University Credit Card Programs

The general steps to obtaining a new University Card when you have never had one:

1. Review and complete the University Credit Card Training
2. Review and sign the Cardholder Responsibility agreement.
3. Complete and submit a Concur request for the appropriate card type, attaching your signed agreement.
   • Link to How To Guide 
4. Complete the emailed JPMorgan side application link that is emailed to you
5. Receive and activate your card according to instructions provided.

Turn around time is typically 2 weeks from submission of your Concur request, to receiving your card in hand.

FAQs Purchasing vs Travel - covers common differentiations between the two card types.
FAQs AirCard - covers the usage of only the AirCard.
FAQs University Cards - A general FAQ guide that covers some of the items below.

Purchasing Guide - an abbreviate set of slides from the cardholder training covering allowable, restricted and prohibited purchases.

How To: Update Profile Level Defaults - covers how to update or enter your profile-level defaults in SAP Concur. Cardholder data is distributed to COAs based on the department you have entered in your profile. This value also auto-populates newly created requests and reports. Unless directed by someone in your department, use the department you expense to the most in this field. 
How To: Enable Receipt Texting - covers how to verify your phone number in Concur, so you can send text messages with pictures of receipts, and have them uploaded to your Concur profile under Available Expenses.

An MCC is a Merchant Category Code, and it provides the bank with information on what type of business is conducting the transaction. The MCC is dictated by the business, not the items being purchased. If a merchant uses an MCC that restricted for your card type, the transaction will be declined. If your purchase is within university purchasing guidelines, you may submit an MCC Change Request in Concur and retry your purchase once the request has been processed.

Common phrases and terminology used to indicate a transaction is declined due to the merchant's MCC include: "not an approved/authorized vendor," "using a restricted MCC," "blocked merchant category," "merchant type not allowed," "transaction declined by issuer," and "card not authorized for this purchase."

Always call JP Morgan first, anytime your card declines, to determine the reason. Submit the appropriate request type in Concur. How-To Guides are found under the Concur Guides section above.

Card Declines: JP Morgan via the number on the back of your card
Issues with Card Requests in Concur: Card Program Administrator, or concur@tcu.edu
Questions about Expense Reports: Concur Team via concur@tcu.edu
University Card Questions: Card Program Administrator, or concur@tcu.edu 

If a purchase is declined, always contact JP Morgan first using the number on the back of your card to obtain accurate, up-to-date information. They can help you review recent transactions for suspected fraud, confirm your available balance, and explain the reason for a decline. To avoid issues, anticipate purchases when possible and monitor your spending to stay within your monthly limit.

If additional spending power is needed, submit a temporary limit increase request in Concur.

If your card declined due to an MCC, submit an MCC request in Concur. For conference registrations or travel, submitting an MCC request in advance can help prevent declines with merchants you haven’t used before.

All University Cards have a billing address of TCU Box 297041, Fort Worth, Texas, 76129.

If a vendor's platform does not accept this format, try 297041 TCU Box. If that does not work, contact the vendor for issues with their platform.

Expiring cards are automatically reissued in or before the month in which they expire. You do not need to request a replacement, and all replacements are sent directly to the Card Administrator. You will receive an email with pick up or delivery options when it arrives.

To activate a card:

1. Call 866-602-8170 or visit ccportal.jpmorgan.com/login.
2. Follow the prompts.
3. Verify your identity by entering either:
   1. the last four of your Employee ID, or
   2. the last four digits of your Social Security Number.
4. Once activated, your card is immediately available for use.

All University Card transactions must be assigned to an expense report within 30 days of the purchase. Transactions related to future travel must also be assigned to a report, but the report should not be submitted until after travel has concluded.

Travel Expense Reports: due within 30 days of the trip end date.
Non-Travel Expense Reports: transactions are grouped logically, up to the entire calendar month, and due by the 7th of the month follow the report.
PCard Expense Reports: one report per month, due by the 7th of the month following the report.

Transactions that are past due require your immediate attention to assign them to a report that is appropriately dated, and to submit the completed report if it is past due.

Automated Concur notifications are sent out based on the age of transactions and the age of the expense report they are in. If you are receiving a notification, something is past due.

