Navan vs Concur: Find the Best Travel Platform for You

You don't choose your corporate travel platform. Your finance team does. They pick based on enterprise integrations and negotiated rates, not whether you can book a flight in 2 minutes from your phone. So you're stuck with a system that wasn't built for road warriors who need speed, loyalty program visibility, and fast rebooking when flights fall apart.

This breakdown covers five areas: who each tool was built for, booking speed, loyalty program handling, mobile functionality, and disruption management. You'll see where each platform falls short and which one creates less friction for road warriors.

Who Each Platform Was Built For

Understanding who each platform was designed for explains why your daily experience differs so dramatically between them. Each tool's target buyer shapes everything from booking speed to loyalty program support.

Navan's Approach

You book your own trips through Navan with no travel agents and no waiting. The platform claims 70% time savings per booking compared to legacy tools, largely because the AI assistant Ava learns your patterns, auto-fills forms, and suggests flights that match your preferences and company policy. Less typing, faster bookings.

The tradeoff? Flexibility. Navan requires their corporate card, which kills payment options but automates expense tracking and cuts your post-trip admin work. The platform earns a 4.3/5 Gartner rating from verified users.

Concur's Approach

Concur dominates the corporate travel market because CFOs and travel managers, who care about enterprise-wide visibility and compliance, choose it. Not travelers. The platform focuses on policy compliance and financial oversight. For organizations managing thousands of travelers, these capabilities matter.

Your experience depends on which version your company runs. Concur operates two distinct interfaces: legacy Concur Travel and the new version launched July 2024 with what's described as "consumer-grade UX." The newer interface is a significant step up.

Booking Speed and Automation

Which Concur version your company uses determines your daily experience. Here's how each platform handles booking.

Navan's Approach

User feedback calls Navan a "quick booking process" that makes travel "stress free." That speed comes from the Ava assistant, which completes forms automatically, remembers your preferences, and suggests options that fit both your travel style and company policy. This kind of automation reflects broader corporate travel trends reshaping how business travelers book. It earned Navan #1 in G2's Summer 2025 Travel Management Software category.

Concur's Approach

Legacy Concur Travel has a learning curve and requires more clicking than most travelers want. User reviews note the interface takes time to master.

The new interface fixes this with the Joule Booking Agent, which accepts natural language requests like "I need to fly to Chicago next Tuesday" and handles booking while enforcing company policy. Concur shows you comprehensive options, giving you full visibility into available flights and rates. That thoroughness takes more effort when you just need a quick booking, but it's valuable when you want to compare everything. For travelers who want faster options, self-booking tools offer an alternative approach.

Loyalty Program Integration

Both platforms have room for improvement on loyalty program handling. If you're building airline status or maximizing hotel points, you'll need to stay engaged with either tool.

Navan's Approach

Navan lets you store loyalty numbers manually but lacks the visibility tools frequent flyers need. You can save loyalty numbers in your profile and bookings credit to airline and hotel accounts. Programs like Delta, United, and Alaska Airlines integrate with the platform.

But critical limitations frustrate road warriors. Navan doesn't automatically detect your elite status and shows no fare class visibility during booking. Frequent flyer discussions reveal you must contact agents after booking to find out fare class for status earning calculations. One user stated bluntly: "The Navan service sucks, even more so for frequent travelers. Any benefits only seem to be for employer not employee."

Key Navan loyalty limitations:

• No automatic elite status detection
• No fare class visibility during booking
• Must contact agents post-booking for status earning calculations
• Benefits prioritize employer over employee

Concur's Approach

SAP Concur requires you to manually add loyalty numbers to your profile under Travel Settings with exact name matching. Only the last four digits show during booking for security reasons. Some users have reported transmission issues: "When booking flights, Concur is not passing my frequent flier information to the airline." You can often fix these by verifying profile settings or contacting support.

For hotel programs, corporate rates sometimes fall outside loyalty qualifying categories. Certain booking types "will not be eligible for points and no elite night credits will be issued." This is a common trade-off with negotiated corporate rates across the industry, not unique to Concur. Understanding hotel loyalty programs helps you navigate these limitations.

Key Concur loyalty considerations:

• Manual loyalty number entry with exact name matching required
• Only last four digits visible during booking for security
• Some users report transmission issues that may require troubleshooting
• Corporate rates may have different loyalty eligibility than retail rates
• Verifying profile settings can help ensure loyalty numbers transfer correctly

Mobile Experience

Your ability to book and manage trips from your phone matters when you're already on the road. Here's how each platform's mobile app stacks up.

Navan's Approach

Navan built its app with mobile-first design, and users consistently praise the results. You can book complete trips (flights, hotels, cars) from your phone, make self-service modifications like updating dates, adding luggage, or canceling reservations, and get a consistent interface whether you're on browser or app. That approach earned Navan top rankings in G2's Travel Management Software category.

