If you travel for business but use your own credit card, who gets the frequent flier or credit card points?

Depends on company policy. If the department that you turn your receipts into hasn’t said anything, the credit card points (aka, “rewards”) and the airline miles are probably yours. But check official policy.
The company that I worked for, and traveled a lot for, initially let us keep our airline miles and credit card points. They were generous in this way for many years, Then, business wasn’t so good one year and they tightened things up. They issued a new policy claiming the airline miles and credit card points, since they were actually paying for those expenses.
See, things can change.

As long as the card is in your name it shouldn’t matter what the company policy is.

Even when I use my company card I am allowed to collect the reward points. I never felt comfortable doing it so I usually don’t bother.

I’ve always seen it kept as points for personal travel. I’m surprised the companies don’t try to claw back that value. I’ve never seen it done.

Guessing at the rationale, maybe it’s an incentive to keep people in jobs that keep them away from home & family.

Usually, you get the points. I’d say especially since it’s your credit card and not a company card the points are yours. Everyone I know who flies for work uses the points for themselves. If it’s a cash back card I still say if it’s your personal card it’s your money. If it’s a company card with cash back then that I think it would be company money. That last one is tricky. I’d check with my company.

Not a company thing, but the Q made me think of it. A friend of mine went through a divorce and one of the things his soon to be ex wife put on her list of demands was all the frequent flyer miles or hotel points I don’t remember they had accumulated.

Well, at the company that I worked for, even if I used my own credit card, in my own name, they asked for the accumulated miles when it came to reimbursement time. I don’t know how it is nowadays, but in the past, typically, airlines would allow you to transfer your miles to someone else (or even a charity). That’s what my company demanded.
As I said, check official company policy.

If it’s your card, you have to pay it off from your own money. Travel expense reimbursement money comes later. Since you are putting the money up front, the rewards ought to be yours. If the company wanted the benefits, they should have given you a company card.

The company my brother worked for tried that, telling people that they had to turn over any miles earned on corporate travel. The result was general displeasure and people not booking flights with Frequent Flyer numbers. And, without being able to upgrade using miles, people cut back on travel because of the discomfort from flying, to the point where it was detrimental to the company. They reversed the policy after about six months.

The company I worked for had equal presence between Los Angeles and San Francisco, so we had people flying back and forth all the time. I used to fly to LA at least once a month; we had a courier fly back and forth every single day. The company controlled that by buying flights on Southwest in bundles of 100. The travel coordinator would give you a voucher for a round trip ticket and you never got the miles or the trip in your own name.

@zenvelo I wonder if people can still fly like that? Not under their own name? All the regulations now are so strict. Tickets have to be done exactly as on your ID. Maybe there are exceptions though.

the company

@jleslie, don’t know, but at the time we would use a voucher and then go through the normal process of booking the flights.

I would say they are yours ,the company is ahead by you using your own card, and not tying up their money,and paying only when you submit the receipts, if they get snotty over something like flyer miles or points then they can issue you a company credit card, then I would say they have a right to the miles and points.

We use to get both frequent flyer miles and card card points. That changed to frequent flyer miles only.
Then I was laid off and went back as a contractor employee. They paid my expense receipts and payroll plus 25% (my agency collected this) my choice of rental cars, airlines, accommodations. I would get a call on my cell sometimes after arriving, one of the company’s employees couldn’t get a rental car; could I give them ride (different rental car company but approved by his company), sure I can.