Avis - The new Avis Preferred Customer Loyalty Program (UK)

Has there been any discussion on the revamped Avis Preferred programme in the UK?

http://www.avis.co.uk/loyalty

How does it overlap with President or Chairman?

... and do we still get airline miles? 1,000 VS miles per rental is valuable to me.

The offer seems a bit limited for me:* Benefits and services will be available in Great Britain, Germany, France (excl. Corsica), Spain, Italy (excl.Sardinia) , Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria and Czech Republic.

I rent mainly in the US and South Africa, so it seems that my rentals there would not be included.

And something to watch when renting in non-€ currencies:Why is the currency in Euros?
- You will have noticed that your currency is marked in Euros. This is because the new loyalty programme is available across Europe and the ‘base currency’ has been set at Euros. Your rentals will always appear in Euros and is converted based on the current exchange rate.
Which 'current exchange rate? Avis's? Those of us who hate Dynamic Currency Conversion may want to rent elsewhere. ;)

Still got my BA miles for last weeks rental that stradled the launch.
Works well for me as I rent a fair bit in Europe. Not sure if the benefits are really that great though. Upgrades are usually quite frequent (turned down many as i don't like the GLK) and a second driver is free with the BA discount code.

My Preferred First card arrived in the post today. No mention of any changes to miles earning and a rental from earlier this month posted to my BA account without any problems.

Sounds identical to USA Avis First. If you elect not to receive miles on your rentals, you can receive paltry Avis benefits.

I do like the fact it is easy to get through to them on the phone using the dedicated number. ^

But I do not like the fact that this seems to just route you to the front of the general phone queue, and that the agents who answer seem to know NOTHING about the new loyalty program. :td:

I actually had to read the welcome email back to the agent several times before she would accept that my rental qualified for a 'guaranteed' upgrade and was not 'subject to availability'. :td:

I then turned up at LHR to find (a) my name was not on the board; (b) the Preferred counter was not manned; (c) I had to wait 10 minutes before anyone paid me any attention; (d) I was then told I had to have the car I had specifically told the phone agent I did NOT want (which would have also not been an upgrade!)! :td:

After producing the email welcoming me to the top tier of the new loyalty programme and clearly spelling out the supposed 'benefits', the station manager relented and gave me the car I had actually requested on the telephone - but went to lengths to point out it was a 4-group upgrade. Well, I'm happy about that, but it's not my fault the phone agent was so poorly trained she made the booking wrongly.

Overall, I would give Avis a 2/10 for this experience - round about average for my recent interactions with this company. :td::td::td::td:

I had to wait 10 minutes before anyone paid me any attention
Hope you claimed your 30 pounds worth of vouchers for waiting longer than 3 minutes.

Hope you claimed your 30 pounds worth of vouchers for waiting longer than 3 minutes.

I haven't seen that offer for quite some time, plus the stopwatches have disappeared from the counter. I think they were giving away too many vouchers!

I haven't seen that offer for quite some time, plus the stopwatches have disappeared from the counter. I think they were giving away too many vouchers!

Just checked the website and it still states the follwoing

The fastest service just got faster!Avis Preferred - the quickest and easiest way to rent - we promise to get you your keys in under 3 minutes!
Simply sign-up for a FREE Avis Preferred membership. All you will need to do is show us your driving licence, collect your keys and go!

If it takes longer than 3 minutes, we’ll give you a £20 John Lewis voucher...That’s the Avis promise

Link - http://www.avis.co.uk/ProductsServices/Additional-Services/3-Minute-Promise