The Perk Lodge Card is a virtual card that can be included as part of your Perk business travel integration package to pay for travel booking expenses, including flights, train tickets, and other services rendered by a travel agency.

Manage travel expenses globally

Unlike Perk corporate cards, lodge cards don’t belong to a particular employee, but rather to the company. This allows you to manage travel expenses separately, using a single card for all travelers.

You can use your lodge card to book travel in Perk by adding the card to your payment profile. All card transactions are visible in Perk. You can then match lodge card payment transactions with the travel expense data.

The travel spend processor is responsible for creating and managing lodge cards for the company. Only the person who created the lodge card can access sensitive card data such as card number, expiry date, and CVV.

Restricted to travel expenses

As lodge cards are exempt from 3D Secure, purchases made with them are restricted to certain merchant categories, such as airlines, train companies, and travel agencies. When you add the card to a payment profile in Perk or another travel management platform, you restrict payments to flights, trains, and travel agency services.

The lodge cards can’t be used in hotels and rental cars to pay these merchants on-site. However, since you can book prepaid hotel rates on Perk where the merchant of record is Perk, these arrangements can be paid by the Perk Lodge Card.

Lodge cards compared to standard Visa cards

Lodge cards are exempt from 3D Secure authentication to ensure smooth transactions. It is important to know that they can exclusively be used with specific merchant categories within the travel sector:

• Airlines: For booking flights and related services.
• Train companies: For purchasing train tickets and rail-related expenses.
• Travel agencies: For travel bookings and itinerary management.

If you try to use your lodge card outside these categories, the transaction will be declined.

Restrictions on lodge cards and TMC bookings

The lodge cards have specific usage restrictions and can't be used directly to pay for hotels or rental cars at the location. However, many Travel Management Companies (TMCs) provide a solution:

• Prepaid hotel bookings: Certain TMCs, such as Perk, allow prepaid hotel reservations, with the respective TMC acting as the merchant of record.
• Since the payment will be managed by the TMC, the lodge card can be used, and the TMC will handle the hotel payment.

This differs from Visa cards, which may not have any restrictions and can be used to buy anything at a merchant that accepts Visa cards.

To match lodge card payment transactions, travel booking expense data is imported into Perk through a supported integration. As a result, the lodge card is not available as a stand-alone card. Instead, it is part of a travel package for payment processing, capturing, and managing travel booking expenses.

Lodge card security

Unlike the corporate card format of the Perk Card, which can be physical cards, lodge cards are virtual-only cards, which means that there are no physical lodge cards available. This has the advantage that the lodge card cannot be lost or stolen.

Lodge card and employee cards

The lodge card offers several advantages, making it an ideal choice for many businesses:

• No physical card to lose.
• Low fraud risk.
• Prevents unauthorized or rogue travel.

It is especially beneficial for companies with infrequent travelers. There’s no need to issue an employee card, and travelers can still use the lodge card to cover the most expensive aspects of their trip (e.g., flights, hotels) through a TMC.

The travel manager takes responsibility for managing and processing travel expenses. For industries like law firms, consulting firms, and financial services, where employees travel frequently, it makes more sense for a travel manager to take over travel bookings and expenses. The lodge card enables this process, as all company travel bookings can be managed by the travel manager.

Availability of lodge cards by country

Perk Cards are currently offered in accordance with the acceptance and service regulations of the issuer bank Modulr in: