bta business travel account

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American Express Business Travel Account

The American Express Business Travel Account (BTA) is a virtual corporate credit card with which you charge your company’s travel expenses through a central account at your business travel agency. All invoices are consolidated into one detailed account statement for simpler and more efficient monitoring. Thanks to electronic account statements with the total travel expenses for all your employees you achieve more efficient handling processes and massive cost savings as a result.

Just a few steps to your new American Express Business Travel Account:

Submit basic account application.

You can find the basic account application for the American Express Business Travel Account here.

You can activate BTA Online as a new client but also as an existing customer using the power of attorney form in the application.

Identification of basic account application signatories

Due to regulatory requirements, please attach a certified copy of the identification documents or simply use video identification.

Identification is required to open the basic account.

American Express Business Travel Account advantages

• Cost savings thanks to automated and centralized processes and billing
• Account statements with more travel data
• Flexible billing option
• Extensive insurance benefits for employees on business trips
• Simple linking to billing systems
• Possible to combine with other systems
• BTA Online (electronic statement) instead of paper statement

American Express Business Travel Account benefits

Digital services, american express® business travel account (bta) online easier checking and management thanks to electronic statement .

You can activate BTA Online as a new client but also as an existing customer. All you have to do for this is select the relevant fields on the power of attorney form under "II – INFORMATION REGARDING ACCOUNTIN G" as well as under "III – ADD NEW POWERS OF ATTORNEY / AMEND/CANCEL EXISTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY"  and fill them in accordingly.

By activating BTA Online, the authorized people defined by you on the power of attorney form, who are defined as BTA Online administrators, can view and manage the monthly statements under the respective basic account and completely do without any paper statements. We recommend nominating at least two BTA Online administrators to guarantee that the monthly statements are checked and paid on time in the event of absences.

American Express @Work

With the free American Express @Work, you enjoy worldwide access to all card transactions in a secure, password-protected environment and receive a comprehensive summary of your company’s Business Travel Account data. Updated queries and transactions are important cornerstones of an effective management information system. You have access to all the corporate card data at any time using the secure web application  www.americanexpress.ch/atwork .

• Different user access rights based on your specifications
• No additional software required
• Detailed analysis down to transaction level
• Up to 40 standard reports (@Work Core)

Data Services

Billing support files.

Billing Support Files are adapted technically so that they can be integrated into your accounting system. They provide much more information compared to simple paper statements. The amount of information required is defined and provided accordingly after assessment by the client. Thus meeting the requirements to electronically process all statements. Please arrange a consultancy appointment if you are interested in this solution.

The American Express Business Travel Account features a comprehensive insurance package to enable you to travel and shop without worries. Simply pay using your American Express Business Travel Account and you are well covered.

• Transport Accident Insurance
• Search, rescue, and recovery costs
• Luggage Insurance
• Travel information and advances

Liability Waiver – Fraudulent Card Use Insurance for companies

Corporate cards are a modern and secure means of payment. There are plenty of reasons to furnish your employees with a corporate card: Besides the many practical advantages, you also show that you appreciate and trust your employees by providing them with a corporate card. If this trust should be abused, then we are there for you and you benefit from the protection of the inclusive “Liability Waiver”, the Fraudulent Card Use Insurance for business clients.

Please refer to the General Terms and Conditions of Insurance (GCI) for the Liability Waiver to obtain all the details regarding the valid conditions of insurance for the Liability Waiver and insurance benefits (including sums insured and exclusions of liability).

Please refer to the General Terms and Conditions of Insurance for the American Express Business Travel Account to obtain the exact provisions (including sums insured and exclusions of liability).

Documents and Links

• Application
• Power of Attorney amendment
• Summary of benefits
• Identification of the beneficial owner
• Identification of the controller
• Information pertaining to foundations
• Clarification regarding domiciliary companies

Request personal consultation.

Finance Reports and Insights

American Express Introduces Enhanced Business Travel Account to Help Companies Manage the Reality of Business Travel

The Updated Platform Helps Simplify Business Travel

The enhanced Business Travel Account also features:

• The flexibility to set usage dates and pre-authorize spending limits at the time of booking, helping reduce fraud and encourage compliance with company travel policies.
• Improved traveler experience by providing options for more types of business travelers, including large groups, employees who do not have corporate cards and non-employees, such as job applicants and consultants.
• A simplified reconciliation process thanks to improved data files that capture reference fields defined by the customer, such as employee identification numbers and cost centers – available at no cost through the American Express @Work® platform. New global data files provide more visibility into both billed and unbilled content.

