Avis - Chances of a counter upgrade to convertible?

Hello All,

I'm new to these forums so please forgive any newbie errors.

I'm doing a road trip from LAX to PHX and need a 1 way car rental. We ideally would like a convertible but I'm finding the rates to be very high to book them. Last time we were in California we rented from Dollar and got a good deal on a convertible. This was however not a 1 way rental. Seems most rental companies aren’t thrilled about us doing a 1 way to PHX.

Seems there are deals for PHX to California but not the other way around. We are using points for the flight so changes will throw off our savings so it's pretty much not an option.

I should say we are not interested in Jeeps, we will have a couple of laptops and passports so we need a trunk, and not a hatch / SUV.

I managed to get a few decent Avis rental coupon codes and go the following rate

September 28 pick up LAX 9pm
October 7th drop off PHX 8:30pm.

Intermediate Cruz or similar- $447.29 + tax & fees for $564.63

I think I did pretty good on price, as I can't even get that price for a basic economy car let alone intermediate.

I will try priceline / hotwire when the dates are closer just in case we need to back out of the trip.


So I have a few questions.

1) What are the odds that I will be able to drive away in a convertible?
2) Any chance of a free upgrade, should I offer to pay?
3) I usually sign up for loyalty programs to skip the line at rental counters. Would it be wise for me to talk to an agent this time so I can try and get an upgrade?
4) When I use the coupon code "UUMA010" it tells me the convertible's are sold out... it's california and it's almost 6 months in advance, are they really sold out or just don't have them?

Any other rental agencies you'd suggest where I might get an easy upgrade to a convertible.

Most convertibles are not one-way rental eligible. Thats why you a) cant use a coupon to give you a convertible one-way, and b) why you won't get a counter upgrade to them.

I'd say you're chances of 0%.

Given the weather that time of the year, you might not want a convertible anyway.

You can do much better than that on price also. Try A074800 code. Under $400 for full size, and thats without using a coupon.

Sign up for Preferred. If you are not reside in US, make sure that you told Avis to bill you in USD BEFORE you pick up your car.

Most convertibles are not one-way rental eligible. Thats why you a) cant use a coupon to give you a convertible one-way, and b) why you won't get a counter upgrade to them.

I'd say you're chances of 0%.

^ what he said