I will never forget the all-consuming rush of panic I felt when my credit card was declined on my second ever business trip.
I was 23 years old and making $23,000 a year. The company I worked for required that employees pay for business trip travel expenses upfront and submit receipts for reimbursements. Which, for a recent college grad making a laughably small salary was, in hindsight, wildly unethical. I had one single personal credit card—mostly for emergencies—with a limit of $1,500 because again, I was 23 making $23k. And when I checked in to the hotel for a work conference, the desk clerk discreetly and politely informed me that my card had been declined.
I went to my boss (who had no trouble checking in) to ask what I should do and his advice was “Put it on a different credit card.”
Sir. Sir.
Today we’re talking about traveling for work: How to not just survive, but thrive on a business trip. Because man, I really wish someone had given me this advice before I found myself frantically calling my credit card company to raise my credit limit in a random hotel lobby in Sacramento. If I can spare you all the indignities I endured while navigating my first business trip, then I will have passed the test, diminish, and go into the West!
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