Leave it to the government to give us all a travel card that charges fees for foreign currency conversion. Isn’t the point of a travel card to avoid fees like that?


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No, the point of the card is the kickback the wing/base gets for people using it.

No, the point of the card is the kickback the wing/base gets for people using it.

But does the kickback exceed the foreign transaction fee? I would assume no, as the government is incompetent.


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7 hours ago, ihtfp06 said:

But does the kickback exceed the foreign transaction fee? I would assume no, as the government is incompetent.


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Different colors of money.  I imagine kickbacks can be spent without congressional oversight.

9 hours ago, ihtfp06 said:

But does the kickback exceed the foreign transaction fee? I would assume no, as the government is incompetent.


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It does if the government makes the service members pay the transaction fee.

It does if the government makes the service members pay the transaction fee.

The transaction fee is reimbursable. ATM fees are not


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Whatever all these fees total up to = the amount of 1-2  taxi rides you took and don't have a receipt for.  Fuck them, you can play their game.

On 12/14/2018 at 6:47 PM, cragspider said:

For the conversion fees. I’d include what citi charged you for them. Not what Oanda uses. While it’s a nice site for daily rates I’d go off what citi actually charged you. Kind of hard to argue with what the card charges.  As for the rest good luck. I know you used to be able to claim atm fees along with cash advance fees, but knowing the penny pinchers in the gov they stopped that little niceity to save a few bucks 

Yeah screw their app, pull up your Citi statement it will have the currency conversion rate that you were charged. This is a clean kill on their buffoonery. If they persist you can mention the IG or maybe that you are refusing to sign a fraudulent voucher claim.

Does anyone have something that defines the Pentagon “local area” for the purposes of a TDY IAW JTR 0206?  I have a week-long course at Pax River, Maryland, 64 miles from the Pentagon, and the unit finance staff is telling me I have to commute there daily vs staying at a hotel and collecting TDY entitlements.  JTR 0206 says that if the TDY is outside of the permanent duty station “local area,” as defined by the “senior commander,” then TDY entitlements are authorized.  Thanks in advance.

Does anyone have something that defines the Pentagon “local area” for the purposes of a TDY IAW JTR 0206?  I have a week-long course at Pax River, Maryland, 64 miles from the Pentagon, and the unit finance staff is telling me I have to commute there daily vs staying at a hotel and collecting TDY entitlements.  JTR 0206 says that if the TDY is outside of the permanent duty station “local area,” as defined by the “senior commander,” then TDY entitlements are authorized.  Thanks in advance.

Sounds like it is time to turn in daily local vouchers for mileage. $68.48 a day round trip for 128 miles a day.

46 minutes ago, TMFan said:

Does anyone have something that defines the Pentagon “local area” for the purposes of a TDY IAW JTR 0206?  I have a week-long course at Pax River, Maryland, 64 miles from the Pentagon, and the unit finance staff is telling me I have to commute there daily vs staying at a hotel and collecting TDY entitlements.  JTR 0206 says that if the TDY is outside of the permanent duty station “local area,” as defined by the “senior commander,” then TDY entitlements are authorized.  Thanks in advance.

Dang...pick up a few good audio books for that drive....like Stephen King's The Stand....for your 2.5 hour each way commute.

47 minutes ago, TMFan said:

Does anyone have something that defines the Pentagon “local area” for the purposes of a TDY IAW JTR 0206?  I have a week-long course at Pax River, Maryland, 64 miles from the Pentagon, and the unit finance staff is telling me I have to commute there daily vs staying at a hotel and collecting TDY entitlements.  JTR 0206 says that if the TDY is outside of the permanent duty station “local area,” as defined by the “senior commander,” then TDY entitlements are authorized.  Thanks in advance.

I would argue it should be the same definition the leave reg uses which is outside your commuting distance to work.

We used to go TDY from Lunke to Mesa for sims. At the time the official line was that anything outside 50 miles was outside the local area so this process was standard. 

Edited January 4, 20196 yr by ViperStud
Spellin

Had a Finance SSgt go above and beyond for perhaps the first time in Finance history. He just...did everything for me, and it was magical.

