hangingchad

Not sure if this is in the right forum...

I received my new United / Chase Mileage Plus Club Card in the mail last week. One of the benefits of this card is Avis President's Club status with Avis.

My welcome Packet said

"Already an Avis Preferred Service member? Please call 1-757-687-2008 and provide your Avis Wizard number. We will upgrade it to Avis President's Club status upon verification of member eligibility."

I called this number and Avis said that my name was not currently on the upgrade list and that they would keep checking and call me back when my name was on the list - even though I have the United MP Club Card in my hand.

Anyone else have this problem? I'm wondering how long it will take to get this resolved. I'm sure it's just a result of the merger / new credit card, etc. I would really love to have this benefit as I rent from Avis every week for work.

Thanks,

Chad

meezer

Same problem here. Avis rep wanted my Onepass number and didn't seem to be able to do anything with a MP number, so I'm guessing they're not quite ready for the new card.

Called Chase afterwards and the representative called the same number and left a message (no answer) confirming that I was a current card holder and requesting they upgrade my Avis status. Still doesn't show any change in status on avis.com though.

WIRunner

Your MP number is the same as a OP number. They should be able to do everything with your alpha-numeric number (example AB123456)

meezer

WIRunner,

Explained to the rep it was a MP Club Card and that I was giving her my MP number (and gave it in the new format). Their response was that a MP number wouldn't work and I'd need to provide my Onepass number. 24 hours later and still no callback, which was promised as soon as my eligibility could be confirmed.

There seems to be a good bit of confusion with many aspects of this new card. Every Chase rep I speak to has a different understanding of the benefits. For example, for the UA RCC membership, I've heard anything from "your credit card is your UA entry card and we're not sending separate cards (and yes, we realize that will cause a problem with *A lounge entry)" to "you should get an e-mail proving club membership in 4-6 weeks" to "UA will be mailing you a card shortly".

Thankfully, I received the first year free - but I'm still surprised that, for a card with this kind of yearly fee, there's this much difficulty getting some of the major benefits set up.

meezer

As a follow-up, Avis updated my status to President's Club sometime in the last day or so.

As a warning for those who might already have a preferred AWD code as part of their profile, mine was changed as part of this upgrade to one specific to the Club Card. While you can change this on the search page, any reservation attempt while logged in resulted in the rates of this AWD code regardless of what I entered on the search page. Changing back to my prior AWD code resolved the issue.

jfaulkenberry

I had the same problem with Avis when I first received my card...I was Avis Preferred, but they could not verify the upgrade status. I called back today (about 10 days later), and I had already been upgraded to President's Club.

jfaulkenberry

z28lt1

As a new data point, they must have their act together now.
I called and left a voicemail with my name and Avis Wizard number (not my milage plus number). Received a call back in a few hours, they had upgraded me and asked if I wanted to keep my corporate information associated (I assume my corporate AWD), and I said yes. Never gave my MP number, but she had it since she said she could grab my updated contact info from my MP profile.
Easy and quick.

LagunaBeach

Does anyone know if the 2 car class upgrade is just for North America or is it valid in the UK?

If so, what is the minimum car class it works on?

Thanks in advance.

z28lt1

Haven't tried it myself, but threads on here indicate while it is officially a North American status, it is sometimes (often?) somewhat recognized in Europe and that if making a reservation through the President's club line, it will probably be noted and you may get lucky. Seems to be a little hit and miss.

burmaflyer

Have requested President's Club status through the Avis website. Will it show on my account when it goes through? Also, have already made a reservation for a week long rental in frankfurt at the end of the month -- should I redo it once they adjust my status to have status reflected? would rates be lower?

and any thoughts on what my chances are for a car upgrade?

Thanks!

ayodeji13

FWIW, I got a 2 class upgrade in MEL, Australia

I think it works on class A (subcompact-ish)...check the program T&C for more info

ucfjoe

Yes it will show and they mail a new card but it takes a few weeks. As far as upgrades it seems to at the whim of the agent and their mood. Sometimes it's a genesis other times it's a high mileage impala or a captiva (both i detest) and I seem to have better odds at smaller regional airports as opposed to my regular spots of MCO and PHL.

burmaflyer

Just to report back, rented at FRA with copy of Avis President's Club card. Agent had no clue about the program (said "this applies only to your airline"...), no car upgrade, and car located about as far away from the counter as possible (which for those not familiar with FRA -- is very far!).

So not such a great experience. Am renting in the US next -- does Avis President's Club work better in the US? Or should I go with the Hertz status match option?

QBK

My experience since getting the UA Club Card in June -- on three Avis rentals -- has been that the President's Club experience in the U.S. is more or less as advertised. I reserve intermediate cars and get automatically upgraded to premium. I suspect I could push it a bit further (i.e., request a different car), but so far I haven't felt like doing so.

My advice: give it a shot in the U.S.; it's worth it. I'm seriously considering keeping the Club Card primarily for the Avis status (there are cheaper ways to get lounge access).