Avis car rental through BA
 

I've been a long time car renter in USA through various online portals; for some reason I don't know I've never booked through BA.

I don't know why I thought to do so, but today I checked their rates for 3 US trips in the next few months and they are very competitive.

Part of the reason for this is they currently have a promo - 'rent for 7 days and pay for only 5 days' - do those of you who book Avis through BA know if this is a regular promo which appears from time to time ?

The other thing I noticed which is at odds with the other portals is that there doesn't appear to be any free cancellation up to a 24 hour before renting date - have I got this right ?

Thanks.

On the deal - yes - Avis/BA deals do pop up from time to time - not sure I'd call it a regular thing though.

In terms of the cancellation - I think you are right if you book through BA direct.

Try avisba.com instead. That *should* give you the 'pay on collection' option which gives the 'up to 24 hours' cancellation.

It's a common promotion.

BA retain a percentage if you cancel. This doesn't happen if you book direct with Avis.

BA, and Avis booked directly have exactly the same cancellation policy...

• Pay at booking: you can cancel for free up until midnight on the day of booking; £40 up to three days before pickup; after that it's the equivalent of 3 days' rental.
• Pay at rental station: no charge, unless you cancel on the day of pickup, in which case it is £40.

Avis T&C: https://www.avis.co.uk/TermsAndCondition
BA T&C: https://eixnbeweb02.rent-at-avis.com/avisonline/terms.nsf/TermsByCountryAndLngCategories/GB-GB-PP?OpenDocument

I rent with Avis a lot and they are super helpful if you do need to make a cancellation (they have let me off the charge a couple of times); status helps though.

If you join avis preferred and use those membership details on avisba.com, I’m pretty sure the pay on collection option is no longer available and default is pay on return of car. One benefit appears to be free cancellation.

1. Avis Preferred member, always book Avis/BA in the US.

2. Seamless, painless and completely happy!

3. Deals do pop up occasionally, but the US marketplace is so volatile I wouldn’t bank on anything.

4. I always seem to have pre-paid. Just pitch up, collect car and ... go. Although I always ‘buy a tank of gas’ on collection, to avoid any inconvenience on return.

5. Insurance cover in the US through Avis/BA covers pretty much anything, backed by your personal travel insurance of course.

Over the years I seem to have mostly used netflights, sometimes holidayautos have decent rates - and more recently skyscanner have had very competitive rates if you keep a close eye on what is inc/exc.

They mostly book into Alamo / Dollar / Thrifty - but I've never had a bad car and never had a breakdown in 40 years - maybe I've just been lucky !

And always the full to full fuel option, of course. They only place I've ever had to stand up to being ripped on that is PMI Palma !

I’ve used Dollar, Thrifty and Alamo in the past (in the US) with no grief. But the Avis Preferred package through BA just seems too simple and efficient for words. Plus the Avios benefits, of course!

I like the email (at IAD) saying “Your red Kia Sorento is in Bay A36, NY licence plate ABC123, just show your drivers licence at the exit gate”. How cool is that?

A lot cooler if Kia Sorento was Dodge Durango :)

I agree - that's something to look forward to !

One of the small bugbears with using the aforementioned trio is that in order to maintain their competitive rates there sometimes can be a 20 minutes line when picking up.

I only got around to joining avis preferred earlier this year after years of religiously going with the cheaper options and have been kicking myself ever since for not doing it earlier.

I had assumed that at the basic level it was just a points collection loyalty scheme - boy was I wrong and have already saved hours of my life on the 5 rentals so far by skipping the queues (and roadside assistance etc upsells).

Add on the competitiveness of the rates and the great BA holidays customer service and it is now the first place I look.

Funny you should say that ... on both trips in 2007 Dollar upgraded me to a Durango, and a Grand Cherokee in 2008, having paid for a "Ford Escape or similar". And very nice they were too! I don't think they had fully refined their vehicle availability. :cool:

There is also the Avios offer on at the moment - book and rent with Avis for 3 days or more before 23 March 2018 and get min 1500 Avios. And as others have said join Avis Preferred beforehand and you don't need to queue at any counters.

Rather than start a new thread...: I need a van in a few weeks - in the past I've got a car from Avis at Heathrow driven up north, and collected a van locally there. However, I notice that avis.co.uk also has vans at Heathrow, and that picking it up at Heathrow would be cheaper. However, the BA site doesn't show the full Avis inventory, so, phone BA or Avis, and can I still get the BAEC benefits on a vehicle that isn't listed on the BA site?

My experience has been that through whatever channel I have booked an Avis car, the BA benefits (principally free second driver) have been given on collection when asked for. Simply putting my BA number into the booking has been enough.