October 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

We reminded you last month about the NEW Avis Preferred loyalty reward program introduced in July of 2015. Here are some of the new features:

• 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

For those who were not previously Avis First, you can opt-in to the new program now to receive 250 Avis Preferred Points when you rent once within three months following opt-in.

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 an 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 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!

And if you are over 50, Avis has an exclusive partnership with AARP, providing members discounted rates and special offers on vehicle rentals with Avis, Budget, Payless and Zipcar (the world’s leading car sharing network). Did you know Zipcar is a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group?

Hertz Gold Plus

Hertz has several great promotions this month.

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 ongoing, lucrative bonuses and very special benefits for Elite members of MileagePlus; in fact, a special promotion running through October 15, 2015, rewards MileagePlus miles worth up to $130 simply for renting with Hertz

So before any car rental, take a look through all of the Hertz hotel and airline partner offers on TRVLVIP and review 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!

Bonus TRVLVIP parking Tip Reminder: 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!

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

• 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!

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