I got to experience my first time (in about a decade) experience with Avis rentals on my California trip last week. My observations: my recollection of Avis upgrades must be dated, and it's very unhelpful when it comes to SUVs. Upgraded cars nowhere as nice as I would think, but also that an upgrade for an SUV isn't an upgrade in hard product, per se, but instead an upgrade in size - not looking to drive a Suburban equivalent around San Francisco! Secondly, I got 2250 RDM, which was more than I thought I would. 500 base for booking, 250 for paying with a Chase card, and the 750 for each the Plat/1K/GS bonus, as well as the 750 earned for Silver/Gold bonus.
Given that, I decided to get the most out of the few months I have left on my Hertz PC membership and book it for half of my summer trip later this year (if it says Infiniti QX60...that's far better than anything Avis was showing me) at a similar price point, and then using Avis in PWM later (better price, but also having been through this airport so many times - not going to be a supremely luxury car to be had anyways).