Air Miles

[greenking]

Are we allowed to use air miles earned from flying on Pussers business or do they have to be 'declared'?

G

 

[Geoff_Wessex]

Surely it's only the same as getting points on your 'loyalty' card when you get petrol - even on a 'duty trip'.

Which reminds me.... had a weekend in the Lake District back in March, and got some petrol at a garage just before starting back down south. Filled up, set off for the shop and the 'other half' decided she wanted to tell me about something else she wanted in the shop. Meantime, an OAP finished filling up and got into the shop in front of me....... and got a randomly generated !0,000 Bonus Nectar points!

 

[FlagWagger]

Are we allowed to use air miles earned from flying on Pussers business or do they have to be 'declared'?

I think you'll find the official line on this is "No" - individuals are not allowed to benefit from official travel (unless of course you're a politician or Government minister, in which case "Fill your boots!").

 

[PompeySailor]

From current DINs. Sorry. Blame it on an RN Warrant Officer who used to work in London booking flights for all London personnel. Put his Air Miles card on every single booking, charged with fraud.....

h. Complimentary vouchers. Crown servants travelling by air on Government business, paid for from public funds, must not make private use of frequent flyer bonuses that arise as a result of that expenditure
e.g. Air Miles, two-for-one or companion tickets, or equivalent schemes. They may, however, collect such bonuses to enable them to use the associated benefits (e.g. priority booking, special lounges) in respect of
official travel. The receipt of any benefits accruing from official travel must be recorded in Hospitality Books (see paras 12 - 14) which should be annotated to show that the bonuses have been notified to the Budget
manager, against the possibility that they may be used at a later date for official purposes. In the case of gifts or benefits given for using particular modes of transport, it is important that the mode of transport should be
chosen in accordance with Departmental guidelines on economy, and that a decision to travel in a particular way should not be taken in order to qualify for such gifts.

 

[greenking]

Thanks guys. A little naive of me to think the MoD would allow us any of the perks associated with conducting their business.

G

 

[Jenny_Dabber]

You got to fly business!!!

So not fair, economy for me! 10 hours on a frigging plane for a 2 days stop and return for the RN, think they would have been decent and given me business!

 

[PompeySailor]

J_D - you were shafted (as it were). You should have been given an upgrade for 10 hours. All you had to do was tell the Travel Desk that you needed to "hit the ground running" and you would have pulled the hot towels section. Or you should have flown in the company of a senior Officer.....!

 

[SailbadTheSinner]

From current DINs. Sorry. Blame it on an RN Warrant Officer who used to work in London booking flights for all London personnel. Put his Air Miles card on every single booking, charged with fraud.....

h. Complimentary vouchers. Crown servants travelling by air on Government business, paid for from public funds, must not make private use of frequent flyer bonuses that arise as a result of that expenditure
e.g. Air Miles, two-for-one or companion tickets, or equivalent schemes. They may, however, collect such bonuses to enable them to use the associated benefits (e.g. priority booking, special lounges) in respect of
official travel. The receipt of any benefits accruing from official travel must be recorded in Hospitality Books (see paras 12 - 14) which should be annotated to show that the bonuses have been notified to the Budget
manager, against the possibility that they may be used at a later date for official purposes. In the case of gifts or benefits given for using particular modes of transport, it is important that the mode of transport should be
chosen in accordance with Departmental guidelines on economy, and that a decision to travel in a particular way should not be taken in order to qualify for such gifts.

This may be true as far as it goes

However air miles are a personal contract between you and the airline - so this rule is completely unenforceable

 

[PompeySailor]

Sorry Sailbad, not true. As far as Air Miles bought with a transaction funded by public funds, you cannot own the proceeds in that you would not have been eligible for those Air Miles if you had not been funded by public money. The Air Miles are publicly owned, and are the property of the Crown. This has been enforced on a few occasions, and taken to a court of law - every time the MOD have won, the person using them has been found guilty of fraud, and the Airline companies have voided the accounts and in two cases that I know of, pursued the person for the cost of the flights. The contract between you and the company only exists for purchases that you make, not those for which you are refunded or paid by your company, unless your company makes an allowance for this - and in that case, they should be declared as "perks" to the Taxman. This also covers other loyalty cards. The rules are very clear and very specific - these are not purely MOD rules, these are rules from HMR&C which are legally enforceable. Having had dealings in this area for over 10 years, I can state without fear of being proven wrong that if you earn Airmiles on a personal card by virtue of using public money, and you are caught using them, you are in the dwang. Deeply, and with no visible means of propulsion.

The key word, of course, is caught.

 

[Geoff_Wessex]

Look - do I have to give back those bathroom scales I got with my Esso card on duty trips back in 88 or what?


They bleddy lie anyway!

 

[PompeySailor]

G_W - Nah, as they were specially made for you, it would be pointless giving them back now. ;-)

 

[SILVER_FOX]

Maybe the MoD whould consider awarding Air Miles to personnel posted to Iraq ... as an incentive to go in the first place. Knowing them though they would probably caveat their use by only allowing you to cash them in for the return journey back to the UK.

 

[Reservist-Monkey]

If you use your card as a retrospective claim, you'll never lose a mile again and no-one will know

 

[PompeySailor]

I don't think too many people know when Airmiles get used anyway, you just have to be prepared in case it goes wrong (ie someone finds out). As most of our perks have been eroded over the years, grabbing a free flight to Glasgow hardly ranks high on the list of major crimes, does it?