username

Did it show any coupons issued and what was the "Rentals to Next Rewards" number? Mine is negative.

sdsearch

(After lapsing from First for a year or two I qualified for Avis First with a rental that ended on Dec 27. This week I received my package welcoming me to Avis First. It contained only the same old mentions about free weekend coupons for every 4 qualifying rentals (ie, not counting any rentals that earn any partner currency), with no mention of any changes relative to how it's been the last few years.

It said I had to register my Avis First membership at the Avis First site to get my two free weekend day coupons. (I had just registered at the Avis First site a few days earlier, but after that mailer from Avis First would have already been sent.)

username

And your point is? They don't tell you anything in advance - they probably don't know and definitely don't care.

By the way, has anyone gotten any coupons based on 2015 rentals?

Thanks.

sdsearch

They did tell us something in advance. (That's how this whole thread got started!) It just turned out not to be the case.

Whether they'll ever tell us anything else in advance (given how badly that advance announcement worked out), that's a separate question.

username

Well, this thread started in September after they already retroactively changed the terms of the free weekend coupons to expire on 1/15/2015.

They also seem to have a problem with their e-mail communication. The only e-mail I got was in October informing us the change. I never got the subsequent "delay implementation" e-mail although some members here have.

Looks like the "coupon machine" ran and issued a weekend coupon for me over the weekend good until 8/31. No e-mail yet.

mzrn

I just got an email this morning for a coupon expiring 8/31 as well.

rmohare

Same here. Received one this morning also with an 8/31 expiration.

Seriously...this is the most confusing implementation of a program ever.

username

The funny thing is that we are back to where we were before July last year. Hopefully they are better next time round. Be warned though that the new program will most likely be a huge devaluation for those who like the weekend coupons.

ewok22

I am the lucky one just received an email saying I did not have enough rentals to maintain my AVIS First, its funny because I did not even know I was Avis First, I never received any coupons or extras and certainly did not get any upgrades unless my catagory was sold out.....
0-0= nothing which is what I had before LOL

sdsearch

Then who put that into your profile???

Look:

mzrn

The plot thickens

megalab

Was poking around in my Avis First account looking for any deals for a rental I needed this weekend. Found a free weekend coupon expiring 2/28/15! I have no idea where it came from, except maybe from a rental I made a month ago. Regardless, it was perfect timing; applied it a noon, picked up the car at 1 pm.

CPRich

I had called in late January about the First program, as I was starting to travel again but my rentals weren't posting. The agent that I called confirmed that I still had First status, and that Avis was in the middle of "updating our systems". She confirmed that once the updates were completed, rentals would post, certificates would be issued, and assured me that I still had First status.

Earlier this week, I received a "so sorry, you're not First anymore" email. Questions to their customer email simply tell me I didn't qualify last year, and didn't address the fact that had well over 4 qualifying rentals while my status was shown as, and confirmed by CS, Avis First.

Do does failure to qualify become retroactive to the beginning of the year, and certificates "earned" with the status retroactively revoked?

Having been recently comped at Hertz based on UA status, this greatly reduces my inclination to rent with Avis.

Denvercccc

I'm not sure if this belongs here or if it is related to the old program but here is my experience.

I have been traveling for work for about 15 years. I was a Hertz guy for a long time and earned and used some free Hertz vouchers. I never liked Hertz that much because they seemed to lie about charges and overcharge me on occasion - adding a tank of gas to a car returned full and such.

Several years ago my company switched to National. I really liked National. I could always pick my car which was usually one with activated Sirius radio. I earned top status and it was easy to follow. I earned a bunch of free days that I used to take free rentals for a week at a time. I also earned the one two free days and could use those for a weekend or a couple days at a time. I liked the cars and the program and always had free rentals when I wanted them.

About a year ago my company was acquired and my new employer uses Avis. I was comped to President's club but really couldn't understand what it meant - I guess nothing. I think I can choose my car but I have to refuse the one that is preassigned. It seems like too much trouble so I just take the one they assign. It NEVER has sirius radio. It sometimes does not have bluetooth. I could not make head nor tails of the "awards" which seemed to only include weekend rentals for free. They would be no use for a week of vacation with my family. So I got word - by following flyertalk - that the program would be "enhanced" last year. I will not go into that mess as it is well documented. I had some vague idea that I was supposed to do something at some point or I would never earn even the weekend vouchers. I called the customer service line a few months ago to see how to sign up for avis first, which I guess is different than Avis Wizard club OR Avis preferred??? After some consultation, the two guys I spoke with assured me that if I was Presidents club I would automatically be Avis first. I guess they were as confused as I was because it appears I was not earning anything for the past year. I decided to check on my Avis first account today and I had to sign up for it first!! My account shows a series of 4 day rentals going back to last fall but none of them earned any rewards! The welcome message said they start me off with a free weekend and then I earn them every four rentals but my account show 0 weekend vouchers so they started me out with nothing?!?

Oh how I wish I could go back to National. WHy does ANYONE with a choice rent from Avis?

username

It seems a lot of people got caught up with the "must activate before you are" rule with AvisFirst. So, rentals before the activation do not count.

The company seems to be in a state of flux right now when it comes to the program. The whole episode since last summer has been crazy. We are back to where we were but everyone is wondering how they will roll out the new program this year.

The new program is supposed to be point based but I was told you will need A LOT of points for free rental days by someone who had a preview of the new program. Of course, the official line was the new program was not received positively during the preview so they are reworking it. (My suspicion is that the IT is not ready. When is the last time Avis did something for us?)

Many complain the free weekend does not work for them. For me, it works very well. So, I know the new program will be a huge negative for me - those of us on corporate contracts pay very low rates and a dollar based system will mean we accumulate a lot slowly. Others might like it though.