I had the appropriate number of rentals in the first half of 2007, and yet I'm still fighting with Avis to get my Avis First membership processed. I didn't pay much attention to it until November, when I realized that I should've already qualified a while previously. When I called in they said that they saw it and that they'd process my account. That was 7 weeks ago. I called in again this week and I was told that the supervisor (Ch...) needed to have IT run a report as she couldn't see my whole history. That was supposed to take a couple hours. Two days later I'm being told that IT is in the processof re-issuing 130K Avis First memberships and that they can't do anything else. They've been doing this for 2 weeks and there's no idea of when they'll actually figure out the details. And in the meantime there's nothing that customer service can do

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There was the interesting stat of 130K First members, but otherwise this has been a ridiculous waste of my time.

Their database system seems pretty poorly designed. I've had a couple of problems in the past with them dropping my corporate code and then messing up my email. Took many calls & emails over 2 months to resolve the first one and about 3 weeks for the second. Each time they say it's done, the next time I rent shows it's not. This includes time spent at a rental counter where the agent "fixed it" and gave me a print out to the effect.

If you do care about getting First, just keep trying.

I've had problems too. I've been an AvisFirst member since it started, and I noticed that one of my rentals showing up on the AvisFirst webpage is showing up as an unqualified rental, even though it's for 4 days and was all paid. I've made several phone calls, and each time the representative agreed that it should have been qualifying. This rental made my total a multiple of 3, so I should have received a new coupon. Eventually customer service gave up on fixing it, and just credited me back the money on one of my weekend rentals to my credit card...

I just noticed my Avis First is gone, I can no longer login and on my avis it shows preferred. I count 12 rentals for 2007. I had one at LAX where I used the free weekend coupon (but paid for 5 days), that may not have counted. I also had a rental in Glendale CA from a hotel location, should that count? I also had a rental less than 1 day, I think that may not have counted.

I'm having the same problem. They keep saying it is fixed, but I'm still not in First. I should have been in like six moths ago. It's a shame -- I'm spending at least $2000/month on rentals with Avis and they won't fix this.

If you had 12 paid rentals, you qualify as per Avis First web page


Sounds a lot like the problem I had with my corporate code. I really think Avis's computer system consists of a web server that hosts the website and pages and no more. The "backend" is just a bunch of hamsters running around with little post-it notes with reservations, My Avis info, etc.... All are under the tight supervision of a few overweight ferrets.

Sorry to hear that some of you are having problems being acknowledged as AF. If it were me, I'd start renting from a favored competitor and let Avis know about it often. I'd write a letter to someone in senior management and see if they couldn't expedite the process. Lost business because of a tech snafu is no laughing matter.

Website does not recognize me anymore, despite having the number of qualified rentals.

"Sorry sir, the weekend is blacked out" is the response I receive every time I attempt to redeem the free weekend.

Car type is rarely available upon arrival. Avis' solution? Here's a $20 voucher for your next rental.

No more business from this frequent renter.

Well, I got an email today from Avis First, welcoming me to another great year of benefits. But I still can't register on the site nor login