I was recently fired from a company that I started. A good portion of expenses were put on my personal credit card, now that I've been fired there is a dispute on who owns the points moving forward. If they are indeed mine, can I be reimbursed for points used for company travel in the past?
Who owns the points on my personal credit card used for business
Answers
You own the points. It was your credit card and your risk.
One question to ask is if the company always paid you back in time for the monthly payment. Did you ever have to pay the expenses from your personal funds?
The company paying back on time is missing the point. The company is using the employee's resources....in this case, his/her credit limit. The company should NOT expect that the usage of employee resources is going to be FREE nor should it expect it's employees to do so. An employee owes the company his/her hard work...not the use of his/her personal resources. Remember, even if the company does NOT see it, the employee is taking some risk.
Although I believe that keeping the mileage PLUS a certain usage fee is fair (as you are accommodating or doing the company a favor)....Tell them you are charging them a 2%-3% credit limit usage fee (for every dollar charged to the account) and you can give them back the mileage.
Make this a third party transaction (say, another company willing to have the company use their credit limit) and it will be a different story. Why should we not treat our employees the same way?
I understand your point Emerson. My point was this: in asking whether the company paid them back in time, the poster could have more ammunition when dealing with their old company. The company could make the case that the risk was moot as they always paid the employee before the statement date. I'm not saying that's right of the company, but it could be a sticking point to getting things resolved.
"The company could make the case that the risk was moot as they always paid the employee before the statement date." Yes, they can but it is an inferior (if not ridiculous) case to make. What are they going to do next? Ask for a refund of the Line of Credit or drawdown fee from a bank who's loan balance they just paid off?
The point here is that we (CFOs/Finance professionals) are the ones executing policy and most of us are formulating these same policies. It is high time to change (or at least influence) our paradigms about the use of personal credit cards by our employees. I have even recommended the use of THANK YOU NOTES to employees after every reimbursement/payment to their credit card company.
This is still the underlying principle...
NO EMPLOYEE SHOULD BE FORCED/COERCED TO USE THEIR OWN RESOURCES/ASSETS FOR THE COMPANY'S CONVENIENCE/BENEFIT WITHOUT RENUMERATION OR CONSENT.
Once one accepts this principle, there is NO more ammunition needed. Everything else is just an excuse.
Amen, you parted ways and now they are just "putting salt in the wound". You need to be tactful, but there should be no dispute. I.E., "I enjoyed the opportunity to work at ...., but in terms of my person credit card for which I shouldered the risk, the points earned are my own. I wish (Your Company) name continued success
."