The Instant Card will be a virtual Travel Card, available with a smartphone app, and designed for one-time travel needs of guests traveling on behalf of the university.

Instant Card Overview

What Is It?

• It's a virtual VISA credit card that can be used with suppliers that accept VISA for official travel purposes.  In order to accept the payment on the card, the merchant must accept touchless payments.

Who Is It For?

• The card is primarily for guest travelers who are traveling on behalf of the university for official business purposes (teaching, research, public service, patient care).
• It can also be issued to a student/student employee traveling on behalf of the university.
• It is generally not designed for university employees.  University employees should apply for the university Travel Card.

Implementation Date

• The Instant Card program is tentatively scheduled for implementation in early December 2025.

Benefits

• Relieves travelers of most up-front, out-of-pocket expenses.
• Reduces/removes need for a cash advance.
• Safer than carrying cash.

Request Process

• Requests for a card will be made using the AggieExpense Request feature by a UC Davis departmental employee:
  • The requester will be required to identify the time period the card should be active (specific start and end dates), as well as the maximum dollar amount allowed on the card.
  • A new request should be created for each travel event. For example, if the same guest travels to Washington in January, and to Vermont in March, a separate request should be created for each travel event.
• After the request has been approved in AggieExpense, the guest traveler will receive an automated email to set up a user account with US Bank, and then they can assign the card to the virtual wallet on their smartphone.

Using the Card

• The guest traveler will use the card as they do other credit cards for all official travel purposes.  NOTE: The card may not always work with rental car agencies and/or hotels. If the card is not accepted by a supplier, the guest traveler may use their own credit card and then get reimbursed post-travel.

Expense Reconciliation Process

• The card expenses will automatically import and appear in AggieExpense in the non-employee profile.  The department delegate will then log into the guest profile and complete the report on behalf of the guest traveler.  This includes assigning the expenses to the appropriate expense category and chart string and completing the reconciliation process, which is the same one that is also used for the Travel Card.  As needed, out of pocket expenses can be added to the same report that includes the card expenses.  

Reporting

• The following Cognos reports can be used to track/manage Instant Card expenses:
  • AEE-418 AggieExpense Unreconciled Card Expenses Report
  • AEE-419 AggieExpense Report Lookup

Special Note on Preferred Booking Program and Hotel Direct Billing

UC Davis travel arrangers will often use the direct bill option with the Preferred Booking Program (PBP) for paying for hotel reservations for guest travelers.  Please note that the Instant Card program is replacing the direct bill side of the Preferred Booking Program (PBP). 

• Local hotels that are part of the PBP will still provide a discounted nightly rate.
• Links to the hotel websites to book with the discount will be provided on our website.  The PBP form will no longer be needed.

Questions?

• Reach out to the Expense Help team at expensehelp@ucdavis.edu.