Managing Your American Express Charge Card 

Date: Fri, 17 Oct 1997 14:59:41 -0400
To: "USGS Employees"<distribution>
From: Susan Smith <srsmith>
Subject: Managing Your American Express Charge Card


This is being resent, hopefully correcting problems some have with reading
the text.  Thank you for your patience.  

Supervisors:  Please ensure that employees without access to e-mail receive
a copy of this message.



			
In Reply Refer To:
Mail Stop 270


MEMORANDUM



To:		All Employees

From:		Barbara J. Ryan
		Associate Director for Operations

Subject: 	Managing Your American Express Charge Card 

The purpose of this memorandum is to outline responsibilities for managing
your American Express (AMEX) charge card.  The U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) currently has one of the highest rates of delinquent AMEX accounts
within the Department of the Interior and as Chief Financial Officer I am
tasked with significantly reducing the number of account delinquencies and
incidents of misuse of the charge card in the USGS.   To do so, I need the
assistance of supervisors and employees alike.  The attachment describes
specific ongoing actions.  
I encourage you to become familiar with these action.
						
If you have questions about the AMEX program, they may be addressed to the
USGS AMEX Coordinator, Susan Sheely, at (703) 648-7602 (email
ssheely@usgs.gov) or to Kathy Keillor at (703) 648-7621 (email
kkeillor@usgs.gov).  For more information about USGS AMEX policies, see
http://www.usgs.gov:8888/usgs-manual/im/ofm-96-4.html on the USGS Intranet.  

Thank you, in advance, for taking your responsibilities seriously.  I look
forward to reduced rates of delinquencies at the next Bureau and
Departmental quarterly review.

Attachment




___________________________________________________________

Attachment


Managing American Express Charge Cards


Review of all AMEX Cardholders

Division managers are asked to review the names of cardholders to determine
which employees actually need the card for official government travel.   If
an employee does not need the card for official travel, the card should be
canceled.  This review will be conducted periodically to ensure that only
employees with a valid need receive the AMEX card.

Division-Level Report Monitoring

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) is providing each division with
monthly reports on AMEX card usage.  Monitoring tools include a report
which identifies, by employee name,  amounts owed for accounts that are 60
or more days delinquent.  The divisions also receive a report from AMEX
which itemizes all transactions and which can be used to detect employee
misuse of  the charge card.  Through division channels, the supervisor of
the identified employee will be immediately notified either of
delinquencies or apparent misuse.

Supervisory Actions to Counsel Employees:

Supervisors are expected to take the following actions when alerted to
possible card misuse or delinquent AMEX debt:

o  Unauthorized Use of the AMEX Card

The supervisor will promptly advise the employee that their AMEX card will
be canceled if payment in full for the unauthorized purchase is not made
within 10 calendar days of notification.  Depending on the circumstances,
suspension or cancellation of the card may be immediate.  The employee will
also be advised of the consequences of losing charge card privileges; i.e.,
travel advances remain limited to only the amount allowed for meals and
incidental expenses (M&IE).  In addition, the employee will be responsible
for covering any remaining expenses, to be reimbursed after the travel
voucher is filed.  An employee's card will be immediately suspended for a
minimum of 120 days for a second instance of misuse.

Employees will be subject to disciplinary action, including removal from
the Federal service, for confirmed use of the AMEX card for personal
purchases or for cash withdrawals for purposes other than official
government travel.  The supervisor should consult with their servicing
employee relations staff for appropriate disciplinary action.

o  Failure to Pay AMEX Account Debt			

60 Day Delinquency Report - The supervisor must promptly notify the
employee of the delinquent debt report and should determine whether the
employee has paid the debt since the report was generated.  If the debt has
not been paid, the supervisor should verify with the employee that travel
vouchers have been submitted as appropriate and that reimbursement for
travel-related expenses has been received.  The supervisor will advise the
employee to pay the debt immediately, or to contact AMEX to arrange a
payment plan.  Employees should also be advised that their card will be
suspended as soon as the debt becomes 70 days overdue, and will remain
suspended for a minimum of 120 days after the debt is paid.  Reinstatement
of a suspended card will only be made upon supervisory request and with
designated division approvals.
							
90 Day Delinquency Report - The supervisor will promptly notify the
employee that AMEX has canceled the charge card for nonpayment, and that
such action is likely to affect their personal credit rating, since AMEX
reports to the national credit reporting bureaus those government
cardholders who have been canceled because of delinquencies.  Cards will
remain canceled for a minimum of one year; employees should realize that
reinstatement is not automatic and may be denied by AMEX.  The supervisor
will again stress that the employee must pay the debt or make arrangements
for a payment plan.  The supervisor should consult with their servicing
employee relations staff for appropriate disciplinary action.

Employees should be notified by the supervisor that in the case of
cancellation or suspension of card privileges,  the employee remains
entitled only to an advance for meals and incidental expenses, and will be
responsible for covering other travel charges from personal funds until
reimbursed through submitting a travel voucher.  The use of imprest fund,
Third Party Draft, or  Treasury advances to circumvent this limitation is
prohibited.