Citibank Government Travel Card Arrives Next Week

  • Published
  • By LtCol Charles Hutson, Comptroller
  • 174th Fighter Wing
SYRACUSE, Ny --  New Government Travel Cards will be arriving at your mailing address next week. The new travel card contractor is Citibank after Bank of America held the contract for 10 years. The Citibank cards will be mailed to New York addressees the week of 8 September. Being ready and aware of the new GTC is critical to individual personal readiness and subsequent mission effectiveness.

If you are a current Bank of America cardholder, the new Citicard will be mailed to the address on file with Bank of America. For security purposes, cards will arrive in a plain white envelope and will not have Citibank logos or any other identifying markings on the envelope......SO PLEASE DON'T ASSUME THAT IT IS JUNK MAIL OR AN UNSOLICITED OFFER!

The most important thing to do when you receive your card is to CALL THE NUMBER ON THE BACK OF THE CARD AND ACTIVATE IT. If you do not acknowledge receipt, your card will be considered lost or stolen and will not be ready for use when you go TDY.

Citicards WILL NOT be forwarded to a new address under any circumstances. If you recently moved (even if you have a forwarding address on file with the Post Office) you need to call the phone number on the back of your Bank of America card and change your address. Citicards will be re-sent to anyone who changes their address with Bank of America within the next two months.

You will also need to contact Citibank to generate a new PIN number for cash advances.

Bank of America cards are active until 29 November. Citicards will be active 30 November. Anyone traveling over the changeover period on 30 November will receive travel voucher guidance in the coming months.

Inevitably, some of you will question whether you are still required to use the card for official government travel. According to HHQ guidance and FWI 65-1, the INFREQUENT TRAVELER RULE is as follows:

IF YOU TRAVEL NO MORE THAN TWO TIMES PER FISCAL YEAR, YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A GTC.

Please note, traveling to the base on A.T. and staying in contract quarters IS considered traveling. If you think you fit the infrequent traveler criteria, you should contact your unit commander or squadron agency program coordinator (APC). Keep in mind, if you choose not to have the GTC, you still are NOT authorized a travel advance; your only source of cash will be from your personal funds until you file a travel voucher for settlement.

Bottom-line: Look for the card in the mail between 8-30 September and ACTIVATE IMMEDIATELY. Doing so is critical to personal readiness as well as unit mission readiness. Not to mention it will prevent a great deal of reactionary effort for you, your squadron APC, and the FM staff in the future. I thank you in advance for your attention and cooperation!