sdsearch

You can earn miles booking directly through Avis (though some AWD discount codes don't work with earning miles, and I have no clue about USAA specifically). On the last page of the reservation process, avis.com has a field for selecting your frequent flyer/guest/rider program and your FFP number with that program. (It's on the same page where they ask you to provide your arriving flight number, if arriving by plane.)

And I said above, you only earn sizeable miles if you "follow the promos". But if you pay attention to the Avis partner promos thread, you'll be surprised at how often there are AA Avis promos. (They're all summarized, including a bunch of expired ones still shown though greyed out, in the Wikipost at the top of that Avis partner promos thread.)

cottonmather0

Yes, I just booked a rental directly through the Avis website and United wasn't in the dropdown list like usual... So I thought I'd check here and my hunch was confirmed.

Being a member of Avis First, I tend to like the service and I get unplanned upgrades all the time, so I'll probably stick wth Avis. I tried Hertz for a couple of trips last year and was not pleased with the service or the quality of the cars (even with a status match) and don't think it's worth going back to Hertz over a pittance of miles like this.

But boo United, anyway. If I didn't live in Houston I'd switch to another carrier. Just another demerit for them.

kirkwoodj

Got a mailer today about how to sign up for Hertz President's Circle (thru Pres Plus card). Guess I'll give em a try, but boy do I know Avis after all these years!

JohnMacWW

I said goodbye to Hertz about five years ago after several very unpleasant customer service experiences. I made my new home with Avis. This change is not the end of the world for me but I do take the miles.

I guess I will wait to see what the Avis First changes are next year and then decide whether to go back to Hertz or not or go somewhere else.

But this does seem like a weird situation. Why would Avis not want to incentivize UA flyers and vice-versa. Perhaps it is as one post said that it was a requirement of the Hertz-UA deal.

TennisNoob

Anyone hear anything about Avis considering to keep it's old elites?

rasheed

The Hertz-United tie-in is exclusive, but the Marriott-United tie-in IS NOT exclusive. AA was recently running a Marriott promo, for bonus miles on every hotel booking as an example. So, don't throw Marriott in the mix as yet.

Rasheed

Cavit Yardim

Hertz being an United off-spring, its not an unexpected. However, MP is becoming ridiculously mean by every day. With umpteenth negative change in MP program happening in March, I am seriously looking for an alternate FFP. United's elite status is loosing value to its fliers at an ever increasing acceleration. Non-airline lounge programs are becoming far more attractive alternate and only at the fraction of Airline's club cost.

I hate AA and AC due to their fuel surcharges for award tickets and DL for non-availability of majority of surcharge fee free partners while booking award tickets online.

Looks like, now I will have to bank miles in some overseas FFP far from NA or a smaller regional airline.

Maybe time is perfectly right for a new full service fee free airline entrant in the North American market. Technology can keep costs in check and they can offer real FS airline with little brain storming. Let's see if and when it happens. Market is definitely desperate for such a change.

sdsearch

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Cavit Yardim.

You've got your facts wrong about AA fuel surcharges, and it may lead you to change programs unnecessarily.

AA doesn't charge fuel surcharges when flying its own metal, when flying Air Berlin, or Finnair, or Qatar, or most other partner airlines except BA and IB.

Meanwhile, other airlines charge fuel surcharges on BA too!

So the problem you're running into is not where you have your miles, but which airline you're looking to fly.

Meanwhile, be aware that most non-North-American airline programs have a "hard" expiration of miles, where no matter what you do your miles expire after just a very few years. So many non-North-American programs are only worthwhile (for people in North America) if you've got transferrable points in large amounts (SPG, UR, Amex MR, etc), that you can transfer for one particular trip and exactly drain that account on that one particular trip (so there's nothing left over to expire).

(By contrast, most North American airline programs, as well as BA, only have "soft" expiration, meaning "activity" can extend you expiration, and thus with period "activity" your miles never expire.)