Is there any equivelent to the elite level renter at Budget as they have at other car rental companies such as Hertz & Avis? I have noticed on the the Hertz & Avis boards discussions of "Preferred" & "Preferred Select" at Avis, and "Presidents Circle" and "Five Star" at Hertz.

It appears that these are similar to the elite flyer levels at the airlines, 1K on UA, Medallion at DL, Platinum at AA etc. with double rental miles, free upgrades etc.

I have at least 50 rentals (of at least two days each) at Budget and I wonder if I am missing out on anything?

Thanks,

I've been reserving online and making the most of double points that way. I don't believe that any of the other car rental agencies are that generous with their points/freebies.

Sure, I can "have my name in lights" with Hertz, but their newly rolled-out program is a joke - rent 40 times and get a free day! or something to that effect. I believe that Avis has a 10 rental/1 free day program or something equally cheap.

Since I usually rent for a week at a time, I'll gladly take the 500-600 points for that rental which gets me a free day or a good part of the way to a vacation package over a free upgrade. Besides, I have been having terrific luck getting unexpected upgrades with Budget. In probably around 2/3 of my rentals I get anything from a mid-to-full bump up to a convertible/SUV.

One Dog,

I do not believe that there is a formal "tiered" system for the automobile programs. -National possibly being the one exception in that I have heard of in that I have heard of several different tiers of designations for the renters. BTW, the tiers all related to some form of marketing position, for whatever that is worth.

Regardless, I like Budget for their types of autos. Especially that beloved Jaguar convertible.

I will add this. I rent about twenty times per year from Budget, and get complimentary upgrades about 1/5th of the time. A coworker of mine rents about forty times per year, and has indicated that she gets upgraded about half of the time.

Curious as to the above, I asked the person checking me out at the Ont airport (Budget) gate (when they ask for your BCN) if she could check on how many rentals I had year to date. She said, "hold on a second and let me switch to that screen". Then, she said "nine rentals so far this year" (this was in May).

So, there is some form of system to keep track of how many times you rent. Also, my exceptionally unscientific approach of asking how often people get gratis upgrades has indicated a definite trend of higher upgrades related to a higher # of rentals per year. This seems somewhat borne out by Tino's comments, too.

My upgrade rate (that I have accepted) is about 50%. On many additional occasions I am offered a full size or bigger ("Mr. Onedog, how would you like a Lincoln Town Car today?") and I graciously decline the offer . I like the Mustang convertible, SUV's, etc. I have yet to be offerred the Jaguar convertible (or now, I want the PT Cruiser!). I keep asking for those two cars, but who knows, maybe.....

[This message has been edited by onedog (edited 08-10-2000).]

Thrify has the PT Cruiser, but not at FLL. I want one too. (My next rental is in FLL)

Hardly ever any budget activity on this board, but I definitely think that they are the BEST!!

I rent four usually 4 day stints every week of the year and this double points for booking online and 20% off redeeming online is GREAT!!

To me, a rental is a rental, and Budget's cars are as good as any. I have to admit, that I was upgraded to a Jaguar S-Type once and that was NICE....

Fastbreak is great...just as fast as any of the other rental companies if not faster since Budget is not as popular with major corporations.

I think that Budget has done a great job lately and I can't say enough about them except plan extra time for one-way rentals. I occasionally have one-ways and they always seem to take 10-15 minutes to drop off for whatever reason.

Take care,
Jbird

Oneday, oneday.

I usually rent the Ford Pick-up. @ $19.99/day via the internet, you can't beat the price, although at that rate my points accumulation rate is awfully slow.

Comicwoman, You will be in my neck of the woods-PBI land. Probabaly no chance to meet as I leave 14 Aug for 5 days.

It seems to me that Budget is the best, too. A majority of my coworkers opt for National, in that the Emerald Aisle does allow you a wider selection of autos. Not bad, but I just prefer Ford trucks, Toyota cars; with Dodge coming in just behind these two. That is Budget's modus operendi (sp?), with the possible exception of getting a Ford auto (Taurus) a bit more often than I like.

Regardless, Budget is my auto rental Co. of choice. I envy you folks your ability to participate with their frequent renter program. As a government ghoul, I only earn the 50 miles per day, and can only use these miles for upgrades. Actually, it is kind of cool to concentrate all program miles and be able to upgrade a good percentage of the time. For us government folks who always take the cheapest ticket, this is a darn nice and very much appreciated bennie.*

I only rented the Jag convertible one time, but it was awesome. The Budget folks would not cut me any deals on it, of course. Still, it was a great time even if it was on my own nickel.

*Without going into excessive detail, we gubment types are allowed some form of frequent flyer, etc., bennies. These are not as good as the open market, but we can use them for upgrades. While not as flexible as the open market, this is still sweet.