My co-worker is headed to Vermont, from TX. Business Class isn't allowed for non-international flights, so we are talking a pretty typical coach ticket.
He could ask the office manager to use the company corporate card for a one-time event like this, but w/all the roadblocks our T&E department puts up, it's simply not worth the effort. He'll just buy the ticket 10 days out, and file his expense report the second he returns to the office. The miles would be cool, but not worth the effort required, IMHO.
My last T&E, I got flagged for $85 worth of meals over two days. I filled in all the required information on the web-based program, but it didn't ask me to specify what meal of the day it was, so I didn't worry about it. I had three meals each day, and our company limit is $75/day, so I was well under the limits.
The T&E police made a huge deal about it, and proceeded to send me an e-mail w/directions on how to add in this information. I followed the instructions, and received a confirmation e-mail. Two days later, they called to ask me when I was going to respond! Finally, the woman decided to enter the details herself, and I was eventually paid.
Next time, I'm going to be ridiculously specific. Breakfast on Monday, 7:14 AM!