Jul 1, 2016, 10:28 am
Last edit by: rasheed
https://www.avis.com/car-rental/html...now/index.html
Avis Preferred required. Now both Android and Apple.
*Choose Your Car
Exchange or upgrade your car before you get to the lot.
*Control Your Rental
Lock, unlock, and flash lights.
*Instant Access
Real-time notifications along the way.
Rental agreement at your fingertips.
As of 7/1/16 at the following airports:
Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, Kansas City International Airport, San Jose International Airport, Bradley International Airport, Dallas Forth Worth International Airport, Austin - Bergstrom International Airport, San Antonio International Airport, Dallas Love Field Airport, William P. Hobby Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Port Columbus International Airport, Dulles International Airport, Reagan National Airport, Nashville International Airport, Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Portland International Airport, McCarran International Airport, O'Hare International Airport, Lambert-St.Louis International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, Memphis International Airport, San Diego International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Dayton International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, Miami International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Albuquerque International Support Airport, Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Bob Hope Airport, Ontario International Airport, T.F. Green Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Avis Preferred required. Now both Android and Apple.
*Choose Your Car
Exchange or upgrade your car before you get to the lot.
*Control Your Rental
Lock, unlock, and flash lights.
*Instant Access
Real-time notifications along the way.
Rental agreement at your fingertips.
As of 7/1/16 at the following airports:
Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, Kansas City International Airport, San Jose International Airport, Bradley International Airport, Dallas Forth Worth International Airport, Austin - Bergstrom International Airport, San Antonio International Airport, Dallas Love Field Airport, William P. Hobby Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Port Columbus International Airport, Dulles International Airport, Reagan National Airport, Nashville International Airport, Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Portland International Airport, McCarran International Airport, O'Hare International Airport, Lambert-St.Louis International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, Memphis International Airport, San Diego International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Dayton International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, Miami International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Albuquerque International Support Airport, Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Bob Hope Airport, Ontario International Airport, T.F. Green Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Avis Now App
Jul 1, 2016, 3:47 pm
#31
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: Avis, Alamo
Posts: 21
Thought it might work for rentals in the USA, but perhaps they are rolling it out 1 country at a time
Jul 2, 2016, 12:40 pm
#32
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: LHR
Programs: HH D,CC,SPG,AZ: Gold;BA Silver, TK Elite
Posts: 809
No need to follow the link in the wiki,if you have the app already installed you kust need to update via the app store if on Iphone or Play store if on Android
Jul 12, 2016, 8:47 am
#33
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,157
Finally got to try this out on a booking at Las Vegas a few days ago.
Even before my flight from SFO left I was able to pull up details on the car I'd been assigned :
Attempting to use change "Change Car" link didn't work well - most of the time it threw an error :
If I just kept trying it would eventually offer me another car :
When I landed a few hours later I tried again with exactly the same results - failed most of the time, but when it did eventually work it offered me the same Dodge Journey.
When I got there I found a Mustang in the Exchange section, so took that instead. During the rental, the app did update to show the car I'd taken although it looks like I forgot to take a screenshot of that.
Even before my flight from SFO left I was able to pull up details on the car I'd been assigned :
Attempting to use change "Change Car" link didn't work well - most of the time it threw an error :
If I just kept trying it would eventually offer me another car :
When I landed a few hours later I tried again with exactly the same results - failed most of the time, but when it did eventually work it offered me the same Dodge Journey.
When I got there I found a Mustang in the Exchange section, so took that instead. During the rental, the app did update to show the car I'd taken although it looks like I forgot to take a screenshot of that.
Jul 24, 2016, 3:33 pm
#34
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,157
Used Avis Now again last weekend with mixed results.
A few hours before the rental started I went in and it had an option to select my car. When I picked it, it gave me a fairly good range of choices across a number of car sizes (I'd booked an Intermediate, and had a choice of everything from Compact through to Premium, although when I picked Premium it said no vehicles available). From memory, it was just giving me the choice of a model, not a specific car, but I could be wrong there.
It wasn't clear if picking a car was going to start the rental then, and as I needed the full 48 hours for this particular rental, I didn't go any further at that stage.
