Can anyone tell me what advantage there is to being "Preferred Select?" I have received nothing in return for this designation and do not know why they even bother sending me the pretty membership card.

Same here. I have no idea why the pretty card. Looks nice and impresses my non-travelling friends. Avis did say that I earned a free rental and a second free rental after one more rental. That second one was at least a couple dozen rentals ago and I still haven't received it. The first free rental expired last May. A free rental is not a significant reward for me if I don't have the opportunity to use it. There were restrictions as well.

Maybe someone knows the answer to the question.

Apparently no one else knows either, Ron.

Actually, we all know. Since its been discussed at length in this forum. Search back 2-3 months...you should see several full threads on the subject.

Perferred Select doesnt do jack for me either......

.
I love beeing a PS. :-: This week I got a shiny new blue metallic Ford Mustang GT Convertible at CLE...

... and it was TRUE convertible weather here today!

CLE gave me a Taurus with 12,000 miles. Wanna trade?

I usually got my one car class upgrade as a Preferred Select, rarely got my Wall Street Journal. If I didn't get the upgrade I could walk up to the preferred booth and if the place wasn't sold out they'd help me. Much better as a Chairman's, though!!

I personally think it depends on the station you are renting from and the people that work there on whether PS means anything to you. In MSP it meant alot as I got nice cars with low mileage and always an upgrade regardless of my rental category. If I rented compact I usually got a fullsize and if I rented fullsize I got an SUV usually but the guy at MSP was great and he received compliments to his supervisors from me on a number of occasions.

Switch over to someplace like STL or BWI and PS means you might get a car. STL was constantly out of cars and tried to give me the highest mileage and cars with no electronic locks even though I rented full size. Toward the end of my gig there they got better and I was getting the Kia Amanti regularly when renting an intermediate.

BWI is horrible. They never have the cars ready for you. In my 10 weeks here (renting M-Th) I have had my name on the board twice (first week and this week) but neither time was the car ready. I arrive at 10 til 6pm and I put my rental for 6pm and put my flight down. Each time my "hanger" that I'm given has 19:15 on it for my "arrival" time. By 19:15 i'm usually already very close to York, PA so I always have to go to the counter. Usually they are out of cars so that's always fun as they try to give you a minivan. I've asked, begged, pleaded, all but given up my frist born to try and get a mustang just one time on one trip but it never happens. I've tried to make friends with the guys behind the counter and they just say note it on your res but there is no place to note it anywhere when making the res. I've gotten a Grand Prix GT for a couple weeks in a row and it's a nice car (low mileage) but it's always after going back and asking for something else cuz I didn't like the 23K mile car with scratches and marks all over the seats that they originally gave me.

Bottom line is PS is only as good as the employee serving you. If you happen to find a good one PS can give you real benefits, if you find one that just wants to "do their job" until quitting time, you might as well not have it.

Lance

Did you arrive this Monday too? I was at AVIS at about 10 o'clock. If you arrived earlier, then the Ford Mustang should have been yours, right?

I'm down in Canton this week and love cruising around with my Mustang convertibe...

Naw, I got to the CLE rental center at around 6:15 PM Sunday.

I'm thinking of taking my Taurus down to Chagrin Falls tomorrow night for dinner. Maybe I'll punch a hole in the roof.

I too rarely if ever get a PS upgrade and I had over 50 rentals last year.

frown.
JK

I guess I have been lucky. Just checked my rental history and am at 72 rentals for the year. I agree with many of the comments above, it really depends on the city. PS could mean a great SUV in MSP or a dirty Galant in BOI. (I swear it was one of the workers cars!!).

I do have to say that I think that I'm at about 75% upgrades. There have only been a few times that my name has not been on the board and the car was not in order.

The following cities have been consistantly good for me:

MSP
SEA
IND
BNA
JAN
MGM
ALB

The following cities have been consistanty bad for me:

BOI
BWI
ATL
DTW
DEN

Hope this helps.

Oh no... And I might have an assignment in ATL for the next 6 months.

I agree that DEN is usually awful. Some cities have been really good,but I still usually have to request my upgrade. I'm "only" at 41 rentals, but have at least another 8 more this year.