Being a federal worker in Canada gives you a lot of benefits, some of which you might not expect. The American Express AIR MILES credit card is one of these perks. When you start working for the Canadian federal government, you are given an American Express AIR MILES credit card, which you are expected to use for all government-related travel. Giving you this credit card on behalf of the Canadian government will not change your credit score in any way, neither positively nor negatively.
The AMEX Bank of Canada makes the American Express AIR MILES credit card, which is only available to Canadian citizens. It was designed for people who travel often on Canadian Airlines. Canadian Airlines is owned by the Canadian government. Other airlines in Canada, two US airlines (American Airlines and Northwest Airlines), the German airline Lufthansa, and the Dutch airline KLM all work together with Canadian Airlines.
The most important rule is that employees must only use their own American Express AIR MILES credit cards to pay for travel costs. This is why each card is given to a specific employee and has his or her name on it. This directive does not mean, though, that employees can travel wherever they want. The rules for using the American Express AIR MILES credit card are very strict and are always followed.
You can't use your American Express AIR MILES credit card to buy things for yourself, and if you're caught doing so, you'll have to pay a lot of fees. Just as important, if you want to use your American Express AIR MILES credit card to pay for travel, you must first get permission from the right people in your government office. If you use your American Express AIR MILES credit card for travel without permission, there will be serious consequences.
If you use your American Express AIR MILES credit card to pay for travel expenses, you won't have to pay for them, as long as you got approval for the trip ahead of time in the right way. When you get your bill, you should ask for the money back. Then, you should use the money you got back to immediately pay off the whole balance on your American Express AIR MILES credit card. You can't miss payments or have balances on your credit cards.
Does this deal cut down on paperwork? The fact that each employee has his or her own American Express AIR MILES credit card should, in theory, cut down on a lot of paperwork. This has not been the case, though. The usual steps for getting approval for a trip ahead of time, making travel plans, and then submitting the paperwork needed to support requests for reimbursement are still in place. What has changed is that you no longer have to ask the government or yourself to give you money ahead of time to cover travel costs.
Even though there isn't really less paperwork, federal workers are still in a better position. With an American Express AIR MILES credit card, even office workers can stay in five-star hotels and travel all over the country many times a year. And with your American Express AIR MILES credit card, you can use all the other services that the card issuer offers to cardholders, whether they work for the government or not.
