Originally Posted by
rockycfc
Hi There
I am from New Zealand, and the company I work for has an AWD code we can use. When I use that code in the avis.com site (rather than the local .co.nz site) and set my place of residence as NZ I get one price which seems similar to rack, maybe a small discount.
However if I leave at the default "I am a US resident" I get a substantial discount on this.
Now, my question is I am not a US resident, will they check this when I pick the car up and ping me for a higher rate?
Originally Posted by
IAHtraveler
I've done this on European rentals and never had an issue. Now if I get into an accident, that probably would be a different story. But I had insurance through my card/ins company, so I wan't too worried about that.
It's worth noting that even with a Wizard #, you'll have to stop at the desk on your first rental to have your account verified, unfortunately.
The part about getting a wizard number is good advice, but IAH is also very correct that in each country (or sometimes each franchise area), it will be necessary to stop at the main counter for verification. Also, please note that Avis is nowhere near the number #2 rental company in most of Europe (I think they are #2 or #3 in the UK, but that is the exception for Europe, especially for Germany, France, and Spain, where Avis is down the list. The reason I mention this is that many of the Avis counters (even at airports) and non-airport Avis rental locations are very small in comparison to the USA.
IAH also mentions having insurance through your credit card, which is almost routine if you have AMEX, VISA, or MC, and totally the case if you have one of those cards in Platinum or Black/Signature, as the case may be. Just check with your card issuer to confirm, then you will probably be safe. I doubt they will be verifying your drivers license against the country of residence as listed on your rental agreement, AND, do you know how many people have foreign DL's and live in the US as permanent residents? Many, many, many! Not really an issue as far as my experience goes.