Lodge card
Virtual payment card "lodged" with the travel agency: it centrally pays employees' tickets and hotels, with no out-of-pocket spending for travellers.
Definition
A lodge card is a company payment card, usually virtual, whose number is “lodged” (permanently stored) with the company’s business travel agency or booking platform. It centrally pays for business travel (train, flights, hotels, car rental) for all employees, without the card ever circulating and without travellers paying out of pocket.
In detail
In practice, the company opens a lodge card account with an issuer and entrusts the card number to its travel agency. Each booking approved under the travel policy is charged to this single payment method. The company then receives a consolidated statement of all transactions.
The benefits for the finance department:
- Zero out-of-pocket spending: employees pay neither their tickets nor their hotels; expense reports shrink to on-trip costs only.
- Centralised billing: a single statement replaces dozens of individual receipts, simplifying accounting reconciliation and VAT recovery on eligible items.
- Enriched data: statements carry detailed per-transaction data (traveller, cost centre, booking reference), usable for travel analytics and CSR reporting.
- Security: since the card never physically circulates and its use is restricted to the agency, fraud risk is reduced.
A lodge card does not cover the traveller’s on-trip spending (meals, taxis, parking): it is therefore usually combined with individual corporate cards or an expense-management solution.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a lodge card and a corporate card?
A corporate card is individual: each employee pays for their own travel expenses. A lodge card is collective and centralised: a single payment method, held by the company and stored with the travel agency, pays all travellers' bookings before the trip. The two are complementary.
Is a lodge card suitable for SMEs?
Yes, as long as the company books through a travel agency or platform able to host the card number. The setup pays off mainly when travel volume justifies centralising payments and billing.
Related terms
- Expense report: what the lodge card eliminates upstream of the trip
- Electronic invoicing: the digitisation of the related receipts
- Fuel card: the centralised equivalent for fleet spending