“We understand that corporate travel is a major expense for many companies and can be a time consuming and difficult process to manage,” said Gint Balodis, Vice President, Global Product Management, American Express Global Commercial Payments. “Our improvements in the enhanced Business Travel Account further centralize control into one account, making the process of purchasing, tracking and reconciling travel expenses easier than in the past.”

The enhanced BTA is now available in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. For additional details on enrollment please visit here or contact your American Express representative.

About American Express Global Commercial Payments:

Through its Global Commercial Payments division, American Express offers a suite of payment and lending products that help businesses and organizations of all sizes gain financial savings, control and efficiency. Global Commercial Payments provides solutions for travel and everyday business spending, cross border payments, global currency solutions, and business financing.

About American Express

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.

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Business Travel Account. If a company has a corporate credit card program where certain purchases such as air, rail, and associated transaction fees are centrally billed to one “master” credit card number, this is referred to as the Business Travel Account (BTA). This account allows for the purchase of certain air travel expenses for corporate employees without the need to issue individual credit cards to each traveler for the designated expenses. Because the account has no physical card, it’s often called a “ghost card”.

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Research Foundation Business Travel Account (BTA)

On this page:.

UB has a business travel account program with American Express that conveniently allows airfare expenses to be billed directly to your Research Foundation award.  

Eligibility

UB faculty and staff affiliated with the grant specified on the BTA application are eligible to apply. A BTA might already be in place for your department. Check with your department administrator. 

Applying for a BTA

• Complete the form.
• Sign and obtain your supervisor's signature.
• Mail completed form to:

Travel Services 208 Crofts Hall Buffalo, NY 14260

How to Use the BTA

The BTA is set up through American Express and Stovroff & Taylor Travel, Ltd., a local Minority and Woman-owned Enterprise (MWBE) travel agency, but there is no need for a physical credit card to be held by the traveler. UB travelers make airfare arrangements directly with the travel agency, who will bill the award specified on the BTA application.  

• Only travelers with a direct or budgeted relationship to the project may travel on the award and can be charged to the BTA.
• Only trips with purposes directly related to, and allowed on the award, will be charged to the BTA.
• Fly America Act (use of domestic air carriers) must be followed for all federally sponsored awards. 
• Only coach airfare can be charged to RF funds (and the BTA).
• All trips booked to the BTA must fall within the award period for the project being charged.
• Canceled trips are not allowable RF expenses and any costs incurred must be returned to the project.
• Misuse or improper use, including not abiding by the above, may require repayments to the BTA being obtained directly from the employees personal funds.   
• Improper use of RF funding may risk future sponsor funding.

BTA Reconciliation

The BTA statements are emailed on a monthly basis from the Travel Office to the primary contact listed on the BTA. 

• The primary contact is responsible for verifying that the charges on the American Express statement match the charges placed on the account.
• Once the charges are verified, the primary contact signs the statement, scans it to an email address and emails it back to the Travel office.
• After the reconciliation is verified, the monthly BTA charges will be posted to the travel expenditure category.

Employees use the travel and expense reimbursement system to submit an expense report for out-of-pocket business travel expenses.

• On the expense report header, indicate in the  Comment  field that airfare was paid to the RF BTA.
• Do not add the expense type Airfare to the report since it was purchased with the RF BTA, not out of pocket funds.
• Attach the airfare receipt and itinerary to your report as supporting documentation. It is recommended to attach the boarding passes, not required.

Non-Employees

The host department or unit should submit the Non-Employee Travel Voucher for Research Foundation   to reimburse non-employees for out-of-pocket business travel expenses.

• Attach the airfare receipt and itinerary to the travel voucher. It is recommended to attach the boarding passes, but not required.
• Indicate in the transportation box on the voucher that the RF BTA was used, but do not include the amount.
• Mail it to the Travel Office, 208 Crofts Hall.  

Contact an Expert

Meg Mitchell

Travel, Financial Management

Phone: 716-645-4535

Email: [email protected]

Related Forms, Guidelines and Training

• 1/3/22 Business Travel Account Application for Research Foundation (RF)
• 2/24/22 Non-Employee Travel Voucher for Research Foundation (RF)
• 1/3/22 Travel Receipt Envelopes Request
• 10/16/23 Travel Guidelines
• 1/10/23 Procurement Training Request

If you need emergency assistance while in travel status, please call the local police in that area and UBPD, (716) 645-2222.

