How to Earn Cashback and Rewards on Work Expenses (Hotels, Trains & Food)

If your job involves travelling for work, there’s a good chance you’ll be putting a lot of expenses through your card each month.

For example, someone travelling around the UK regularly might spend something like:

• £500 per month on train tickets
• £700 per month on hotels
• £300 per month on food

That’s £1,500 per month in work expenses— or £18,000 per year.

If you’re allowed to book travel yourself or claim expenses back, there are several ways to earn cashback, loyalty points and rewards from this spending.

Below we explain how people maximise rewards from work expenses — including hotels, trains and meals — and the key things to check before doing it.

First: Are You Paying With Your Own Card or a Company Card?

The biggest factor is how expenses are paid.

If you pay with your own card and get reimbursed

This is the best setup for earning rewards.

You pay for expenses yourself and your employer reimburses you later. Because the spending goes through your own card, you can earn:

• Cashback
• Credit card rewards
• Loyalty points
• Travel points

Even a simple 1% cashback card on £1,500 monthly expenses would earn about £180 per year.

If your company gives you a corporate card

Rewards are usually more limited.

You may still be able to earn:

• Hotel loyalty points
• Train operator rewards
• Airline miles

But cashback and card rewards typically go to the company instead.

1. Book Hotels Through Cashback Sites

One of the easiest ways to earn extra money from work travel is booking hotels through cashback platforms like:

• TopCashback
• Quidco

Many hotel booking platforms offer strong cashback rates.

Examples include:

• Booking sites like Expedia or Hotels.com
• Individual hotel chains
• Travel comparison websites

Typical hotel cashback rates range from 5% to 12% depending on the provider.

If you spend £700 per month on hotels, even 8% cashback would earn:

£56 per month

That’s roughly £670 per year.

2. Use Credit Cards With Cashback or Points

Another way to earn rewards from work expenses is using a credit card that offers cashback or travel points.

Some popular UK options include cards from:

• American Express
• Barclays
• Virgin Money

Typical rewards include:

• 0.5% – 1.5% cashback
• Airline miles
• Hotel loyalty points
• Large welcome bonuses

If you spend £1,500 per month, even 1% cashback would generate:

£15 per month

That’s £180 per year just from your card.

3. Use Travel Cashback Platforms

Some cashback platforms offer very high rates on specific travel purchases.

For example, users report that:

• NX Rewards can offer around 10% cashback on train tickets and travel bookings, including providers like Expedia.

These platforms often require a small monthly membership fee, but frequent travellers can easily earn more than the cost.

For example:

• £500 per month on trains
• 10% cashback

Potential cashback:

£50 per month

4. Join Hotel Loyalty Programmes

If you regularly stay in hotels for work, loyalty programmes can be very valuable.

Major hotel rewards schemes include:

• Hilton Honors
• IHG One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy

Benefits can include:

• Free hotel nights
• Room upgrades
• Free breakfast
• Late checkout

Even moderate work travel can build up points quickly, which many people use for personal holidays or weekend breaks.

5. Use Instant Cashback Gift Cards for Food and Travel

Another increasingly popular strategy is using instant cashback gift card platforms.

Sites like:

• JamDoughnut
• EverUp

allow you to buy gift cards for retailers and restaurants while earning cashback instantly.

Examples include gift cards for:

• Restaurants
• Supermarkets
• Food delivery apps
• Taxi services

If you know you’ll be expensing a meal or transport, you could buy a gift card first and then pay using that card.

For example:

• £300 monthly food spend
• 5% gift card cashback

Potential rewards:

£15 per month

However, always check your employer’s expense policy before using this approach, as some companies require the exact purchase receipt.

6. Claim Train Delay Compensation

Many UK train operators offer refunds when trains are delayed.

Under the Delay Repay scheme, compensation is usually:

• 25% refund for delays over 15 minutes
• 50% refund for delays over 30 minutes
• 100% refund for long delays

This compensation is intended for the passenger affected by the delay, but some employers may require refunds to be deducted from expense claims.

It’s worth checking your company policy.

Example: How Rewards Can Add Up

Let’s say someone spends £1,500 per month on work travel.

If they earn:

• £50 train cashback
• £56 hotel cashback
• £15 credit card cashback
• £15 gift card cashback

Total potential rewards:

£136 per month

That’s over £1,600 per year from work expenses.

Always Check Your Company Policy

Before maximising rewards, it’s important to check your employer’s expense rules.

Some companies may require:

• Booking through approved travel systems
• Using company credit cards
• Declaring cashback or refunds

As long as expenses follow company rules and the price paid is the same, many employers don’t mind employees earning rewards.

Using Company Cards On Cashback Portals

You can still sometimes click through cashback portals like TopCashback or Quidco before making the booking, but only if:

• You are the one making the booking
• The booking is done through a normal consumer website
• Your company doesn’t force you to use a corporate travel portal

Cashback sites track the click and purchase, not whose card is used. So technically the payment method (even a corporate card) usually doesn’t affect tracking.

Example where it can work:

1. Click through TopCashback
2. Book a hotel on Expedia or Hotels.com
3. Pay with your company credit card

If the booking tracks, the cashback would still go to your cashback account.

Final Thoughts

Work travel expenses can add up quickly, but they can also create opportunities to earn cashback, loyalty points and travel rewards.

By combining cashback sites, credit card rewards and loyalty schemes, many people turn routine work travel into free hotel stays, cashback and reward flights.

If you’re paying for work travel upfront and claiming it back later, it’s worth making sure you’re getting the most from every booking.