HEIDELBERG, Germany -- A new credit limit program will give official travelers
higher credit lines on their government travel cards starting Oct. 1.
The increase is part of the Department of Defense-approved Government Travel Charge
Card Credit Limit Increase Pilot Program. The program allows for a permanent increase
in the default credit amount from $5,000 to $7,500 for standard accounts and from $2,000
to $4,000 for restricted accounts. In addition, ATM cash withdrawal limits will increase
from $515 to $665 for standard accounts and from $265 to $365 for restricted accounts,
said Steve Bridges director of finance operations of U.S. Army, Europe's 266th Finance
Command.
"Airline tickets to the States can cost up to $1,500. Add to that $300 a week for a car
rental and $100 a night for a hotel room, and the traveler will have used $4,500 of his or
her $5,000 standard default credit limit without food, gasoline and airport shuttle
service," Bridges said.
An increase in the default credit limits will allow travelers to have sufficient credit to
cover all official travel expenses without having to request a temporary credit increase
before or during their travel, Bridges said. The cash and credit limit are scheduled to
expire Nov. 29, 2008.
Another change in the GTCC program went into effect Sept. 10 when Bank of America,
the Government Travel Charge Card contractor, began deactivating accounts that have
not been used in three years.
Approximately 578 Army in Europe GTCC accountholders could be impacted by this
account deactivation, Bridges said.
If a cardholder with a deactivated account is required to travel, the cardholder's Agency
Program Coordinator should contact the GTCC contractor to reactivate the account.
Bridges advises that all travelers check with their unit APCs to ensure their cards are still
valid and activated before starting a trip.
"It is just a prudent measure to confirm with the unit APC that the card is good to go
before starting a trip," Bridges said.
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