Prior To Travel

Booking Travel

CONNEXXUS is a secure online booking tool used by the University of California. Travelers may take advantage of University-negotiated rates to save money on airfare, hotels and car rentals. Airfare can be booked and paid for directly using Connexxus and selecting the UC Travel card. Booking travel through Connexxus means that the traveler will not have to pay out-of-pocket for airline expenses, and will be directly enrolled in UC Travel Insurance, which is required for any travel outside of the state of California. If you are taking a business trip outside of California and you did not book your travel through Connexxus, you must register on the Risk Services website and complete the “UC Travel Registration” before an out-of-state trip occurs, otherwise you may not have insurance coverage through UCSB.

• Do not book travel through a third party travel agency (ie Travelocity, Expedia, etc). They do not always supply a sufficient receipt necessary for reimbursement. We suggest using the UC Connexxus system or booking directly through the (airline, car rental, hotel etc.) vendors themselves.
• Airfare must always be economy class
• Car rentals must be Intermediate class or less.
• Domestic lodging limit maximum is $333 per night. Meal maximum is $79 per day. See US Dept of State website for foreign rates. 

 

**Please click HERE for UCSB travel policy (G-28) if you have any questions about covered expenses while on business travel.

Receipts

Remember that Airfare, Lodging and Car Rentals require itemized receipts. Receipts are always required for any expense over $75. Meals less than $75 do not require receipts. Travelers cannot claim per diem for domestic travel, so please claim actual amounts you incurred. Save receipts, even when they are not necessary, until you have been reimbursed.

Foreign Travel

When traveling abroad, the traveler may use per diem rates for that city/country for meals and lodging. Anything over those rates may not be reimbursed without additional approval. Lodging always requires an itemized receipt, regardless of amount.

These rates can be found on the Department of State website: https://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp

Personal Time

If any part of the trip includes personal time, those expenses will not be covered. When personal time affects air travel please print a quote that shows what the cost of airfare would have been for direct travel on business dates.  Submit the quote in addition to your actual airfare receipt when submitting your report.

Guest Travelers

If a traveler is not an active UCSB employee (ie. paid through UCPath), please email ERI Travel (travel@eri.ucsb.edu) with your name, address, phone number, and email address as well as the basic details of your trip (where, when, and for what project). The travel assistant will set up an account and provide the traveler with the information needed to submit a report upon return.