Hotel Government Rates

[bcla]

Many hotels do have Government Contractor rate. Most of the Contractors DH works with are former/retired DoD Civilians and the only difference in their IDs is that now they have a colored stripe on it (I think green).

Not as a government contractor, but I remember working at a large company while legally being employed/paid by another company. And there was always a big stripe that denoted if one was a regular employee or a contractor. And there were little things that contractors couldn't take part in, such as complimentary beverages at the cafeteria.

 

[kiddo76]

There are 4 different types of CAC (cards). They vary in their level of access and are not all the same thing. My husband is active duty military and he can use his CAC as ID for boarding flights and gets free PreCheck by using his ID number as his KTN. He shows it at airports all the time. His CAC identifies him as a member of the armed services, not an affiliate of the government, as contractor CACs do.

I am familiar with CAC cards as DH is DoD civilian. His card does not have any stripes on it. He can also use his CAC for TSA Precheck, but he chooses not to for personal travel. DH believes his card should only be used for official business or when on government property. He prefers his employees use the same discretion with their cards. Mostly to reduce the risk of the CAC card being lost or stolen.

I wish he would use it for TSA. Then I could just pay for PreCheck for myself and we wouldn't have to do the TSA dance everytime we fly.

 

[DLgal]

I am familiar with CAC cards as DH is DoD civilian. His card does not have any stripes on it. He can also use his CAC for TSA Precheck, but he chooses not to for personal travel. DH believes his card should only be used for official business or when on government property. He prefers his employees use the same discretion with their cards. Mostly to reduce the risk of the CAC card being lost or stolen.

I wish he would use it for TSA. Then I could just pay for PreCheck for myself and we wouldn't have to do the TSA dance everytime we fly.

If using it for Precheck is allowed, why wouldn't he do so? The TSA checkpoints in airports ARE government property. It's no different than using the CAC to pass through the doors of any government building. It's a checkpoint, staffed by government employees.

 

[kiddo76]

If using it for Precheck is allowed, why wouldn't he do so? The TSA checkpoints in airports ARE government property. It's no different than using the CAC to pass through the doors of any government building. It's a checkpoint, staffed by government employees.

That's just how he feels. He is able to get access to the airport using his personal ID, so he prefers not to use his CAC. He will use it when he flies for work, but not for leisure. I guess he thinks just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

 

[DLgal]

That's just how he feels. He is able to get access to the airport using his personal ID, so he prefers not to use his CAC. He will use it when he flies for work, but not for leisure. I guess he thinks just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

Show him this. The second sentence is very clear about it being okay for DoD civilians to use their ID for Precheck on LEISURE travel. Straight from the source.

https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2016/06/01/your-dod-id-can-shorten-your-wait-airport
If I were you and my husband was that stubborn, I'd pay for Precheck for myself and let him get in the regular line.

 

[Kestryl]

You're not a government employee. You work for your contracting company as their employee. As such, you are not entitled to use a Government employee rate at a hotel for leisure travel.

You’re right, I’m not. I know that I get government rates while traveling for work. Supposedly our travel rules are identical to the department I’m contracted for, and we are expressly told that government offered discounts are only allowed for our official travel.

It sounds like direct government employees get discounts like the military. Interesting.

 

[Dizrissa]

My husband recently became a Federal Government employee and has traveled for work twice so far. He was told that he is not allowed to make his own travel arrangements for work trips. He has to fill out a form that explains the reason for the trip, the dates and his preferred airport. The form has to be approved by his direct manager. Then he sends it to the travel department and they make the arrangements. I wasn't aware that anyone except the government could actually book that rate. I would never think of trying it for leisure travel. I always book the AAA rate.

No, he can book the government rate when it’s on the discount list. Gotta have that ID but you can book at least 1 room at his discount. Some hotels it’s 2 max