own expense. Therefore, as  |
| > frequent traveler benefits may now be retained for your personal    |
| > use, you may use any frequent traveler benefits you have earned to  |
| > upgrade your transportation class to premium service. The           |
| > regulations governing upgrades to premium airline accommodations    |
| > continue to be found at FTR §§ 301-10.123 and 301-10.124. Your      |
| > agency cannot pay for any upgrades, unless you meet one of the      |
| > exceptions in these regulations.                                    |
|                                                                       |
| 8.  **When will the FTR and FPMR changes be effective?**              |
|                                                                       |
| > The amendatory language to the FTR and FPMR is not in effect until  |
| > a final rule(s) is published in the [Federal Register]{.underline}  |
| > (FR). We anticipate that publication will take place in 30-60 days. |
| > You may, however, use your frequent traveler benefits immediately   |
| > in accordance with paragraph 9, below.                              |
|                                                                       |
| 9.  **What authority allows immediate use of promotional benefits     |
|     earned while on official travel?**                                |
|                                                                       |
| > GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy has issued a governmentwide   |
| > waiver of the provisions of the FTR and FPMR that require that      |
| > promotional items received incident to official travel, including   |
| > frequent flyer miles, before, on or after the date of the waiver    |
| > may be retained by federal employees for their personal use. The    |
| > waiver remains in effect until a permanent amendment(s) to the      |
| > provisions referenced herein is published in the FR.                |
|                                                                       |
| 10. **Who should a federal traveler call if he/she is confused and    |
|     does not know what to do?**                                       |
|                                                                       |
| > He/she should contact the supervisor or travel approving official.  |
|                                                                       |
| 11. **Are frequent traveler benefits taxable?**                       |
|                                                                       |
| > The Internal Revenue Service has indicated to GSA that these        |
| > benefits may be taxable. GSA will provide additional information as |
| > we receive it from the IRS.                                         |
|                                                                       |
| If you have additional questions, please contact your supervisor or   |
| your agency's travel or financial policy manager. Jim Harte, OGP's    |
| Travel Policy Team Leader at 202-501-0483, is also available to       |
| assist you.                                                           |
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