Lyaec350

Hi all,

Have signed up for both Fastbreak and Avis preferred, but no status in either program.

Need a Suburbun/Yukon XL for a road trip and found a decent rate from the local large airport (MSP) returning to my local smaller airport (2 weeks). Budget all in is ~$1300, while Avis all in is $1700. Wondering if I am more likely to get a lower mileage/better equipped vehicle with the Avis rental, or should I stick with Budget to save the $400? Well equipped with lowish miles would be worth $400 for the 2 weeks to me if the alternative is a high mileage base trim vehicle, even in same "class".

Thanks in advance!

Auto Enthusiast

Avis and Budget share the same cars. Don't bother paying so much extra.

AutoSlash

It's more luck of the draw than a conscious effort on the part of Avis Budget to supply better trim/lower-mileage vehicles to the Avis brand. You could easily end up assigned a brand new Suburban with Budget and a higher-mileage Yukon with Avis. It depends on when you arrive and what's available. It often helps to be extra nice to the counter agents and if you're not happy with what you get, ask if something else might be available. If it were us, we'd save the $400. Good luck!

PS--Try tracking the reservation with AutoSlash. You never know--we might find an even better deal with Avis in the end.

IAHtraveler

Stick with the cheapest. As others noted, they share a fleet. And all large SUVs in the Avis/Budget fleet are well equipped (heated seats, remote start, leather, etc).j The only exception is the rogue Sequoia you might find floating around. The Sequoia feels ~20 years old and always are bare bones in the Avis fleets. As I just noted on another thread, seems the Chevy versions are often best equipped.

I haven't seen a new large GM/Ford SUV with over ~20k on it at ABG, so I'm guessing they have a turn-back program around/before that time frame. You could still find one that's over that if they missed a turn-back (or kept it longer due to COVID) but they should still be in great shape unless you find a smokey one.

sdsearch

Avis lets Preferred members select their own cars (from a subset) at larger locations when they book midsize or above (Avis Select & Go). I would think that what you're trying to book fits into "midsize and above", doesn't it?

So if Avis lets you choose your own car, but Budget doesn't, that might be a reason to consider Avis, would it be?

Of course, I'm not sure how well Avis Select & Go works right now at MSP during the Covid fleet slowdowns.

indufan

It never has worked worth anything before let alone now. Crazy number of few locations offered it to begin with and those that did have a crazy number of few cars available. And LAX is the worst example.

AutoSlash

Agree. Select & Go is so spotty and thinly supported that it's effectively a useless service. Frankly, Alamo is far better since you can wander the lot in many places and choose what you want from a specific section.

Not sure why Avis never copied Emerald Aisle/Ultimate Choice, or at least fixed the problems with Select & Go. It seems like a massive missed opportunity.

Auto Enthusiast

I remember reading somewhere on FlyerTalk that Avis found their customers actually preferred to have a car assigned, rather than choosing.