Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Car Rental Programs and Ride Services > Avis | Preferred and Budget | Fastbreak
Reload this Page >

When a 3-day weekend rental is cheaper than a 2-day weekend rental.

Community
Wiki Posts
Search

When a 3-day weekend rental is cheaper than a 2-day weekend rental.

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jun 15, 2019, 8:41 pm
  #1  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,572
When a 3-day weekend rental is cheaper than a 2-day weekend rental.

Noticed something interesting on pricing at my local Avis airport location in Upstate New York.

Pricing rentals for next weekend, I am finding that a Friday-Monday prepaid rental using the AARP discount code and the Avis third-weekend-day free coupon (TUWA077) costs less than a Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday rental. Is this common at other Avis locations?
guv1976 is offline  
Old Jun 16, 2019, 11:42 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: HAJ
Programs: BA Bronze, AVIS Preferred Plus
Posts: 53
Hi,

yes this is quite normal. A 3 day rental is cheaper than a 2 day rental on weekends and a 1 week rental is cheaper than a 6 day rental.

3 days count as a weekend rental (weekend price), whereas a 2 day rental uses the daily price. The latter one is normally always more expensive.
Maze13 is offline  
Old Jun 16, 2019, 11:52 am
  #3  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,572
Originally Posted by Maze13
Hi,

yes this is quite normal. A 3 day rental is cheaper than a 2 day rental on weekends and a 1 week rental is cheaper than a 6 day rental.

3 days count as a weekend rental (weekend price), whereas a 2 day rental uses the daily price. The latter one is normally always more expensive.
I don't think that that's the explanation. A two-day rental that includes a Saturday-night keep typically gets the weekend rate. And a six-day rental typically gets the weekly rate. (At least, that's been my experience in the U.S.; might be different in other parts of the world.)

My speculation is that the free-weekend-day coupon deducts one day of the non-prepaid rate from the prepaid three-day total, but that's just a guess.

Last edited by guv1976; Jun 16, 2019 at 12:38 pm
guv1976 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 3:07 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 3,703
Originally Posted by guv1976
I don't think that that's the explanation. A two-day rental that includes a Saturday-night keep typically gets the weekend rate. And a six-day rental typically gets the weekly rate. (At least, that's been my experience in the U.S.; might be different in other parts of the world.)

My speculation is that the free-weekend-day coupon deducts one day of the non-prepaid rate from the prepaid three-day total, but that's just a guess.
I don't think it's right either. I think it has something to do with maximizing fleet usage. They'd rather know a car is being used for 3 days than to risk it sitting on the lot Monday morning so they bias their algorithms towards longer rentals.
​​​​​
m907 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 9:33 am
  #5  
Moderator: Avis and Rental Cars
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 8,032
If you're using Avis.com, on step 3 (rental options) expand the terms section. You can see if there's something triggering a max stay or weekend requirement in the rate. That will tell you if it's the 3-day vs. 2-day opening up better rates, or something else finicky is going on.

IAHtraveler is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 11:39 am
  #6  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,572
I just did an experiment, pricing both a Friday-Sunday rental and a Friday-Monday rental, but without applying the third-weekend-day-free coupon. Without the coupon, the prepaid two-day weekend rental prices at exactly 2/3 the cost of the prepaid three-day weekend rental. With the coupon, the three-day prepaid rental prices at less than the cost of the two-day prepaid rental.
guv1976 is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.