With any vacation allocation, there are really two numbers to think about: 1) the technical number of PTO days you have been given; 2) the number of PTO days yo

With any vacation allocation, there are really two numbers to think about: 1) the technical number of PTO days you have been given; 2) the number of PTO days you actually feel at liberty to take. Often, though not always, #2 < #1. When this is the case, employees will "bank" PTO days and get paid for them. As a response, many companies are switching to "unlimited" plans. These look good to the uninitiated. But the real impetus for an "unlimited" plan is that it frees the company from having to guarantee -- or pay out for -- a minimum number of days for each employee. It's not really about lifting the ceiling; it's about lowering the floor. I'm sure there are companies out there who really do have, and make every effort to honor, "unlimited" vacation plans. But I believe these companies are the exception to the rule.