What problem does it solve? The federal government and the private sector have discount programs with various airlines. And the State of NJ? We are still paying for all air tickets at full retail price, and not utilizing the perks of airline rewards and award miles for cost efficiency. We are missing out! By participating in the airlines' discount programs and utilizing airline rewards and award miles for airfare purchases for out of state official business travel, it improves cost efficiency and saves taxpayer money. What is your solution and who does it apply to? By participating in the airlines' discount programs and utilizing airline rewards and award miles for airfare purchases for out of state official business travel, it improves cost efficiency and saves taxpayer money. It applies to every employee who needs to travel for state business. What is the anticipated impact? It improves cost efficiency and saves taxpayer money.
Yes! We should be utilizing any and all cost-savings programs that are available to us as an agency.
A pragmatic idea which has promising potential
I agree; this is another way to save $$ for the State of NJ.
Thank you Alicia Strunck for suggesting that this idea could be applied to other government levels, including the federal as well.
I agree and think this could be extended to hotels, as well. Why have the state pay for 5 nights at a hotel for an employee if a rewards program might offer a free night after 3 or 4 continuous stays.
Makes sense, no reason why we shouldn't use the rewards if they're provided to the state anyway. Cost efficiency is key.
Like the corporate programs we have with Hertz and Enterprise rental cars, corporate discount programs with airlines can also be arranged. As a matter of fact, the Federal government do have discount programs offered by various airlines. It can be done for the state level as well.
Unlike in the case an employee purchases his/her own air tickets for business travel and get reimbursed from the employer later, the employee could claim the rewards and miles for personal use. With a corporate discount program, since the airfares are paid by the government credit card, the associated rewards and miles can be linked to the corporate accounts (instead of individual passengers) to be used for future purchases of new airfares.
There are concerns for potential additional work loads and staff time which may not result in a huge saving for the State. Guess what? We all know it is a good idea for money saving. It’s just a matter of fact how to implement it for overall efficiency. There is always challenges along the way implementing new ideas. That’s when the experts come in to help – maybe rearrange / simplify our current process and help achieving overall cost and process efficiency. Everything starts with just an idea
The federal government and the private sector have discount programs with various airlines. And the State of NJ? We are still paying for all air tickets at full retail price, let along not utilizing the perks of airline rewards and award miles for cost efficiency. We are missing out!
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