How to travel for work

How to travel for work

Many worry about how they will travel for work after filing bankruptcy since they no longer have their credit cards or access to good credit. While there may be some issues in terms of being issued a company credit card (in some cases, not all), there are a few things you can do to resolve these problems.

Talk To HR

Going directly to your human resources department is probably the best way to deal with any issues that may pop up when traveling for work.  Tell them about your bankruptcy and find out what strategies they use when an employee is traveling for work after bankruptcy. It’s most likely they have dealt with this issue in the past.

While your credit rating right after bankruptcy may not be good enough to qualify for a company credit card directly, your employer may offer certain alternatives.

Authorized User

By issuing you a credit card as an authorized user, your employer will take on the responsibility for the debt that you accrue on that card. This means that the employer’s credit rating (not yours) will be used when deciding to issue the card. As an authorized user, you can easily rent a car, book a hotel, and take a flight when traveling for work after bankruptcy.

Expense Account

Your employer may be willing to set up a separate bank account with a debit card that you can use while traveling for work. In most places, you can use the debit card the same way you would a credit card when conducting company business.

Cash Advance

Your employer may be willing to set up a cash in advance system.  You would need to research your trip in advance and estimate the amount of money you will need for travel expenses.  Your employer would provide you with a check/cash to use for travel and expenses.  Then you would need to be sure to keep receipts and document expenses so that you can reconcile the amount given to you with what was actual spent after your trip.  Talk to your employer as they may already have a system for cash advances in place.

Secured Credit Card

travel-paying-with-credit-cardYour employer can issue you a secured credit card right after bankruptcy. While many of these secured credit cards require a minimum deposit (such as $300), they may not have a maximum amount you can keep on the card. Therefore, an employer could issue a secured credit card with $1,000 or more, making it easy for you to handle day-to-day tasks while traveling for work.

Traveling for work after bankruptcy shouldn’t be a problem as long as you’re willing to plan.