International Travel Insurance

• For travel with state funds: CHUBB International Advantage is available for SUNY faculty and staff.
• For travel with RF funds: GeoBlue is available to individuals (other than independent contractors) traveling on official RF business.
• Contact Meg Mitchell for more information on these programs.

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What does BTA stand for?

Bta stands for business travel account.

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BTA (Business Travel Account)

A specialized account or payment solution provided by credit card companies for managing business travel expenses.

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I'm a high school senior who commutes an hour by train to school every day. It's helped prepare me for the real world.

• Four years ago, I started commuting to my high school — which is an hour away — by train. 
• Sometimes the commute got difficult, especially when trains were delayed or canceled. 
• But I learned how to be independent; I'm taking this real-life experience with me to college.

I hadn't thought about how cushy life was in grade school when my father drove me 10 minutes to school every morning.

But that ended when I started high school at The Hudson School, which is 25 miles away from my home in Madison, New Jersey.

Unlike the schools around me, The Hudson School offers an urban campus and an extremely small class size — only 26 people in my grade. When I learned it also offers courses not found in a traditional high school curriculum, such as Ancient Greek and military history, I knew it was right for me.

But with it being so far from my home, I have to travel every day to and from school via New Jersey Transit . It takes me a little under an hour to get to school and up to 75 minutes to get home.

Now that I'm a high school senior , I look back fondly on my four-year commute. I learned a lot on those trains — but not all of it was great.

When I first started commuting to school, it was nerve-racking

I thought I knew what I was getting myself into on that first day of freshman year — but after waking up at 6 a.m. and planning to make a 6:45 train, I realized that I would have to make some changes. I started to adjust my routine: I packed my backpack the night before so it was ready to go in the morning, and I ate my breakfast on the train.

Right off the bat, my parents were concerned about me getting on and getting off the train in the dark — not to mention the discomfort of being surrounded by strangers every time I rode the train because this was the fall of 2020, and COVID was still very much a concern.

Related stories

Meanwhile, I realized I was on my own for the first time. I had to make sure to have my tickets ready and deal with difficult conductors. In the beginning, I was nervous.

But I quickly got into the swing of things that first year and learned to enjoy my commute . Four years later, those commute jitters are long gone.

I learned real-life experiences from a young age

It didn't take long before I developed a routine and became familiar with the ins and outs of navigating trains , and I found that I could even sit with some friends from school who also commuted.

At first, I felt I was wasting valuable time just sitting on the train, so I soon started using my time productively by completing my homework . Because of this, I have learned to work in almost any environment.

I also learned a whole new set of skills. I have to ensure I have my tickets ready every morning and that I am on the right track for my train — little things that I hadn't really had to worry about before.

Additionally, I had to think on my feet and learned how to handle the unexpected. I know which stations offer transfers, so if I missed my connection, I knew where I can catch a different train. I also have learned to read a timetable, which came in handy when I was in Europe last summer .

But commuting every day isn't always easy

Commuting did take a toll on my social life . Some of my classmates didn't live so far from the school, so they didn't have to worry about a long commute. They were able to stay in Hoboken and hang out. Whenever I joined them, I had to keep the train schedules in my mind. The longer I hung out, the later I would get home, cutting into my homework and study time.

Commuting by train also means inherent mechanical issues. There have been days when it has taken me hours to get to school. It can get exhausting and draining; there are some days when I wish I could just get home as quickly as my peers who live in Hoboken and not have to deal with mass transit .

Plus, there have been times when I needed to get to school on time — for a big project or test — and then my train would suddenly get canceled or experience a delay. On those days, I struggled the most and had to get creative. Sometimes, I had to rent a bike to finish the commute. Other times, I had to get to another station to catch a faster train.

I imagined how much easier it would be if I were a regular high school student who took the bus to school.

Still, I'm glad I got to commute 25 miles every day before heading off to college

Looking back at the past four years, I realize commuting has helped prepare me for the real world — outside high school.

Now that I am about to head off to college, I feel that these experiences have helped me learn lessons about time management and problem-solving that I might otherwise not have learned.

It may have been a struggle at times, but I know that it was all worth it for the education I got in the end.

