12 Things We’re Thankful for This Thanksgiving

With peak leaf season behind us and December fast approaching, we wanted to take a moment to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and reflect on what we’re grateful for this year.

1. Our Shining Workforce

At the heart of everything we do is our dedicated workforce. We’re incredibly thankful for each member of the TravelBank family and their commitment and passion, which fuels our success daily.

Three years post-acquisition, our employees feel more embraced by the U.S. Bank family than ever before. One of our highlights this year is being part of the U.S. Bank Legends of Possible employee recognition program, which honors our organization’s best and brightest talent. This year three TravelBankers were honored: Keerthi Abinesh Ravikumar, Senior Product Manager for Travel, Eric Miller, Product Operations Manager, and Rachel Piltser, Account Executive. Like so many of their peers, they have gone above and beyond in their roles and we’re so proud to have them on the TravelBank team.

2. Recognition for TravelBank and U.S. Bank Commercial Rewards Card

U.S. News & World Report analyzed expense management solutions and named TravelBank, Best Booking, Travel, and Expense Tool, recognizing us as a leading all-in-one T&E solution with “concierge support”.

Making CNBC’s list of best corporate cards, the U.S. Bank Commercial Rewards Card has been recognized as the best card solution for mid-sized companies. This recognition reinforces our commitment to developing card management features within TravelBank, ensuring we deliver a robust all-in-one T&E solution.

Several key enhancements to support the Commercial Rewards Card have made it easy for employees to activate new cards within TravelBank. Additionally, a significant redesign of the card payment page has improved the admin experience by providing immediate visibility into statement balance, due date, and available credit while managing the account.

3. Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study Found TravelBank Customers Achieved 240% ROI

This year, TravelBank commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact study to evaluate TravelBank’s potential total cost of ownership and ROI. The study looked at a number of factors to quantify the impact of managing travel and expenses with TravelBank. Overall, customers achieved a 240% ROI by consolidating T&E onto one platform—a testament to the efficiency and cost savings that come with streamlining these processes.

By immediately saving 40% on subscriptions for T&E management tools and reducing travel spend by 10% per trip, our customers have seen a significant positive impact on their bottom line. Additionally, the study found our user-friendly interface saved employees 15% of their time when approving requests, submitting expenses, and creating reports.

4. Staying True to Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is at the core of everything we do, and this year has been no exception. Our product team has conducted numerous customer surveys this year, with a focus on optimizing TravelBank to meet our customers’ high standards. We’ve also launched more beta programs than ever before to ensure our platform exceeds expectations.

Our dedication to customer-driven innovation is reflected in the release of key features derived from the insights of our 2023 Client Advisory Board. These releases include carbon offset initiatives, which were noted as especially useful for non-profits, significantly improved reporting, and better control over delegate permissions. Discussions around AI and automation led to the development of AI-based category suggestions for expenses, an upcoming feature currently in beta that leverages individual company data and AI to identify and recommend the top five expense categories.

5. Seeing Customers Succeed with TravelBank

With our final Client Advisory Board meeting of 2024 behind us, we’ve ended the year with three amazing stories of success with TravelBank, with more to come.

We couldn’t be more grateful for these customers who take the time to share their product and insights, with a big thank you to Christian Brothers University, Structural Concepts, and Duncan Aviation—three members who shared their story for others to read.

6. Our Outstanding Support Agents

We are grateful for our support agents, who have provided assistance to thousands of corporate travelers over the past year. Their remarkable CSAT score of 4.9 (out of 5) reflects the dedication and expertise of this extraordinary team. They have consistently delivered fast, effective solutions, with an average response time of two minutes and average time to resolution of seven minutes, emphasizing our commitment to exceptional customer service. Driven by real-life humans, our support team ensures that every interaction is meaningful and productive.

7. Better-Than-Ever OCR Technology

This year we implemented new optical character recognition (OCR) technology, drastically improving receipt scanning capabilities. This technology automatically extracts critical data, including date, merchant name, transaction amount, invoice number, and tip amount. Scanning is available on iOS, the Android™ platform, and web platforms, supporting various file types and allowing multiple receipts to be scanned at once, sparing users from manual data entry and saving them tons of time.

8. A Partnership Committed to Sustainability

Our partnership with SQUAKE, a Berlin-based sustainability specialist, has empowered TravelBank users to make more informed business travel decisions regarding their carbon footprint. Together, TravelBank and SQUAKE aim to make a positive impact on the business travel industry, paving the way for a more sustainable future. This year, we’ve made it easier for customers to access sustainability data while booking flights, allowing them to compare flights using advanced CO2 performance metrics and purchase carbon offsets during the flight booking process.

Carbon emission data displays during the flight search.

9. Expansion of NDC Airlines and Features

Our expansion of new distribution capability (NDC) adoption has brought us another notable partner. With the addition of Singapore Airlines, alongside American, United, and Lufthansa, this cutting-edge technology provides TravelBank’s customers with unparalleled access to lower fares and an elevated level of service through the platform.

With the adoption of NDC technology, we were able to develop flight holds, offering travelers the flexibility to hold bookings while awaiting manager approval. This ensures guaranteed seats and prices for travelers, while giving managers clear visibility into the hold expiration so they can approve the request faster.

In the approvals dashboard, managers see an expiration date associated with the employee’s flight request.

10. Enhancing Reporting with New Features

This year, a dedicated product manager was tasked with tackling data insights and reporting in TravelBank. With her team’s steady progress through the year, this month we’ve released an overhaul of Premium Insights which includes restructuring to better classify, organize, and rename reports into seven distinct collections, making it easier to browse and find reports. Nine new reports across Core and Premium Insights were released this year, providing valuable insights for businesses and ensuring our customers can access the information they need.

11. Insights from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services’ White Paper on Automation

In collaboration with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services and U.S. Bank, we released a six-part series that examines the growing use of automation in managing corporate T&E. Breaking down key insights from the white paper, the series offers valuable insights into how automation transforms business processes. It also helps businesses better navigate the complexities of disparate information systems, improve visibility into spending, enforce travel policies, and shorten reimbursement cycles.

12. Paying It Forward Through Thought Leadership

Sharing expertise is integral to our mission, and we’re grateful for opportunities to pay it forward. Duke Chung, our CEO, spoke at the Finovate event on how financial institutions can deliver an outstanding customer experience by blending human and digital approaches.

Additionally, Duke contributed to Forbes® with an article titled “Automation Is Taking Over The Expense Report And That’s Okay,” which highlighted the benefits of automation in streamlining financial processes, offering practical advice for businesses looking to improve efficiency.

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