About an hour before the rental time I got a push notification welcoming me to San Jose (I live there, but whatever...) and saying my car was ready - a Chrysler 200. I click on the option to Change my Car, and was given the choice of a Ford Fusion, Ford Escape 4WD, or a Subaru XV Crosstrek - all as "complimentary exchanges". I picked the Fusion, and after confirming it showed that as my assigned vehicle, but still gave me the option to swap - this time to either the Escape or the Subaru.
Picked up the car without any issues.
A few hours before I was due to return I got another push message reminding me, and telling me that when I returned I could fire up the app and select the Return option to return the car. Upon return there was a lineup, so I fired it up - but the only option it would give me was to change my car (as if I hadn't actually started the rental yet). Interesting the choice of vehicles I had to swap to was a Hyundai Accent, a Mitsubishi Lancer, and a nearly brand new Mustang Convertible...
So definitely a good experience on pickup - but the return needs a little more work...
A few hours before the rental started I went in and it had an option to select my car. When I picked it, it gave me a fairly good range of choices across a number of car sizes (I'd booked an Intermediate, and had a choice of everything from Compact through to Premium, although when I picked Premium it said no vehicles available). From memory, it was just giving me the choice of a model, not a specific car, but I could be wrong there.
It wasn't clear if picking a car was going to start the rental then, and as I needed the full 48 hours for this particular rental, I didn't go any further at that stage.
About an hour before the rental time I got a push notification welcoming me to San Jose (I live there, but whatever...) and saying my car was ready - a Chrysler 200. I click on the option to Change my Car, and was given the choice of a Ford Fusion, Ford Escape 4WD, or a Subaru XV Crosstrek - all as "complimentary exchanges". I picked the Fusion, and after confirming it showed that as my assigned vehicle, but still gave me the option to swap - this time to either the Escape or the Subaru.
Picked up the car without any issues.
A few hours before I was due to return I got another push message reminding me, and telling me that when I returned I could fire up the app and select the Return option to return the car. Upon return there was a lineup, so I fired it up - but the only option it would give me was to change my car (as if I hadn't actually started the rental yet). Interesting the choice of vehicles I had to swap to was a Hyundai Accent, a Mitsubishi Lancer, and a nearly brand new Mustang Convertible...
So definitely a good experience on pickup - but the return needs a little more work...
Jul 28, 2016, 11:53 am
#35
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Westchester, NY
Programs: Delta Plat; Hyatt Diamond; Hilton Diamond; Marriott Gold; Avis PreferredPlus
Posts: 9
The app didn't work for me at DFW this week. I got an alert to select my vehicle. Went into the app and there were no intermediate sized vehicles available. I tried to select another size (full size wasn't available) and it wanted to charge me an upgrade fee. After 10 minutes of messing around in the app an intermediate vehicle was available, but it wanted to charge me an early pickup fee. When I arrived at the rental car center a vehicle had already been assigned. The app just doesn't work...
Jul 28, 2016, 9:36 pm
#36
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,157
There appears to be two phases - before a car has been assigned (which is when you get the multiple car types/etc), and then after one has been assigned (when you see the "complimentary exchanges" if there are any). Note that in order to be notified when you are assigned a car, you need to go in and turn on push notification - they are NOT on by default!
Tried the app at Charlotte Airport this week. Got the push notification and gave me all of the details of my car, but wouldn't let me change to a different car. When I arrived there were probably 80 names on the board with all but about 5 of them having no stall number - and a nice lineup of people waiting for cars. Obviously in a case like that, I'm not surprised it didn't offer any exchanges...
Oct 4, 2016, 9:20 pm
#37
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: AA, WN, UA, Bonvoy, Hertz
Posts: 2,491
I've had a few recent rentals and can also concur some of the notes mentioned. What I really like about the Now app is the access to 'real-time' inventory. Let me mention a few tips and what I think is a bug that has happened to me twice. I am a Preferred Plus renter currently.
At some point before your reserved time, this Avis system will assign a car to you automatically. If you try to use the app before that, it is not very useful and I also was asked to pay to switch rented classes even though it seemed pretty clear there was no car available in my booked class. Usually a car is assigned sometime between 30 and 15 minutes before your rental time unless there is a really bad inventory issue.
