Brex travel flight bookings

Booking options

Basic economy

Brex travel offers basic economy inventory in the US. Basic economy has the lowest fares in the economy cabin and comes with more restrictions than the standard economy fare. Although basic economy appears less costly, the cost of basic add-ons can sometimes equal or surpass standard economy fares. Typical restrictions of basic economy include but are not limited to:

• Seat selection
• Flight change/cancellation
• Priority boarding options
• Voluntary changes, including same-day changes
• Traveler status upgrades
• Restrictions surrounding carry-on luggage

Low-cost carriers

Brex travel provides access to low-cost carriers such as Ryanair in EMEA, or Spirit and Frontier Airlines in the US. Ryanair, in particular, mandates that all bookings made through Brex travel be manually added and managed via the traveler's Ryanair profile in Ryanair’s mobile app or desktop page. This is required for online check-in. Ryanair flight modifications and cancellations will be processed via Ryanair and not through Brex travel support. Additionally, any changes or cancellations made through Ryanair may not show up in Brex travel. For more information, please contact Ryanair support.

Booking details

Seat selection

Seat Request: When booking through a travel management company like Brex travel, selecting a seat sends a request to the airline, which is only finalized once the airline confirms it. Delayed Access: You may be able to select a seat after the booking is confirmed, choosing from those that are left on the flight. Inconsistent Seat Selection: If the booking is part of a codeshare flight, seat selection may not be consistent across different legs of the journey. Limited Availability: Seat selection might be limited to specific classes or sections, providing fewer choices than usual. Seat Selection Changes: The selected seat request may be altered at the airline's discretion if the aircraft is changed before departure or requested seats are no longer available.

Codeshare

Codeshare occurs when two airlines partner to resell each others’ inventory. These fares are based on which airline operates the flight and which one sells the ticket. While codeshare provides flexibility, they may be limited when booking through a managed travel solution like Brex travel. Availability: When a flight search contains codeshare flights, the booking tool may not display all available options or the most convenient connections. Seat map: The booking tool might display the most current seat maps or may restrict seat selection entirely for codeshare flights. Disruptions: In case of schedule changes or disruptions, the booking may not be able to seamlessly accommodate passengers, particularly when the operating and marketing airlines have different policies. Loyalty Programs: Status perks, such as upgrades or priority boarding, might not be recognized or applied when the marketing and operating airlines are different. Seat Selection Changes: Ticket issuance may take longer than usual. This could be due to the partnership between the two airline. Modifications: Changing or canceling a codeshare flight can be more complex due to variations in airline policies. Check-in: You may need to check in with the operating airline, not the one you booked through.

Comparing Prices

To compare prices, you can filter by airline if you are looking for a specific booking. Alternatively, you can start with the lowest price filter. Select the same fare and compare prices at checkout, where they'll be updated. You can report higher prices by clicking the price reporting tool and filling out the required fields.

Booking a trip

After enabling Brex travel on your account, all employees with access to travel spend limits will have the ability to book a trip. Depending on the settings put in place by your admin, you might be able to use a personal card for bookings and request reimbursement later. Otherwise, the card assigned to your travel spend limit will be used as a payment method. Note: Per our Platform Agreement, Brex travel can only be used for business-related travel. Step 1: In your Brex dashboard or mobile app, click Trips to start a new trip. Step 2: If you want to book for a guest (an individual who isn’t a member of your Brex account), change Booking for myself to Book for a guest using the dropdown arrow. Step 3: Go to the Flights tab and fill in the trip details, such as location and dates. Step 4: Select your spend limit under the Book with dropdown menu and click Search. Note: If there is no travel spend limit listed, select Request a spend limit. Once your request is approved, you can use that spend limit to book travel. Step 5: Select your flight type: round trip, one-way, or multi-city. Enter your search criteria, and click Search. To narrow or change your search results, use the filters at the top of the page. Select the flight you want to book by clicking on the price > Select. Step 6: Review your booking details, fill in Traveler details, Seat & Baggage selection, then select Next. If you choose to book on behalf of a guest traveler, fill out their information here. A popup may alert you that the travel you are booking is out of policy, is a separate ticket booking, or is nonrefundable. Continue on to review your booking. If necessary, you may need to select an out-of-policy booking. Step 7: Click Book flight to complete your booking. Depending on the settings put in place by your admin, you might be able to use a personal card and request reimbursement later. Otherwise, the card assigned to your travel spend limit will be used as a payment method. Admins can also use your reward points to pay. Note: Airline loyalty points/miles cannot be used to book flights via the Brex travel platform. We recommend that you work directly with the airline to redeem loyalty points outside of Brex travel. Once your flight is booked, you can add a hotel and/or rental car to your trip by clicking Add another reservation to trip.

Viewing booked trip details

You can view upcoming and past trips you’ve booked in your Brex dashboard or app. Outside of your own personal trips, managers can also view trips they manage as a spend limit owner in the dashboard, while account, card, and travel admins can view all booked trips across your organization.

