Originally Posted by
IAHtraveler
Nothing is guaranteed. Don't count on a premium as all upgrades are "if available". But an SUV isn't off the table as many don't want larger vehicles with current gas prices.
You can do this, but don't expect anything nice from a location where you're swapping it. They'll likely do a like-for-like but don't want to give away a nicer car when they're not getting the revenue for it. Even as a CHM, most locations haven't been very friendly on swaps. They often want to swap for an identical model. If I argue enough or they don't have the same model, they will usually only give one within the same class, and it's often on the lower end of the spectrum of vehicle options and/or higher mileage.
The big problem is availability. When I called the location, the first thing the Avis staff said(more like shouted), "We have no car". That's just scary. I need a car with good trunk space and I talked to that location, that guy said I need to book an intermediate SUV because it's bigger than a full size. The SUV is CAD 300 more than the full size. We are 5 people with 3 teenagers and our trip is like 20 days. In my last trip I got a Kona as an "upgrade" at YVR (I was travelling alone so it was ok - that car can't even fit 2 check in size suitcases without putting the seats down) and as I understood it's a intermediate SUV (the model in the reservation was a Tucson which is a lot bigger than the Kona).
What would you do?