Best practices for corporate travel credit card programs

Work travel is considered a valuable part of the growth of your business, and the data agrees. The latest GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook report shows that 86% of work trips taken globally are rated as worthwhile for achieving business objectives.

However, without robust spend controls in place for work trips, budgets can disappear, receipts pile up, and post-trip shadow work like this racks up for the finance team.

By introducing a comprehensive corporate travel credit card program, work travelers will be clear on spend expectations and teams back in the office won’t become overwhelmed. In this guide, we’ll outline how to build a corporate travel credit card program that supports your business to perform at its best.

Which members of staff need a travel credit card?

In your organization, it’s unlikely that corporate travel credit cards will need to be issued to every colleague. Other options include P-cards, which restrict spending to pre-defined suppliers or categories, and travel and entertainment (T&E) cards, which are specifically set up for business expenses and must be paid in full at the end of each billing cycle. 

Global travel statistics tell us that corporate card access rose to 69% in 2025, but only half of these cardholders were required to actually use them. Plus, having unused credit cards in circulation could mean an extra security risk if they are stolen or lost.

Start by coming up with some eligibility criteria to help you decide who should qualify for a corporate credit card:

What should a corporate travel credit card program include?

Corporate travel credit card programs aren’t about making your team feel untrusted, or like their every move is being watched while they’re on a work trip. It’s about providing clear boundaries that help to make their trip go smoothly. With a robust corporate travel credit card policy, business travelers will feel supported, not restricted. 

Let’s take a look at some of the key pillars that will inform your program:

Defining boundaries

Setting boundaries for how the credit card should be used will avoid any doubts or confusion, allowing travelers to focus on making the work trip a success. 

As a business, there are several things you may want to define. Will you allow travelers to purchase alcohol on a company credit card? Are you setting per diem rates for meals? Is there a spending cap when entertaining clients? These are all things to think about now to avoid the worker having to contact their travel manager while away.

Setting record-keeping expectations

Any worker with a company credit card will need to be responsible for keeping track of purchases, logging them in the appropriate place, and tracking receipts. Your business will have its own process for logging expenses, and workers must be comfortable with this before embarking on a work trip.

If you use a travel platform like Perk, some of this shadow work can be removed with features like uploading photographs of receipts, which are then automatically reconciled with credit card transactions. 

Security best practices

A recent survey shows that 61% of American credit card holders have been victims of fraud, with 51% experiencing it multiple times. Your program should include guidance on financial safety while traveling, fraud prevention best practices and instructions on what to do if the card is compromised or lost. 

All corporate credit cards should be set with a secure PIN, and ideally, temporary virtual cards should be generated for specific one-time purchases.

• Use your PIN

• Consider temporary virtual cards for one-time purchases

• Report lost or stolen cards immediately 

• Avoid public Wi-Fi for payments

• Make sure 2FA is enabled for banking logins

• Use a money belt

Consequences for misuse 

Travelers should be absolutely clear on the uses and restrictions of their corporate credit card when traveling for work. However, grey areas may still arise, and in the unfortunate event that a worker has deliberately misused a company credit card, there needs to be a policy for non-compliance. Work with your HR teams to establish the process and ensure this is communicated to all workers with a credit card.

Defining allowable expenses

Allowable expenses will vary from business to business, and even within job roles. A group of sales executives who have to entertain clients nightly will have different spend expectations than an on-call engineer who is working alone. 

Avoid ambiguity for your team by defining boundaries early on, outlining exactly why types of expenses are allowed. 

If allowable expenses are of particular concern, businesses may want to opt for the use of P-cards over corporate credit cards. These are sometimes known as purchasing cards or procurement cards, and are a highly customizable type of business card that has pre-defined limitations, chosen by the company. 

This can include things like daily spend limits, or spending might be restricted to certain suppliers or spend category types. 

Your corporate travel credit card program might include the use of P-cards for some types of travel expenses. You can find out more about the differences between corporate credit cards and P-cards in this detailed guide.

Automation for less shadow work

One of the key benefits of using corporate credit cards for travel spend is the ability to integrate them into your existing systems and processes. With a travel management solution such as Perk, invoices, expenses, and card transactions from work travel can all be managed within one platform, reducing the admin burden on finance teams and travel managers.

At Perk, we call this extra administration shadow work, and when it comes to managing work travel expenses, it can soon become a cycle of follow-ups, document-chasing clarifications, approvals, corrections, and reconciliations.

Here are some benefits to consider when it comes to automation and reducing shadow work:

Data Flow

Human error in data entry is a common issue. Globally, businesses spend half a million dollars and nearly 3,000 hours correcting errors in expense reports every year. By integrating corporate travel credit cards with your expense management system, the data is exchanged between the card provider and your systems, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the potential for human error.

Automated reconciliation

By using corporate credit cards that integrate with your finance platform, transactions are captured in real-time and automatically categorized, helping to manage cashflow and speeding up expense reporting. 

Real-time expense insights

By capturing travel expenses in real-time, your finance teams get up-to-the-minute insights into company spending, which is useful for transparency, review, and cash flow management.

Reporting and forecasting

Access to real-time data allows finance managers to predict future spend needs, identify trends and re-allocate resources. All of this helps to contribute to a company’s financial health and mitigate risk.

Creating the right corporate travel credit card program for you

Ultimately, your credit card program should reflect the needs of your business and make sense for the type of trips workers are making. Defining any grey areas early on will mean workers can get on with making their work trip a success instead of worrying about credit card admin.

Find out how adopting an integrated corporate card solution can streamline your finance processes for work travel, reduce risk, and reduce shadow work. Book a demo today.