Flight travel policy rules and management

Policies are a set of rules that a manager, account admin, card admin, or travel admin can set for booking travel with Brex. Essentials Policy admins can set up spending rules that flag travel-related merchant and category expenses (such as airline expenses) for review if they’re over a certain amount. PremiumEnterpriseSmart card Admins can customize rules. For example, you can restrict employees from flying certain airlines or sitting in certain cabin classes. 

Set spending limits per booking

Toggle on Set spending limits per booking under the airline expenses policy to specify a maximum spend limit based on flight durations. The duration is determined by the shortest leg of the trip. Set the type of ticket that, when booked, will trigger the expense to be reviewed. Flight duration in hours, and maximum price can be used to define a travel policy. You can also exclude maximum price rules. Whether you book a single roundtrip or multi-city ticket, the maximum price policy will apply against the total ticket price. Example 1: Flights up to three hours costing more than $500 will require the expense to be reviewed. Flights longer than three hours costing more than $750 will require the expense to be reviewed. Example 2: If a flight has a stopover, and each segment is two hours each, with a one-hour layover, The total flight duration for the policy will be four hours. Example 3: If a flight is a roundtrip flight and the departing segment is five hours, and the return segment is six hours, the total flight duration of the policy will be the lower amount, which is five hours.

Cabin class restrictions

Toggle on Cabin class restrictions under the airline expense policy to set cabin class restrictions based on duration and destination. Set the type of ticket that, when booked, will trigger the expense to be reviewed. Flight duration in hours, whether the flight is either domestic or international, and cabin class can be used to define a travel policy. Flight duration can be between zero and two hours, travel can be classified as domestic or international, and cabin classes are defined as economy, premium economy, business class, and first class. You can also exclude cabin class rules. Example: For domestic and international flights up to six hours, the highest allowed cabin class is economy. For flights longer than six hours, the highest allowed cabin class is premium economy. Flight bookings that violate this policy will require the expense to be reviewed.

Booking lead time

Toggle on Booking lead time under the airline expense policy to require that employees book in advance of their trip. You can set the minimum number of days in advance a flight must be before the expense gets triggered for review. Example: Booking a flight less than 15 days in advance will require the expense to be reviewed.

Ticket changeability

Toggle on Ticket changeability under the airline expense policy to specify ticket changeability requirements. Set the type of ticket that, when booked, will trigger the expense to be reviewed. Examples of ticket types for selection are non-changeable tickets only, changeable tickets with no additional fees, and changeable tickets with only additional fees allowed. You can also exclude ticket change rules. Example: Booking a ticket that is non-changeable or that has a change fee will require the expense to be reviewed.

Ticket refundability

Toggle on Ticket refundability under the airline expenses policy to specify ticket refund policy requirements. Set the type of ticket that, when booked, will trigger the expense to be reviewed. Examples of ticket types for selection are non-refundable tickets only, refundable tickets with no additional fees, refundable tickets with only additional fees allowed. You can also exclude ticket refund rules. Example: Booking a non-refundable ticket will require the expense to be reviewed.

Manage policy

Step 1: Create an expense policy. Step 2: Under Add categories, click Airline expenses > Customize. Step 3: (Optional) Select the Booking policy enforcement

• None: There will no users on the booking approval chain.
• Notification: Users in the approval chain will be notified of out-of-policy bookings. They will be able to cancel those bookings if needed.
• Approval: Users in the approval chain will be asked to review out-of-policy bookings. If not approved, the booking will be automatically canceled after a few hours.

Step 4: (Optional) Toggle on Spending limits per booking. Provide the hour limits under up to and the dollar amount, then fill in the information for flight. Step 5: (Optional) Toggle Cabin class restrictions and set policy by flight duration or by destination type.

• For flight duration: Enter in the number of hours (1-20 hours) and cabin class via the dropdowns. Choose up to four cabin class restrictions. To add another restriction, click Add duration.
• For destination type: The splits will be either by domestic or by international. You can choose up to four cabin class restrictions (economy, premium economy, business and first class). To add another restriction, click Add duration.

Step 6: (Optional) Toggle booking lead time and enter the number of days you require employees to book in advance of your trip. Step 7: (Optional) Toggle ticket refundability and choose between three options: non-refundable tickets only, refundable tickets only no additional fees, or refundable tickets only additional fees allowed. Step 8: (Optional) Toggle maximum spend limit outside of Brex travel and enter the dollar amount of expenses equal or above the amount you entered to require review. Step 9: (Optional) Toggle Specify by merchant and enter the merchant name in the dropdown. Choose between Allow or Review under the smaller dropdown. Under What about all other merchants? select either Review to require review for all other spending, or Allow to allow spending with other merchants in this category. Step 10: (Optional) To add a note, enter in your note in under 250 characters or less. Step 11: Click Update & review. If you would like to add lodging and car rental expense policies for your travel policy, see the relevant section below. Step 12: Click Next and then Save.

