November 2015 Car Rental Update
At TRVLVIP we focus on maximizing your car rental reward program earning and redemption opportunities to save you time and money. The more you know, the bigger your advantage and the greater the travel Luxury you’ll enjoy for your Loyalty! We have some great car rental updates for you this month!
Avis Preferred
For those who were not previously an Avis First member, and haven’t yet opted into the Avis Preferred program introduced in July 2015, you’ll receive 250 Avis Preferred Points to rent once within three months of opting into the new program.
Here is a reminder of the main features of the Avis Preferred Program:
- Points are earned based on the amount you spend
- The redemption of points is dynamic – the quantity of points required for benefits varies based upon elements such as duration of the rental, date of rental, car class, time of year and location
- Points can be used for free rental days, upgrades, accessory rentals and extended roadside assistance
With each Avis rental, you may choose to earn either Avis Preferred points or a hotel, airline or other discount and bonus offer with one of Avis’s partners. So, which should you choose?
- If Avis is your preferred car rental company and you rent from Avis often, we suggest you choose Avis Preferred Points as your earning preference
- If you shop around for car rentals based on price versus loyalty, it makes more sense for you to choose a current offer from Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, IHG, Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood or American Express Platinum
Before any car rental, it’s a great idea to look through the partner offers on TRVLVIP and to review the the money saving Avis Tips, which contain special credit card and other discounts (i.e. American Express Platinum, USAA and AARP). And always perform a quick comparison between the partner deals and Avis’s ongoing specials and discounts (since you can only apply one discount and bonus at a time) to find the best deal for you!
If you’d like to learn more about the Avis Preferred program and why it makes sense to sign up, see our great overview of the Avis loyalty program.
And if you are a member of AARP (which is open to all ages), Avis has an exclusive partnership with AARP and provides members discounted rates and special offers on vehicle rentals with Avis, Budget, Payless and Zipcar (the world’s leading car sharing network).
Hertz Gold Plus
Hertz has several great ongoing promotions this month that are worth a closer look.
Members must choose to earn either Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points or hotel, airline or other partner discounts and rewards. So, which should you choose?
- If Hertz is your preferred car rental company and you rent from Hertz often, we suggest you choose Hertz Gold Plus Rewards as your earning preference; this choice is especially lucrative while Hertz offers to Accelerate Your Earnings with double or triple your Hertz points through December 15, 2015
- If you are one to shop around for car rentals based on price versus loyalty, it makes more sense for you to choose an airline offer from Alaska, American, Delta or United, or a hotel offer from IHG or Marriott
- And for the most lucrative partner offer, consider United’s exclusive partnership with Hertz, which includes an ongoing, lucrative bonus up to 1,250 miles and Elite benefits for MileagePlus members! In fact, a special promotion running through December 31, 2015, rewards an extra 1,500 MileagePlus miles per rental simply for choosing Hertz.
So before any car rental, take a look through all of the Hertz hotel and airline partner offers on TRVLVIP and review our money saving Hertz Tips, which contain special credit card and other discounts (i.e. American Express Platinum, USAA and AAA). And always perform a quick comparison between the partner deals and the Hertz ongoing specials (since you can only apply one discount and bonus at a time) to find the best deal for you!
If you’d like to learn more about the Hertz Gold Plus program, see our great Tip on the Hertz loyalty program.
Bonus TRVLVIP Tip Reminders:
First, if you’ve ever had to find and then pay for parking in any major city, particularly an unfamiliar city, you know the pain and expense involved. What if you rented a car from Hertz and could park for free? Well you can, almost anywhere. Check it out!
Second, if you are a member of AAA, don’t miss out on the special Hertz and AAA bonus offers rewarding up two FREE weekend rental days and other great discounts and perks!
National Emerald Club
As a reminder, National launched its best promotion of the year (perhaps the best promotion of any car rental company) in August. The One Two Free Promotion, rewards a Free Rental Day with every two qualifying National rentals of two or more consecutive days or 600 points through January 31, 2016. You won’t be able to benefit until you register, so jump on it!
Ever wonder while on the rental car bus whether it makes more sense to choose National credits toward free rental days or participate in a partner bonus? I know we have (but, that’s our job…). To learn more, see our great Tip on the topic!
National members must choose to earn either Emerald Club credits or hotel, airline or other partner discounts and rewards. So which should you choose?
- If National is your preferred car rental company and you rent from National often, we suggest you choose Emerald Club credits toward free rental days as your earning preference and one of National’s ongoing money-saving specials
- If you want to take advantage of the One Two Free promotion, you must forgo any of the partner bonuses and elect to earn National Emerald Club credits toward free rental days – we believe no partner bonus offer exists that is more valuable than choosing to earn with National during the One Two Free promotion
- If you are one to shop around for car rentals based on price versus loyalty and won’t have at least two qualifying rentals to earn a free day during the ONE TWO FREE promotion, it makes more sense for you to choose one of the airline offers from Alaska, American or Delta or a hotel offer from Hilton
So, before any car rental, take a look through the National hotel or airline partner offers on TRVLVIP and review the money saving National Car Rental Tips, which contain special American Express Platinum credit card perks and other suggestions. And always perform a quick comparison between the partner discounts and bonus deals and the National last minute and other specials (since you can only apply one discount and bonus code at a time) to find the best deal for you!
We hope you enjoyed our monthly car rental update! We’d love to have you follow us on Facebook and Twitter and to share TRVLVIP with friends and family who enjoy travel and desire more Luxury for their Loyalty!
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Happy Loyalty, Happy Travels!
PLEASE SHARE:
I think that Avis and Hertz don’t make clear their information on lbtailiiy coverage in Europe. Liability insurance (Basic Public Liability and Property Damage) is included in the rate of the vehicle, up to the minimum limits required by the law of the particular country. When they say that lbtailiiy insurance is not available to buy, it means that there is no ADDITIONAL Liability insurance options to purchase. You many notice when booking a car in the US that there is an insurance option called ALI (Additional Liablity Insurance) what this does is raise the renters coverage for public lbtailiiy and property damage damage beyond the minimum level required by law. (The car is automatically covered up to the minimum limit required for lbtailiiy).If you call an Avis or Hertz rep, they will be able to confirm for you that basic lbtailiiy insurance is already included in your rate for the rental in spain. Remember it’s only public lbtailiiy and property damage that is covered.. not any damage or theft of the rental car itself.Hope this helps!
Thanks for the info. It’s helpful.