Important Pre-travel Information
Account Limitations
CPRIT Accounts
Using a CPRIT account to pay for travel, including hotel charges, meals, or airfare, requires a second account to be listed on your RTA (Request for Travel Authorization), which will cover any charges that go over CPRIT's allowed maximums. For meal reimbursements, itemized receipts are required. If you do not have itemized receipts, you will not be able to claim meal reimbursements with CPRIT funds.
To view CPRIT's per diem rates, please see the GSA website.
Specific Circumstances
Personal Days During Business Travel
If your trip includes personal days, a flight comparison will be required that shows what the flight would have cost if the personal days weren’t included. The comparison flight should be saved on the same day your actual flight is booked. Save the comparison and include it with receipts when requesting reimbursement, the lesser of the two flights will be reimbursed. Any additional expenses incurred on personal days cannot be reimbursed.
Texas Travel
If you're traveling within Texas and plan to seek reimbursement for your lodging, please inform your hotel that UT is both state hotel occupancy tax exempt as well as Texas sales tax exempt. You may need to print and fill out both exemption forms in advance if requested by your hotel. Please be advised that neither of these tax charges should be listed on your hotel bill; if they are, you may be ineligible for reimbursement.
The Travel Process
Requesting Travel Authorization
SUBMIT AN ONLINE RTA
An RTA (Request for Travel Authorization) is required for all employees and will need to be submitted and approved prior to making travel arrangements. An RTA must be completed electronically through the Request Forms home page. Once you have logged in with your EID and password, select "Travel Authorization Request" under Expense Requests. Follow all instructions, including adding an account number to charge for expenses. When completed, assign the request to Molecular Biosciences Travel (00171). You will receive an email with your RTA number once your request has been processed and approved.
SUPERVISOR/ACCOUNT SIGNER APPROVAL
Students or lab personnel traveling on faculty accounts will need prior approval from their supervisor/PI before their RTA will be processed. For this approval to be on file, please have the account holder email MBS Payments with the following:
“I authorize (traveler’s name) to travel to (conference name and/or city) during (travel dates), using (account number).”
Booking Your Flight
You have three flight booking options once your RTA has been approved (Find out more at Travel Management Services):
- Concur Online Reservations-- one-time setup for quick and easy travel arrangements. Create your traveler profile and once approved you will be able to log in to book your flight, hotel, and rental car using a direct billed account or personal credit card (will require an RTA before approving airfare).
- Anthony Travel or Corporate Travel Planners-- UT official travel agencies. Please be aware that all business-related air travel must be arranged through Anthony Travel, Corporate Travel Planner, or Concur Online Reservations.
- Booking Your Own Flight -- You may use other online reservation tools if you can get a better price. However, you will still have to follow all university rules (economy class, etc.). To get reimbursed for booking your own flight, please write the following statement on your invoice, along with your signature and date: "Online selection is best value as consistent with institutional priorities." Please note, your reimbursement request may be denied without this statement.
Booking Your Hotel
You may make hotel reservations online through Concur, by contacting one of the university’s contracted travel agencies or by calling your hotel of choice directly. If two or more employees share lodging, University policy requires the expense to be divided equally between the employees. More information on making hotel reservations is available here. Please note there are lodging limits.
Rental Cars
UT has a list of contracted car rental vendors, which you can access on Travel Management's website. All contracted agencies include insurance with rental rates, as rental insurance is a mandatory purchase for all UT travelers.
To see travel reimbursement procedures, please check the reimbursements resources link to the left.