Once a car is assigned, then, there is a lot more flexibility to get complimentary exchanges with less regard to booked/paid class. In my case, I booked intermediate and got a mini-van assigned. I looked at the options to switch/exchange a few times on my way over to the Preferred area and on my last check, I was finally offered a very low mileage 2017 vehicle midsize SUV which I selected. I did even see the assignment board change the stall number (from the minivan). The key aspect here is you do not have to ask a rep about car options. I still wish it would give me a lot more options than it was doing (only offered me two exchange choices at a time).
Now the bug I have experienced on two different rentals is that my FF partner number drops off each time I switch the car on the app. The reason why I know this is because my total decreased by a bit more than a $1 per day for my planed rental (the FF/points Avis fee). I had to stop and see an agent before I drove the car to add back the FF id to get my total back to the right amount and before driving the car. I am not sure if others have seen this issue.
Rasheed
At some point before your reserved time, this Avis system will assign a car to you automatically. If you try to use the app before that, it is not very useful and I also was asked to pay to switch rented classes even though it seemed pretty clear there was no car available in my booked class. Usually a car is assigned sometime between 30 and 15 minutes before your rental time unless there is a really bad inventory issue.
Once a car is assigned, then, there is a lot more flexibility to get complimentary exchanges with less regard to booked/paid class. In my case, I booked intermediate and got a mini-van assigned. I looked at the options to switch/exchange a few times on my way over to the Preferred area and on my last check, I was finally offered a very low mileage 2017 vehicle midsize SUV which I selected. I did even see the assignment board change the stall number (from the minivan). The key aspect here is you do not have to ask a rep about car options. I still wish it would give me a lot more options than it was doing (only offered me two exchange choices at a time).
Now the bug I have experienced on two different rentals is that my FF partner number drops off each time I switch the car on the app. The reason why I know this is because my total decreased by a bit more than a $1 per day for my planed rental (the FF/points Avis fee). I had to stop and see an agent before I drove the car to add back the FF id to get my total back to the right amount and before driving the car. I am not sure if others have seen this issue.
Rasheed
Oct 10, 2016, 9:56 pm
#38
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: SJC
Programs: UA 1MM
Posts: 262
I've used the app 3 times in that past 2 months, and I have yet to find any cars available for exchange after being assigned a vehicle. Upon arrival, I've found at least a few cars available in the exchange aisle, so not sure why they aren't offered in the app. That said, the app works well, and I hope Avis continues to improve it.
Oct 11, 2016, 10:15 pm
#39
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: AA, WN, UA, Bonvoy, Hertz
Posts: 2,491
Well Select and Go exchange cars can't be in the app because it could be a bad surprise if someone takes it before you get there which can happen. However, if there is not enough unassigned regular inventory, that could be a problem too.
Rasheed
Rasheed
Nov 6, 2016, 4:34 pm
#40
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA EXP, DL FO, UA Silver, SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Avis Pres Club
Posts: 403
I actually had Select and Go Upgrade cars show up in my app last week. I took a Mustang from the upgrade aisle, selected it in my app (it gave a specific space number, which was the number of the Exchange aisle), and I left
Feb 10, 2017, 8:45 am
#41
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: AA, WN, UA, Bonvoy, Hertz
Posts: 2,491
I am seeing a bug where when you swap cars in the app, the start mileage of the new car is actually from the old car assigned. I have sent a note to the team, but I've had this bug now appears at least on three rentals in the past month.
Lastly, I got offered a $25 plus tax ride from the return rental area to the terminal. Interesting situation, everything has a price. The alternate at my particular airport is a train to the terminal. I think the train is slightly better than the shuttle van because it goes sort of directly over the roads.
Rasheed
Lastly, I got offered a $25 plus tax ride from the return rental area to the terminal. Interesting situation, everything has a price. The alternate at my particular airport is a train to the terminal. I think the train is slightly better than the shuttle van because it goes sort of directly over the roads.
Rasheed
Feb 10, 2017, 9:00 am
#42
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,157
That sounds like a bug. What happens if you select that car, and before you get there someone else grabs it from the exchange area and takes it? One of you is going to end up being unhappy...