He created my CTW worksheet for me and uploaded it into DTS, doped out my per diem for an upcoming TDY even though it had to be broken into different amounts about 69 times on the same voucher due to stupid rules, AND he told me to just email him my lodging receipts directly while I'm traveling and he'd take care of attaching them to my voucher and updating the per diem and etc. Also showed me the details of the exact schedule of partial payments that I can expect.

Bravo Finance SSgt, for today you were a true American hero* 🍺

*I retain the right to revoke all praise if I'm not actually paid as fragged and in a timely manner

4 minutes ago, nsplayr said:

Had a Finance SSgt go above and beyond for perhaps the first time in Finance history. He just...did everything for me, and it was magical.

He created my CTW worksheet for me and uploaded it into DTS, doped out my per diem for an upcoming TDY even though it had to be broken into different amounts about 69 times on the same voucher due to stupid rules, AND he told me to just email him my lodging receipts directly while I'm traveling and he'd take care of attaching them to my voucher and updating the per diem and etc. Also showed me the details of the exact schedule of partial payments that I can expect.

Bravo Finance SSgt, for today you were a true American hero* 🍺

*I retain the right to revoke all praise if I'm not actually paid as fragged and in a timely manner

Can't be active duty.....

1 minute ago, Champ Kind said:

Can't be active duty.....

Indeed the grass is greener on the Guard side.

Indeed the grass is greener on the Guard side.

Maybe they have finally cracked the code. A few old Ops folks were over there, but I don’t think any of them would be SSgt still.


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Thanks, all.  Logic prevailed.  According to the JTR, your AO has the discretion to approve TDYs outside of the PDS but within the “local area.”  There is a DODI that defines both for DC.  The NCR is considered the PDS and that includes just a few counties around DC.  The local area includes most of Maryland, much of Virginia, and even a few counties in West Virginia. 

22 hours ago, nsplayr said:

Bravo Finance SSgt, for today you were a true American hero* 

 

Sounds like a good time for a "Real Men of Genius" ad.

Out

Can anyone point me in the right direction for how to file receipts in foreign currency in DTS.

Example I am running into is: Paid cash in Euros for a train from the airport to the duty location. Receipt is in Euros. 

Searched via google and all I can find is the situation where you use your GTC because the GTC does the conversion for you and then becomes the source document. 

...and no, it wasn't that kind of train. 

9 minutes ago, mudhen69 said:

Can anyone point me in the right direction for how to file receipts in foreign currency in DTS.

Example I am running into is: Paid cash in Euros for a train from the airport to the duty location. Receipt is in Euros. 

Searched via google and all I can find is the situation where you use your GTC because the GTC does the conversion for you and then becomes the source document. 

...and no, it wasn't that kind of train. 

There is a way to set the conversion rate, so you could look up the conversion rate for that day or use current. Alternatively, do the conversion yourself and claim the dollars. Assuming more than $75? If less than $75, do the conversion and claim the reimbursement for the appropriate dollar amount without receipt required. 

If a receipt is required, I always pen and inked the conversion math onto the receipt (including any foreign transaction fees) before I scanned and uploaded. Then claimed everything in good ole USD. 

26 minutes ago, SurelySerious said:

There is a way to set the conversion rate, so you could look up the conversion rate for that day or use current. Alternatively, do the conversion yourself and claim the dollars. Assuming more than $75? If less than $75, do the conversion and claim the reimbursement for the appropriate dollar amount without receipt required. 

ah yes...less than 75 USD...didn't consider that. Tickets were 30 euro one way...so well under. thanks. 

So I have a feeling active duty finance took advantage of their last opportunity to screw up my pay on my way out the door. I separated last week, yet still received a full paycheck today. I was under the assumption that I would only be paid for the few days on active duty this month, and that it would take several weeks to calculate and pay out. Anyone else have this issue before?

I feel like just keeping the extra $3k and making them fight me for it.


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If you really want to fight them you’ll have to change bank accounts. They can still reach into your direct deposit account long after you’re gone. 

There should be a statute of limitations on the government collecting pay errors.