Company Credit Card own liability?

Giblets

Hi, just joined a company and have been given a company credit card, which is not unusual as I travel a lot for work. However... they ensure that cards have personal liability  (I have to fill in expenses and they pay my account which then pays the credit card.
I am struggling to see why this could be of any benefit to myself, especially as it is an Amex. If I get my own card I could gain other associated benefits with the card (loyalty points etc)...
any thoughts?

[Deleted User]

Ask them. They may or may not agree.

However, there is no lesser or greater benefit to you because it's an Amex. 

Giblets

Deleted_User said:

Ask them. They may or may not agree.

However, there is no lesser or greater benefit to you because it's an Amex. 

My bigger concern is that, should for some reason, the card not get paid, then Amex do have some eye wateringly high APRs,  would be good to get any fringe benefits for myself!

Sandtree

Giblets said:

Deleted_User said:

Ask them. They may or may not agree.

However, there is no lesser or greater benefit to you because it's an Amex. 

My bigger concern is that, should for some reason, the card not get paid, then Amex do have some eye wateringly high APRs,  would be good to get any fringe benefits for myself!

You are mistaking APR for interest rate... APR is the total cost of borrowing £1,200 for 1 year and includes any annual fees. Things like the BA Premier card has a 101% APR because of the £250 fee, if you were to remove the fee then the APR would be 24% which whilst at the higher end of normal is not exceptional or eye watering. 

Most business cards however are chargecards and not credit cards and as such have no interest rate

74jax

Giblets said:

Deleted_User said:

Ask them. They may or may not agree.

However, there is no lesser or greater benefit to you because it's an Amex. 

My bigger concern is that, should for some reason, the card not get paid, then Amex do have some eye wateringly high APRs,  would be good to get any fringe benefits for myself!

Is the card completely in your name, nothing to do with the company at all.  So in effect you could you use your own credit card of choosing and pay it off after the company pays you?  

Surely if the company don't pay you on time and interest is charged, the company pay that interest?

Sandtree

74jax said:

Giblets said:

Deleted_User said:

Ask them. They may or may not agree.

However, there is no lesser or greater benefit to you because it's an Amex. 

My bigger concern is that, should for some reason, the card not get paid, then Amex do have some eye wateringly high APRs,  would be good to get any fringe benefits for myself!

Is the card completely in your name, nothing to do with the company at all.  So in effect you could you use your own credit card of choosing and pay it off after the company pays you?  

Surely if the company don't pay you on time and interest is charged, the company pay that interest?

If its the same as my former AmEx corporate card its somewhere between the two... the employer has ultimate responsibility for payment and the card doesnt report to your credit record but in the first instance they do chase you personally for payment.

Some companies dont care what card you use others push you to use the corporate card; depending on how much travel you do, who you are paying for etc it can cause cashflow challenges if you are unlucky with timing.

The reason I got my corporate card (though it didnt turn up in time) was because at short notice I was asked to go to the US with 3 consultants for a fortnight. To avoid the consultancy charging VAT on the expenses I was asked to pay for all four of us and the flights  were almost £10k and then the hotel rooms nearly £10k and food/drinks on top. I got it all back from my employer, thankfully before the bills came due, but not everyone has personal cards with sufficient limits.

NBLondon

Sandtree said:

 but not everyone has personal cards with sufficient limits.

That's the key thing...  I had a corporate Amex when I was fairly junior and it was for that very reason.  It's being issued on the company's credit rating not yours so can carry a higher limit.

If you have an existing card you'd rather use (for benefits etc.)  and you're confident that the expenses system will put the money in your bank account before you have to pay off the card - then you should be able to go for it.

Sandtree

NBLondon said:
If you have an existing card you'd rather use (for benefits etc.)  and you're confident that the expenses system will put the money in your bank account before you have to pay off the card - then you should be able to go for it.

I'd clear it with the manager first before going down this route. Some small companies may well want the benefits themselves and large companies can have other considerations.

When working for a bank for travel/subsistence they were agnostic but for any other purchases you had a "purchasing card" and were not to use anything but that card if a company wanted up front payment rather than invoicing with payment terms. 

Unfortunately for our team PA they were tied to a cost centre and so she had 8 identical looking cards, one for each of the senior management team.

Savvy_Sue

We have corporate credit cards, and the application for a new card requires that the full balance is paid by the company, by DD. So no chance of the card not being paid. 

Sandtree said:

Unfortunately for our team PA they were tied to a cost centre and so she had 8 identical looking cards, one for each of the senior management team.

So she held everyone's cards? Ouch ... we are strictly not allowed to hand 'our' credit card to anyone else to use! 

And just a tip: where I work, use of the company card for anything personal is a potential disciplinary offence! So keep it somewhere you won't accidentally use it. Mine lives with my work mobile: sometimes means I don't have it on me when buying something for work, but I can claim back if I use my personal card. I also have a completely different PIN for it, which also reduces the risk of accidentally using it!