I starting a role with Deloitte in September and have read you should use the deloitte charge card for all expenses to be able to claim them back. How enforced is this rule? I would have liked to have used my own credit card and earned rewards such as air miles etc They way it reads is that if you want to claim expesnes back use the Deloitte charge card. Is this correct?

I don't think it reflects very well on the recruiting/cultivation process at a Firm, if you haven't had the opportunity to ask these questions of current consultants or if you don't have (at least one!) buddy (whether official or otherwise) who can help you out with this.

they probably won't care for small items (petrol/meals) but they will for big ticket items such as hotels

My brother works for deloitte and he was able to chose the card he uses for expenses. They have a card that they suggest, but he chose a different card which gives money back (like a penny back for every pound you spend, or so). However, I’d imagine that he can’t use that card for any personal items, so it is effectively a company credit card.

The logic generally behind the charge cards is that you separate your personal finance from your professional expenses. You should, in theory, be able to expense everything you spend on your corporate card. The reason why personal expenses are not allowed on the corporate card is to avoid you slipping into unmanageable debt on the coporate card. Effectively with only putting business expenses on it, you cannot do this. From my experience, I have needed to use my personal card from time to time. I cannot withdraw cash on my corporate card - simultaneously because up until recently my corporate card was not a Chip and Pin, I was unable to use it in every instance. Therefore I think the line is a vague one. I have been obliged often to use my personal credit card / debit card in situations where the corporate one has been unusuable.

One of the reasons they ask you to use their preferred purchasing card is that they can track spending across an organisation. Armed with this information, they can leverage better deals out of their suppliers based on the evidence of prior spending.When you put the charge on your personal card, your employer has no visibility of the spend, and can't use it as leverage in its negotiations with preferred suppliers.Most companies use Amex as their purchasing card -- sign up for Membership Rewards and you'll be fine.On the flip side, if you decide to use your personal card and your accounts payable department is slow (meaning you get charged interest), you probably won't get much sympathy for any extra cost this incurs or any financial hardship this puts you under. Your A/P team will politely point out that you haven't followed policy and put everything on your Amex, and you're out of luck...

The corporate card for deloitte analyst new starters is a barclaycard. Chances of notching up some nectar points?

Zero I think. It's issued by Barclays but is not a Barclaycard as such.Forget the corporate card. VI has a point but in fact if expense approvals are tardy you are often better off with a credit card than a corporate charge card - there is a difference; you have no choice of when to pay off the full balance with the latter. This risks taking you overdrawn as (monthly expenses) > (monthly salary) in many cases, even if you have your full month's pay in the bank.You are not expected to extend credit to your firm but it is possible to get caught out occasionally.Furthermore, the corporate card gives you nothing. It is rumoured to give the partners a kickback. Why not take your own? I had a 3% cashback card and at £1000 a week expenses it adds up to a small but worthwhile little sum.The expense charging system is not linked to the Barclays card system and no one seems to know or care whether you have used the corporate card. Look after yourself I say; the firm won't.