The rental car vs. POV question has gotten complicated with all the government-advantageous cost comparisons, class-of-vehicle rules, and driving vs. flying calculations flying around. As someone who chose a full-size sedan without justification and had the voucher returned for rejustification while the reimbursement waited two weeks, I learned exactly how the transportation comparison works and what approvers are checking. Today I will share it all with you.
Rental Car vs. POV: The Math That Determines the Answer
The choice between renting a car and using your personally owned vehicle for TDY isn’t about preference — it’s about which option costs the government less. DTS is designed to reimburse whichever is more advantageous to the government, and approvers are supposed to authorize the lower-cost option. Understanding the math behind that comparison gives you the ability to make the right call from the start rather than having your reimbursement reduced after the fact.
POV reimbursement is paid at the standard mileage rate (currently around $0.67/mile for official travel). For a trip where the total mileage to and from the TDY location exceeds what a rental car plus fuel would cost, the rental car is the government-advantageous option. For short trips, POV often wins. For long drives, the rental car comparison frequently favors the rental.
When Rental Car Is Clearly the Right Answer
If your TDY location requires significant local transportation and you’d need a rental car once you arrive regardless of how you got there, the rental car is almost certainly more economical than POV-to-destination plus rental car. That’s what makes the rental car calculation endearing to travelers who have run it correctly — when the numbers favor the rental, you get reimbursed for fuel and there’s no mileage calculation, no wear-and-tear assumption, and no ambiguity about the total distance.
Class of Rental Car Allowed
Government travelers are authorized the most economical size vehicle appropriate for official business. For solo travel, that’s typically a compact or midsize. Larger vehicles require justification — carrying equipment, multiple travelers, or official duties that genuinely require the space. Booking a full-size or premium vehicle without justification is a common DTS error that approvers catch and return for correction. I’m apparently someone who learned this rule the hard way when a full-size sedan had to be rejustified and the reimbursement delayed two weeks.
Driving vs. Flying
For long distances, DTS compares your total POV cost against the cost of a flight plus local transportation. If driving is more expensive than flying, you can still drive — but you’ll only be reimbursed up to what the flight would have cost, and you may not be reimbursed for lodging en route if the flight option wouldn’t have required overnight travel.
Documenting the Comparison
Probably should have led with this: when selecting POV over an available flight, document in DTS why you’re using your vehicle. “Personal preference” is not sufficient justification for the added cost. “Required for equipment transport” or “no available flights within mission window” are. The documentation protects you if the voucher is audited — and some commands audit them regularly.
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