Watch: The true cost of turning America's school buses electric

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American Express ®  Business Travel Account

Multiple air travel expenses. All on one bill.

Simplify your travel expenses into one centrally billed account for increased visibility and effective expense management.

Managing your company’s air travel bills will no more be a problem

Managing air travel expenses can be extremely cumbersome, impacting your administration costs, control and data quality. American Express ® Business Travel Account is a centralized billing account that consolidates and controls your company’s air travel expenses incurred by your employees. 

Make air travel more seamless with a Business Travel Account

Maximise control.

Centralise spending into a single account and effectively monitor traveler’s expenses without issuing individual Cards. 

Consolidate booking and reconciliation into a single platform with account level rich data. 

Insure travelers

Access to business travel accident insurance with air accident cover of ₹30 lakhs 1 .

Drive savings

Take advantage of extended payment periods and fixed billing cycles, negotiate better deals using accurate data and get refunds seamlessly into your account.

How does the Business Travel Account work?

Account Set-up

We work with your Travel Management Company (TMC) to set up your account and capture the data you need.

Book Travel

Your employees book their air travel through your TMC and advise the company’s reference fields (cost centre code, etc.). Your TMC then bills the employees’ air travel to your BTA.

Receive Statements

You will receive daily unbilled transactions and monthly statements via American Express @Work 3 , our online tool for expense management. You’ll see all air travel expenses in one simple PDF or Excel document that's easy to filter and sort.

Reconcile Account

You send a single monthly payment to American Express, reducing time spent reconciling individual payments and extending your payment period up to 51 days 2 .

Case study: a consulting firm streamlines its process and cuts costs

The Challenge:  A top-tier consulting firm was struggling with outdated and cumbersome travel reconciliation processes. For each trip taken by a field rep, Executive Assistants (EAs) had to spend hours entering data such as traveller names, cost centres and trip details into an Excel spreadsheet, then matching them with specific transactions. The Finance team then had to double-check all this data before reconciling. The process took up to three weeks and was often closed out just as the next monthly billing statement was released.

The Solution:  The American Express Business Travel Account allowed the firm to easily capture traveller names, employee IDs and cost centres for each transaction, dramatically cutting down on administration time for both the Finance team and EAs. As an added bonus, the Finance team was able to contain costs and protect against fraudulent transactions by setting controls around when and how much employees could spend on travel—putting both time and money back into the company.

Start your Business Travel Account application

Fill out the application to request a call back from a Specialist to help you find the best solution to suit your business needs.

Not an American Express Cardmember?

Sign up for an American Express ® Corporate Card programme to open up a world of perks, tools and opportunities.

What is a Business Travel Account?

The American Express BTA is a single Account that consolidates multiple air travel expenses incurred by your employees into one centralized statement for simpler reconciliation.

What are the advantages of using an American Express Business Travel Account?

For employees, a Business Travel Account (BTA) can save time and provide peace of mind by eliminating the need to use personal Credit Cards and be reimbursed by the company for business travel. Additionally, flights charged to the Business Travel Account attract complimentary Business Traveller Insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and access to emergency legal and medical support while traveling through the 24x7 Global Assist ™ hotline.

Can a Business Travel Account be used for international travel?

You can use your Amex BTA for domestic travel or use it internationally wherever American Express is accepted. Foreign transaction fees may apply.

What are the benefits for the traveller associated with a Business Travel Account?

• As travellers, your employees can significantly reduce their out-of-pocket expenses.
• They can also enjoy more convenience with a reduced need for cash advances and reimbursements. Since there is no reconciliation of air travel expenses at an individual level, your employees also get to save more time and avoid complex processes.
• In addition, travellers enjoy Complimentary Business Travel Insurance 2 of up to ₹30 lakhs apart along with coverage for non-air accident, lost baggage or passport.
• Travellers also benefit from our globally renowned service and support wherever in the world they go. They can get 24x7 access to legal and medical support in case of emergencies through Global Assist TM .

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Important Information

1. Insurance is provided and underwritten by ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, and is subject to the Terms and Conditions of cover. Exclusions and limitations apply. 

2. Manage payments by extending up to 51 days: Depending on when you make a purchase, and when your statement is issued.

3. American Express @Work is a business-to-business suite of online expense management solutions that enables you to deliver more effective supplier strategies, monitor compliance and streamline business processes.