Modifying trips

There are some circumstances where you can modify your flight booking yourself, which are outlined below:

Changing flights

To change your flight in your Brex dashboard, go to Trips. Click on the trip card that shows your travel itinerary and then Manage reservation. Scroll to the flight you want to modify and click the three dots on the top right of the flight. Then click Change > Edit (the pencil logo). To change your flight in your Brex app, go to Trips. Tap the trip card that shows your travel itinerary, and then tap the leg of the flight you want to change under Reservations. Scroll down and tap Change flight > Edit (the pencil logo) > Continue. Depending on the airline policy, some flights may need to be canceled and rebooked instead of changed. Additionally, some self-serve flight options might not be available. If you need help changing your flight from a travel agent, please contact Brex travel support. Note: Date or time modifications may be restricted or come with significant fees.

Changing segment of trip

If you need to update a segment of a multi-flight trip that hasn’t begun yet, you may need to cancel and rebook the trip. This may result in the trip’s price changing.

Changing your seat

Seat selection policies are determined by the airline and may or may not be available for your flight. For example, Southwest Airlines does not allow for the selection of seats. If seat selection is available, you can select seats during the checkout process. You'll also be able to select or change your seat from Trips > Manage reservation in your Brex dashboard or app.

Other

If you need to make changes to your booked flight in any way not outlined above, you may need to contact the airline or Brex travel support directly. Note: Airlines cannot directly modify some bookings made through a travel-managed company like Brex travel. In these cases, Brex travel support will be able to assist you with changes.

Canceling your flight

Most booked flights can be canceled by the traveler, manager, or copilot in the Brex dashboard or app. Note: You cannot transfer your booked arrangements to another person. Important: You will not receive a refund if the flight is canceled by the traveler, regardless of the reason. Refunds are only available if the flight was canceled by the airline. To cancel your flight in your Brex dashboard, go to Trips. Click on the trip card that shows your travel itinerary > Manage reservation. Scroll to the flight you want to cancel and click the three dots on the top right of the flight. Then click Cancel and confirm the cancellation To cancel your flight in your Brex app, go to Trips. Tap the trip card that shows your travel itinerary, and then on the leg of the flight you want to cancel under Reservations. Scroll down and tap Cancel flight. If you have trouble canceling your flight or would like help, please contact Brex travel support. Some flight cancellations are not self-serve, in which case a chat prompt will open and connect you to Brex travel support.

Airline cancelations

If your booked flight is canceled by the airline, you may become eligible for any of the following:

Unused tickets

Unused tickets (flight credits) are typically administered by the airline when a passenger cancels a nonrefundable flight before departure. Unused tickets are originally issued in the traveler’s name — which may be changed by the company in the future — and are associated with the company org ID, as well as a PCC. The flight credit is only redeemable through the same airline that issued the original nonrefundable ticket. Partial credits may also be issued by the airline at their discretion. These are typically issued as a result of a partial cancellation of a flight itinerary with multiple flights. These credits have different rules for different airlines. Certain airlines may restrict Brex travel from administering partial credit to a new booking. The unused ticket can be redeemed for future use in Brex travel directly at checkout. In the context of Brex travel, an employee who was issued a flight credit would not be able to book directly with the airline outside of Brex travel for personal use. The flight credit would need to be exchanged via the PCC for your specific org ID for the company’s use only. Note: Flight credits can only be used towards the purchase of a new flight + taxes and cannot be applied to fund price differences for flight exchanges. Unused tickets cannot be applied to cover the cost of the trip fee or other ancillary airline expenses such as seating, checked baggage, or Wi-Fi. If the cost of a new flight is more than the amount of the unused ticket credit, the full amount of the unused credit will be applied to the flight, and the remaining cost of the flight will need to be covered by your payment method of choice. If the cost of the flight with taxes is less than the amount of the unused ticket credit, the full amount of the unused credit will be applied to the flight. However, a refund for the remaining amount is not guaranteed and is subject to the discretion of the carrier. You can view your unused credits in your Brex dashboard by going to Trips > Manage profile > Payment > Unused credits. Any credits you have will be shown with amounts and airlines specified. For help using an unused ticket for a future flight, please contact Brex travel support.

Unused credit transfers

You may be able to transfer unused credits at the airline's discretion. Airlines will not transfer credits that are partially used or expired. To transfer unused credits, you must meet theairline’s minimum threshold to transfer outstanding unused credits, which determines the exact process to transfer. Note: Unused credits may have restrictions on what flights they can be applied to, often driven by the origin and destination of the initial flight. If the unused credit is worth more than the new booking, the residual amount will either be refunded–usually to the original payment method–forfeited, or preserved as unused credits with some fare restrictions. If the residual amount is less than $50 the residual amount will be forfeited. Travelers can reach out to the airline’s support to preserve the unused credit if desired. If you have a contract with a specific airline, you can contact them to determine what forms they need to complete the request. The airline will notify Brex once the transfer is approved. If you do not have a direct contract with the airline, please contact Brex support, who will provide a form for you to complete.

Missed flights

If you miss your flight and do not cancel your reservation prior to flight departure, the entire fare amount is typically forfeited.