Oof. Definitely a big risk. What did you say to convince them to bring down the deductible to $5k?

Initially they tried to invalidate the contract by saying I had breached one of its clauses (The renter must return the car to the agreed location at the agreed time). I argued the point saying that the car could not be returned because it had been involved in an accident and was towed from the scene because it was wrecked. I also went to hospital that night and was not able to make contact until the next day. They eventually agreed which left me on hook for the standard deductible of $5000 in this case.

I spent the next two years arguing with them that I should only be liable for the $100 deductible as that was the stated amount in the rental contract I had with Avis. Back when this happened I had never been asked to provide evidence of my association with the AWD code or even asked about it at all. When making a reservation then picking up the car there was no way to tell if a code had been used. I found that the website and app remembered the code and even when clearing it from the reservation form it would still apply. Based on this I put it to Avis that it was their responsibility to verify the entitlement to the code before entering into a rental contract and that any contract signed by both parties was legally binding (At the time there were no clauses in the agreement about using AWD codes).

Eventually they threatened to take it to court and they stated they would argue that the use of a the code that I was not entitled to made my actions fraudulent and that they would push for me to pay the entire cost of repairing the vehicle plus legal costs. I spoke with a lawyer who advised that it was probably better to pay the $5000 than risk full costs plus fees so I did.

This is a risk with using codes that include insurance - which is why the safest bet is to focus on codes that lack any form of insurance coverage.

Did you not have personal car insurance that would have taken care of the accident?

And that $5k just ate up all the savings from many misrepresentation rentals.

The thing with accidents is that it is by definition unpredictable; no ones plans on getting into one.

Just recently did a reservation with AWD Axxxxxx

Email said:

I forwarded my reservation from my @gmail to a "company" email address, and will print this. Assume this is sufficient?

If you have healthcare with one of the 24 Blue Cross/ Blue Shield participating companies (certain States nationwide are participating in the travel offers you can register for Blue365 (their deals website). https://www.blue365deals.com/ They offer an Avis AWD code that offers 35% off prepaid rentals and 25% off pay later rates.

Note that only certain BCBS States participate in the travel offers - not all. Here is a current list:

Currently 24 States & DC offer travel offers are (list may not be exhaustive):
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Delaware
Florida
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
New York (only Western & Central NY, Utica and Rochester regions)
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Virginia
Wash DC
West Virginia

~6 States not currently participating in the travel offers of Blue 365
Illinois
Montana
New Jersey (unknown)
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Texas

You're going to print where you forwarded your Gmail to a spoof email address at the company associated with the AWD? Not sure that would pass any test if they ask for ID. I'd expect they want you to open your phone/computer and show them where you are receiving emails under the company address. However, even if you get the vehicle off of the lot, there's no guarantee that you're "safe". As noted above, if you get into any accident, they could find that you fraudulently received the car and any insurance (with Avis or through 3rd parties) could be null and void, and you're on the hook for all damages.


I Have BCBS Texas and registered for the blue365deals (thanks for the heads up!). However, I cannot find anything Avis/Budget or even travel. Can you share where you found this on the site?

Apologies, I assumed wrongly that car rental deals were part of all the Blue 365 participating States. Travel deals (with AVIS AWD Codes) are currently active in 24 States (see post above which was edited) but as you say, there are no travel offers for BCBS 365 Texas, Illinois, New Mexico, Montana or Oklahoma. It appears travel is only offered within 24 of the 30 BCBS States (and unluckily the few I checked were within those 24 so I erroneously thought they all participated)

People bent on using codes they are not eligible (especially corporate) isn't going let a little obstacle such as having to forge email printouts/business cards/ID cards stop them.

I've had a similar thing when renting from National. The codes from the company I used to work for "persist" automatically when I make reservations. I could probably make an effort to remove the code, but I've never made the extra effort and always wondered what would happen if something happened. I would argue that National should have a responsibility to re-validate the codes periodically but the never have. Not sure how that would fly in court but certainly that can't shirk all responsibility here.

Not Avis, but Enterprise (neighborhood rental location very close to me) asked me for proof of employment as I picked up the car, when I used my employer's leisure discount code. I wasn't expecting that, and don't carry business cards with me, but they accepted them showing me the Outlook app on my phone with the company email. Only location I have ever been asked for this.

Do any non-corporate AWD awards actually reduce the price? I've tried AARP, USAA, Visa Infinite, World Elite Mastercard, MGM Rewards, Amazon, and more - and every one of them offers an identical rate. Is there a point to any of these AWDs from a price (not benefit) perspective? Perhaps it's just the locations/States I'm choosing?

Yes, most do. Where/when are you searching?

California, Florida, Nevada - all over the next 3 months - no changes at all.

But based on your response, I tried a dummy reservation at LGA and AARP code was less than the others. So it must be that the locations/dates I'm checking were just unlucky in regards to the AWD codes.

Avis.com @ LAX
Jan 10 12pm - Jan 17 12pm
No AWD - $180 for "Mystery car" (pay-later)
AARP - $162 for "Mystery car" (pay-later)
Costco - $162 for "Mystery car" (pay-later)
USAA - $162 for "Mystery car" (pay-later)