Fitch

I suspect a Cruz-like directive has come from Avis top management except theirs says "maximise revenue" rather than "reduce costs".

Human nature being what it is, some employees/franchisees push things too far, less attention is paid to customer satisfaction, you know how the story ends

T8191

Hard to tell who's a franchise or not, of course.

I believe PHX is a franchise, with whom I've had no trouble at all. I could guess IAD might be 'prime', and they've always been trouble free.

As to renting in Europe ... I would rather not even consider it, regardless of Company

David_Doyle

You have to be very careful - vouchers mean nothing! The voucher effectively just gives you a 'credit' and as I found out in the case of dispute Avis are very hot on insisting that the rental agreement signed at the location has primacy.

Previously I've also had to have Avis credit me as they had charged me for an additional driver, which is included with Avisba bookings - this should really not have happened. At least they owned up to that error pretty quickly.

MPH1980

It's worth understanding there's several different ways of booking an Avis booking which is, in some way, associated with BA:

1) As a flight+car booking - this is done either at time of booking or adding the car after. This creates a voucher on BA.com and you get all the benefits thereof.

2) The other primary one is via avisba.com which is simply a branded booking portal for Avis which provides some benefits (such as a free second driver) and a discount. If you pre-pay on here - you should also get a voucher sent to you from Avis, if you choose to pay at time of rental - it should be charged appropriately at the time.

Now - I've done maybe 30-40 Avis bookings in the last 5 years. Not once have I had an overcharge off a voucher (well - except tiny ones - more in a sec), but most of the time I don't speak to anyone in the rental location as I'm in their preferred system so go straight to the car.

I do, however, frequently get check in receipts that read:

Total $x
Less voucher $y (where y is significantly less than x)
Total to pay $0

e.g. Maths that just doesn't add up.

First time I saw that I panicked but it was fine.

I do occasionally get additional charges thanks to currency movement and rounding. Every so often I get a little 1p charge come through on the card (like once every 5-6 bookings). It's not worth my time and effort to call/email to get it back so I ignore it.

T8191

I discovered a 3rd way recently, when booking flights over the 'phone with BA. I was offered a car rental as well, which I usually book separately with Avis/BA. As the agent quoted some £50 less than Avis/BA were quoting, I went for it. I then got a completely different voucher from the usual one, by e-mail from Avis. The only thing missing is my Avis Preferred number, which I will get added later.

The rest of this novel document also says: I hope the "Mandatory Charges" [the usual Facility Fee etc, plus taxes] won't be added on later, thus negating the £50 implied saving

botham

AVIS in Miami, Orlando and Salzburg have all tried to make a surcharge for an additional driver, despite the BAEC t&c giving one extra driver foc. I queried all three and the charges were removed, but users need to be cautious and eagle-eyed!

Concerto

I was badly diddled by Avis when I was young in the 1980s, really insidious and dishonest behaviour in Amsterdam, similar to that described here, and I boycatted them for almost 20 years. Then, with all the interesting miles promotions and a progressively problem free relationship, I came back to them. It seems like the moment you let your guard down they start behaving like scum again.

I wrote elsewhere about how the decline in customer service correlates to cheaper airline tickets. But with Avis, there are certainly not any "cheaper" prices these days. These rental companies should really be looked at by the regulators.

By the way, I am getting much better service from Alamo these days, none of the crap described here.

jms_uk

Slightly OT, how quickly do Avios post for AVIS bookings via BA?

aceman

I try and avoid Avis where ever I can, I'm now presidents circle with Hertz and find vehicle selection fantastic with them. However when I do a booking with flight+car to bring the cost of the flight down, I'll take it.

My last trip to LAS as mentioned here, I jumped into the car, a toyota suv, and drove off. Looked at it briefly, and it was pretty dirty outside.

Went to get it in the morning and had a proper look at it, and it wasn't just a bit dirty, it was filthy, the wheel arches were totally caked with mud and grass, the outside was filthy as hell, the car had about 39k miles on the clock, and I seemed like it had spend all of those 39k miles hard at work on a farm. I even found a half drunk bottle of water in the centre console.

Back I went to return it and get something different, as I was dealing with it in the office the guy said 'oh you have a refund coming to you' instead of switching me, he closed the rental. It then took about 30 mins to re-instate it. Finally they upgraded me into a luxury suv, and all was good with the world.

However, when I then dropped that car off, the system wanted to charge me about $400.... So more fun and games in the office expected, but it took 2 seconds and I was on my way. I get a feeling their system isn't that flexible and if you poke around with your bookings it comes up with a charge that needs to be manually over ridden.

Hertz presidents circle choices at LAS are fantastic. Book an intermediate car, and take a choice from Land Rovers, Mercedes Suvs, and Audi saloon cars, and the whole operation is so much slicker everywhere I've been then with Avis.

I would also recommend icarhireinsurance, but if you're using Amex platinum it covers your car insurance too.

rjn21

And DEN for me. Every year for the past 5 years.

rapidex

I think you might be ok in Malta.They even drive on the same side of the road as us.^

HilFly

From Avis terms and conditions

Additional Driver Policy

All additional drivers must be at least 25 years of age. The following are exempt from the additional driver fee but must meet all other driver requirements: the renter's employer or fellow employee when on company business and renting under a corporate account; the renter's spouse or domestic partner; the companion driver of a renter with a disability who has completed the non-licensed renter form; for insurance replacement rentals, company employees or family members who are designated on the insurance policy. All other additional drivers must complete and sign an additional driver form and present valid credit identification. A maximum of two additional drivers may complete a form.

For all US states other than CA, NV and NY, the additional driver fee is $13 per day per driver with a maximum charge of $65 per driver. The fee in New York is $3 per day per driver. The fee in Nevada is $11 per day per driver with a maximum of $55 per driver. There is no additional driver fee in California.

I don't know if this applies to rentals made outside the US or to non US residents.

botham

When booking with Avis through BA, BAEC holders are entitled to one free additional driver.

Or am I missing your point?

Tobias-UK

Nonsense, they drive in the shade!

Jon Baker