Travel, purchase cards expire, new cards gear up

Set your alarm clocks: 6:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 29, 1998 will be an important moment in the lives of federal travelers and buyers.

At that moment, the 1.6 million travel charge cards, the 340,078 purchase cards and the 485,445 fleet cards government employees carry will expire, rendering all the cards useless. New travel, purchase and fleet cards will activate at 7:00 p.m. EST.

American Express will turn off its government travel cards. Wright Express will terminate its fleet cards. IMPAC cards will become a thing of the past. Federal agencies have spent the last 10 months negotiating new charge card contracts. All federal employees should have their new cards before Nov. 29.

The General Services Administration set the switch-over time for 12:00 a.m., Greenwich Mean Time on Monday Nov. 30, said Sue McIver, director of GSA's services acquisition center. That translates into 7:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 29.

Most federal employees will be at home digesting their Thanksgiving meals during the switch, but federal travelers who are on the road Thanksgiving weekend will have to follow special procedures for travel expenses.

First, travelers need to make sure they have both their expiring American Express travel cards and their new Visa or MasterCard government travel cards with them. Employees should receive their new cards by mail before Nov. 29. Instructions for activating the new cards by touch-tone telephone will be enclosed.

If an employee has a car rental overnight on Nov. 29, the traveler will use the American Express card to secure the rental, but pay for it with the new card, Avis and Hertz representatives said.

Air travelers whose initial trips fall before the switch-over but whose return trips fall after the change will use their American Express cards to pay for the flights. But if they have to make flight changes after 6:59 p.m. EST on Nov. 29, they will have to use their new cards to pay for any change, a Delta Airline representative cautioned.

In guidance for federal travelers, GSA gave two options for hotel expenses during the change. Travelers can check in with their American Express cards on or before Nov. 29 but check out with their new cards after Nov. 29. They can also make arrangements with the hotel to check out on Nov. 29 with their American Express cards and then check back in the same day with their new cards. A Marriott representative said either method would work.

Duncan Farrell, general manager of the Society of Travel Agents in Government, said it's important to emphasize that American Express cards cannot be used after the cut-off.

"There will be no exceptions come 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Nov. 29," Farrell said. "Any American Express government travel card is no longer usable."

GSA is also reminding employees to give merchants with whom they do business regularly their new account numbers. Employees should cut in half and destroy their expiring cards, a GSA guidance said.