GTCs transition on horizon for Airmen

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LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Major changes are coming to the Defense Department's government travel charge card used by Airmen while traveling on official business. 

First, the DOD contract with Bank of America will end soon. This means all holders of government travel cards will receive new GTCs from Citibank, the banking company distributing the new cards. 

"Citibank began distributing the new GTCs Aug. 1 and will continue to do so until Sept. 30," said 1st Lt. Justin Weeks, 56th Comptroller Squadron Financial Services officer. "However, these new cards will not be active and ready for use until Nov. 30. It is important for everyone to understand that they should not get rid of their current Bank of America travel cards until that time." 

If a travel card is not received by then, it may be because an outdated address is on file. Members who think their address of record is outdated should notify their unit's agency program coordinator immediately. 

The current Bank of America-issued cards expire at 11:59 p.m. EST Nov. 29. 

Verification of the new card may be done by phone or online anytime after Aug. 15. 

Activation information can be found on the card. 

As part of the receipt verification process -- and to use the new card -- Airmen must accept the cardholder agreement terms and conditions. 

"Luke personnel deployed or on temporary duty during that time period will need to transfer all charges to the Citibank card beginning midnight the day of the transfer," Lieutenant Weeks said. 

Otherwise, Bank of America cardholders will need to pay all outstanding, undisputed charges to their cards before Nov. 29. No credit balances can remain after that date and if the Bank of America card has one, people should call the phone number on the back of the card and ask that the balance be sent to them. 

Members on TDY during the card changeover can file a travel voucher in the traditional manner. They can pay their Bank of America card balance by going to the myeasypayment.com. To pay the Citibank card balance, members go to a Citibank Web site. Information on contacting that Web site will be issued in October. 

After the changeover, Bank of America will continue to accept payments for charges previously made on its cards. Charge limits on the Citibank issued cards and charging privileges will stay the same and APCs will have the authority to raise limits to meet mission requirements. 

For more information, call the 56th CPTS at (623) 856-6720.

Courtesy of 56th Comptroller Squadron and 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs