"You Expensed McDonald's?" How You Can Up Your Expense Account Game

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We know how business travelers are spending their travel money, and it ain’t always pretty. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Want to know how business travelers live, eat, and work? Check their expense reports.

Certify.com, which makes software that companies use to compile expense reports for business travelers, has released its latest SpendSmart Report, which tracks which restaurants, hotels, car rental companies, and airlines show up most often on expense reports.

“It’s a pretty accurate slice of what biz travelers are doing across North America today,” Certify CEO Bob Neveu tells Yahoo Travel about the quarterly report.

Related: Hotels Are Courting a New Generation of Business Travelers

Some of the choices may surprise you. In addition to the brands Certify ranks as the most expensed, Yahoo Travel asked some experts for alternative suggestions for how business travelers can spend their money — or more accurately, their company’s money.

Restaurants

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Starbucks is top among biz travelers. (Photo: Ramin Talaie/Corbis)

What you’re expensing: Apparently business travelers are drinking lots of coffee. Certify lists Starbucks as the most expensed restaurant; the coffee chain accounts for almost 5 percent of all meal expenses. In addition to being the most-expensed restaurant overall, Starbucks is also the most-expensed breakfast spot. Business travelers also have a taste for McDonald’s; it was the lunch and dinner establishment of choice.

What you should be expensing: Nothing against Starbucks; we all need our caffeine fixes. But Mickey D’s for lunch and dinner…? Yahoo Food Features Editor Alex Van Buren suggests another choice for fast food-seeking business travelers. “I’m a Chipotle [Mexican Grill] aficionado,” she says. “Their carnitas is tasty and more humanely sourced than most chain restaurant meats, and the guacamole is cheap, fresh, and garlic-free. (The way it ought to be).”

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Business travelers: you deserve a break today from McDonald’s. Seek out Chipotle every now and then! (Photo: AP)

Hotels

What you’re expensing: Hampton Inn & Suites was the top choice, racking up 8.68 percent of lodging expenses. Marriott and Marriott’s Courtyard were No. 2 and No. 3.

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Hampton Inn is in many expense reports. (Photo: Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach/Flickr)

What you should be expensing: Travel expert Brian Kelly of The Points Guy thinks business travelers should give Starwood Hotels and Resorts properties (which includes W, Aloft, and Element hotels) a look because of one key innovation: SPG Keyless, the hotel industry’s first keyless entry system. It allows guests at hotels to skip check-in and the lines at the front desks and go directly to their rooms. They use their mobile phones to unlock the doors. “Time is money,” Kelly says. “[Starwood’s keyless entry] is something business travelers should be looking at.”

WATCH: Starwood Rolls Out Keyless Entry Service

Car Rental

What you’re expensing: You might be expecting one of the big boys to be tops on this list: maybe Hertz or Avis. But you’d be wrong. In one of the more surprising upsets on this list, National Car Rental is the most expensed car rental company, showing up on 22 percent of expense reports. Avis is next at nearly 16 percent, followed by Hertz at almost 14 percent.

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Sorry, Avis and Hertz: National’s on top. (Photo: Bloomberg/Contributor/Getty Images)

Business travel expert Joe Brancatelli of JoeSentMe.com isn’t surprised by National’s strong showing. “It’s indicative of how far Hertz has fallen,” he says, citing concerns about Hertz’s customer service. Brancatelli rents from National whenever his business contracts allow it. “I get terrific service, and their cars are newer.”

What you should be expensing: Kelly of The Points Guy recommends you keep your eye on Silvercar, which operates in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Austin, Texas. “Silvercar picks you up at the airport, allowing you to bypass that whole shuttle to station to standing-in-line thing,” he says.

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Silvercar and its fleet of Audis are a good alternative rental choice. (Photo: Flickr/Marc van der Chijs)

And for short business trips, Kelly recommends skipping car rentals entirely. “Renting a car can be $100 a day, plus $65 to park at the hotel, plus gas,” he says. Instead, Kelly suggests using ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft (Morgan Stanley recently said it would start reimbursing employees who use Uber during their trips.). “It’s more convenient and could save money on short trips,” Kelly says.

Airline

What you’re expensing: Delta is the runaway winner here, with 21 percent of all airline expenses. United Airlines is second with 14 percent.

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Delta is tops with business travelers right now. But a big policy change may change its standing in 2015. (Photo: Bloomberg/Contributor/Getty Images)

What you should be expensing: If you frequently fly Delta and United for business, next year will bring a big change for you, and you may not like it. In 2015, both airlines will stop awarding frequent flier points based on how many miles you fly. Instead, the miles will be awarded based on how much you spend, a system that might hurt business travelers who fly long distances. “Delta and United are trying to fundamentally change how frequent flier programs work, especially for business travelers,” Kelly says. “I’m cautioning everyone to re-evaluate their loyalty [to these airlines] in 2015.” Because only the most worthy brands belong on your expense reports.

Related: As Airlines Crack Down, You Can Rack Up Your Frequent Flier Miles, George Clooney-Style

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