Deposits and split payments are generally not permitted on University Cards. A deposit may only be paid by card when specifically permitted by policy or explicitly included as a payment term in an approved contract.

Policy: Hotel deposits for employee-only, non-group travel are permitted. Employee group travel deposits may be permitted. Contact Concur@tcu.edu for more information.

Contract Terms: Generally, a request for a deposit indicates that a contract may be required.

• Student group travel: Requires a contract. Hotel deposits are not permitted on a University Card unless card payment is explicitly included in the contract. Otherwise, hotels must be arranged for direct billing with sufficient time for payment processing. See Student Lodging below.
• Services: Not permitted on a University Card. This includes deposits for catering, setup, and other services. Services must be arranged through Contracts and paid through a Service Purchase Order.

Gift cards may only be purchased with a PCard. Travel Cards are prohibited, and personal cards may not be used for tangible goods under Procurement Policy.

Tax considerations: Gift cards are taxable income to the recipient, per IRS regulations. Keep this in mind if you are purchasing a gift card for an employee as a gift or award.

Gift cards are considered cash equivalents and are not available through punchout catalogs in Jaggaer, as vendors expect immediate payment for them.

• For Amazon: You may use a personal Amazon account, as an exception to Procurement policy, provided the purchase is charged to your University PCard and physical cards are shipped to campus. Amazon may restrict new accounts or large orders.

• Local options: Physical gift cards for various merchants are available at Kroger across the street. Other brick-and-mortar stores that are not restaurants are acceptable but may require an MCC Request.

• Restaurant gift cards: A PCard will not work at a restaurant, even with an MCC Request. You will need to purchase these through a third party, such as Kroger, Target, Amazon, or Walmart.

• Recurring or large orders: Consider providers such as Blackhawk Network or Tango, which offer gift card purchasing services but may require extensive account setup and verification. Smaller orders over several days may help avoid vendor restrictions.

• Research Participants: Use the Research Participant Gift Card Log to track gift card recipients in accordance with Research Accounting requirements. Attach a copy to your expense report unless the recipient information is confidential. For all recipients, retain the completed log securely within your department for audit purposes.

Note: The Office of Procurement is actively seeking a more permanent University-wide solution for providing Research Participant Incentives.

• All student travel must be registered through TCU Global. Card payment for student lodging is an exception, not the standard.

  Before booking, ask the hotel whether it can invoice TCU (direct bill) and execute a contract. Alternative lodging (Airbnb, houseboats, etc.) is not permitted.

  • If the hotel agrees to direct bill or execute a contract: Proceed with the supplier setup and/or contract process.

  • If the hotel refuses both direct billing and a contract, or payment is being made to a third party, such as a conference block: Email Concur@tcu.edu to route the request for approval through the Associate Vice Chancellor or Director of Procurement. Do not proceed with card payment without written approval.

  • For lodging involving five or fewer people total, including all traveling employees, and three or fewer nights: Email Concur@tcu.edu for individual review and approval by the Card Program Coordinator.

  An approved exception must be charged by the named cardholder, who must be the most senior cardholder traveling with the students. Required supporting documentation (completed Contract, approval email, etc.) must be included with the applicable card request and expense report.

  Plan early; contracts, supplier setup, and payment arrangements can take several weeks. Approval for exceptions and card requests can take up to a week.

  [Guide Coming Soon]

TCU has a handshake agreement with the Overton Ridge Costco.

Bring your University Card to Costco and present it at the door/register as your membership card. You do NOT need to purchase a membership. Purchase Orders for Costco have been phased out due to confusion at the register. Sam's Club is being phased out, as their online ordering does not always support the proper TCU University Card billing address format.

If you encounter issues, please email Procurement@tcu.edu or Concur@tcu.edu.

The E for entertainment in T&E grants access to a very small collection of additional MCCs, specific to entertainment venues, such as golf courses and museums.  A standard travel card is sufficient in most cases, and does not prohibit the purchases at restaurants and grocery stores for internal or external entertainment. When applying for a T&E card, you must select one of the justifications provided under "T&E Business Justification" in Concur in order to be eligible for a Travel & Entertainment. If none of those situations apply, please request a standard travel card.