Two situations result in a restricted travel card under the GSA SmartPay program: your FICO score comes back between 500 and 659 when your agency runs the required credit check, or you decline the credit check and instead pass an alternate creditworthiness assessment. Either path produces a card with lower spending limits and tighter agency controls than a standard account.
A FICO Score Between 500 and 659
When you apply for an individually billed account, federal law requires your agency to evaluate your creditworthiness before a card is issued. The Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 amended the 1998 Travel and Transportation Reform Act to make that credit report check mandatory for every applicant.1GovInfo. Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 If your FICO score lands anywhere in the 500 to 659 range, the contractor bank issues a restricted card rather than a standard one.2General Services Administration. Lesson 4: Obtaining a Travel Card/Account
A 660 is the cutoff for a standard card. That threshold comes from Office of Management and Budget guidance issued under OMB Circular A-123, Appendix B, which tells agencies how to score creditworthiness for travel card applicants.3The White House. Issuance of Revised Appendix B to OMB Circular A-123 Anything above that line, and you get the standard account with higher limits and fewer controls. Anything in the restricted band, and you get the reduced version.
Declining the Credit Check
You are allowed to refuse the credit inquiry during the application. Refusing does not exempt you from evaluation, though. It routes you to an alternate creditworthiness assessment, and the best possible outcome on that path is still a restricted card.
Within the Department of Defense, the alternate assessment is DD Form 2883. Other agencies use similar forms tied to their own programs.4Department of Defense. DD Form 2883 – Government Travel Charge Card Alternate Credit Worthiness Evaluation The form is a series of true-or-false questions about your financial history. Every answer has to come back affirmative for you to qualify for a restricted card.
So the choice on the application matters. Consent to the credit check, score 500 to 659, and you land in the restricted tier through the standard route. Decline the check, answer every alternate-assessment question affirmatively, and you land in the restricted tier through the alternate route.
When You Get No Card at All
A restricted card is not the worst result. Two situations produce outright denial rather than a restriction:
- You consent to the credit check and your FICO score comes back below 500. The contractor bank will not issue a government travel card.
- You decline the credit check and answer any question on the alternate assessment as “false.” That single “false” answer means denial, not restriction.5travel.dod.mil. Department of Defense Government Travel Charge Card Regulations
Applicants denied a card are typically exempt from mandatory travel card use requirements. Federal regulations let agencies fall back to a centrally billed account, a Government Transportation Request, travel advances, or reimbursement of personal funds for official travel.6eCFR. 41 CFR Part 301-51 – Paying Travel Expenses Which alternatives are actually available depends on your agency’s internal policy, so ask your Agency or Organization Program Coordinator (A/OPC).
What a Restricted Card Actually Means
Restricted individually billed accounts carry noticeably tighter limits than standard accounts. The current defaults under the DoD Government Travel Charge Card Regulations are:
- Total credit limit of $4,000, compared with $7,500 on a standard card
- Cash withdrawal limit of $250 per billing cycle
- Retail purchase limit of $100 per billing cycle5travel.dod.mil. Department of Defense Government Travel Charge Card Regulations
Your A/OPC can ask for a temporary credit limit increase when documented mission needs require it, but on a restricted account those increases are capped at six months before the limit reverts to the default.
Restricted cards also differ from standard cards in when they are usable. Most agencies keep a restricted card active only during approved travel periods, with the A/OPC turning the account on before a trip and off when you return.2General Services Administration. Lesson 4: Obtaining a Travel Card/Account Standard accounts generally stay active continuously. The rules on what the card can pay for are the same either way: authorized official travel expenses only, meaning transportation, lodging, meals, and incidentals.7General Services Administration. Lesson 3: Travel Card/Account Use and Payment Solutions
Moving from a Restricted Card to a Standard One
The GSA SmartPay master contract ties the restricted classification directly to your credit profile at the time of assessment, defining a restricted card as one issued to an applicant with a low creditworthiness score or one who refused a credit check.8General Services Administration. GSA SmartPay 3 Master Contract Bringing your FICO score above 659 is the primary way out of the restriction.
Renewal is the built-in reassessment moment. When your card approaches expiration, the contractor bank sends a list of expiring accounts to your A/OPC at least 90 days ahead, and cards renew automatically unless the A/OPC directs otherwise. If you hold a restricted card, though, the agency has to run a new creditworthiness assessment before renewal is processed.9General Services Administration. Travel Training If your score has climbed above 659 by then, that reassessment can move you to a standard account. Some agencies also allow a reassessment outside the renewal cycle. Your A/OPC is the person to ask about timing and the specific process at your agency.