Concur's Approach

Concur's mobile app offers comprehensive functionality: full booking for flights, rail, hotels, and rental cars, receipt scanning with automatic categorization, and complete expense report creation. The app earned 2025 TrustRadius recognition for its feature set.

Some user reviews mention occasional issues with receipt attachment, and the app works best for smaller batches of expenses. Like many enterprise apps, there's a learning curve to maximize efficiency.

SAP continues investing in mobile improvements, with documentation acknowledging ongoing evolution to deliver "an integrated travel experience." The mileage tracking feature works but may require some manual oversight for complex routes.

Handling Disruptions

Your flight cancels at 10 PM and you've got a 9 AM client meeting. How each platform responds determines whether you make that meeting.

Navan's Approach

When disruptions hit, Navan supports you through automated alerts, AI assistant, and human agents. The platform starts by sending alerts about delays, cancellations, and gate changes so you know what's happening. For routine disruptions, Navan's automatic rebooking kicks in and "automatically reschedules a traveler's flight to a new one," eliminating manual work entirely. When changes get more complex, you're connected to 24/7 support that combines the Ava assistant for routine modifications with human agents for complicated situations.

The result, according to user reviews: "Navan makes corporate travel easy, eliminating the stress of flight changes, expense reports, and long hold times."

Concur's Approach

Concur provides robust proactive monitoring through TripIt Pro Risk Alerts, which notify travelers "when a potential disruption may impact their trip, even before they result in a flight delay or cancellation." The system continuously monitors incidents affecting airports and airlines in your itinerary and sends real-time notifications about schedule changes.

When you need to rebook, the SAP Concur mobile app provides self-service options through the standard booking interface. You control your rebooking choices rather than relying on automated selections.

During major disruptions when many travelers need rebooking at once, the system may show trips as "Processing" while handling the volume. Having backup options and staying proactive with alerts helps you respond quickly.

Quick Comparison Summary

Here's what road warriors need to know:

• Target audience: Navan was built for self-service travelers who want speed. Concur was built for enterprise visibility and compliance. Neither was specifically optimized for frequent flyers focused on loyalty programs.
• Booking speed: Navan wins if you accept their mandatory card system. Concur's new interface has improved significantly, though legacy users face a steeper learning curve.
• Loyalty programs: Neither platform gives you the loyalty visibility tools road warriors need. Both have limitations with fare-class visibility and automatic loyalty number application.
• Mobile experience: Navan's mobile app earns #1 G2 rankings with consistent praise for ease of use. Concur's app offers comprehensive features with ongoing improvements.
• Disruption handling: Navan offers automatic rebooking within their system. Concur provides excellent proactive alerts and gives you control over rebooking decisions.

Both platforms leave gaps for frequent travelers. Otto the Agent fills them by automatically applying your loyalty numbers to every booking, providing fare-class intelligence, and monitoring your flights continuously. When disruptions happen, Otto presents rebooking options you can confirm with one tap.

Fill the Gaps Your Corporate Platform Leaves

Neither Navan nor Concur was built with road warriors in mind. Navan prioritizes speed but locks you into their card system and leaves you blind on fare classes. Concur prioritizes corporate oversight and compliance, which means individual traveler conveniences take a backseat.

Otto fills those gaps. Otto automatically applies your loyalty numbers to every booking, gives you fare-class intelligence so you know exactly what you're earning, and monitors your flights continuously. When disruptions happen, Otto presents rebooking options you can confirm with one tap. You get the visibility and speed that corporate platforms sacrifice for their enterprise buyers.

Try Otto for free to protect your status and get faster rebooking regardless of which corporate platform you're stuck with.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch between Navan and Concur if I don't like my company's choice?

No. Your finance team chooses based on enterprise needs, existing SAP infrastructure, and negotiated rates, not individual preferences. Travelers typically work around the platform rather than change it.

Does Navan work without their corporate card?

No. Navan requires their corporate card system, which automates expense tracking but eliminates payment flexibility. This is mandatory, not optional.

Will I lose my airline status if my company uses Concur or Navan?

Both platforms require attention to maintain status building. Corporate rates may have different loyalty eligibility than retail rates, and fare-class visibility varies. Otto automatically applies your loyalty numbers to every booking and provides fare-class intelligence so you can evaluate upgrade eligibility.

Which Concur version does my company use?

Check your booking interface. If it looks more traditional with multiple navigation steps, you're on legacy Concur Travel. The new interface launched July 2024 includes the Joule Booking Agent for natural language booking and a modernized user experience.

Can I book directly with airlines instead of using Concur or Navan?

Corporate travel policies often require platform bookings for tracking and policy compliance. Request exceptions when loyalty benefits are critical. Some companies allow direct bookings for status-earning trips with manual expense submission.