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How to get Avis Preferred Plus status from your Priority Pass

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If you have American Express Preferred Rewards Gold or American Express Platinum, you will have a free Priority Pass card for airport lounge access.

Here’s something you may not know.  Holders of a Priority Pass airport lounge access card can claim Preferred Plus status with Avis.

Avis Preferred Plus usually requires five Avis rentals in a year and €1,000 of spending.

Get Avis Preferred Plus status with Priority Pass

This isn’t an offer worth bothering with if you have American Express Platinum, since the card already comes with President’s Club status in Avis Preferred. It is worth considering if you have Preferred Rewards Gold.

What are the benefits of Avis Preferred Plus status?

To be honest, the benefits of Avis Preferred Plus are not huge. You get:

  • 10% discount (but you would also get this as a free base level member)
  • priority car availability
  • a free extra driver on every trip (already a free benefit if you book via the BA Avis website)
  • a complimentary one-level vehicle upgrade whenever possible

You can find out more about the different Avis status levels on their website here.

You can claim your Preferred Plus status by following the link on this page.  There is also a notional ‘20% discount’ for Priority Pass members although this may not beat other partner rates such as the BA one. The landing page quotes ‘Voucher for a free weekend in Europe (after 3rd rental)’ as a Preferred Plus benefit, but this is no longer part of the package.

If you are reading this from outside the UK, this offer may not be open to you.  You need to be based in:

“Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.”

How to get FREE car rental status and other benefits via UK credit cards

How to get FREE car rental status and other benefits via UK credit cards (December 2024)

If you hire a car in the UK, you can get special benefits (discounts, upgrades, free additional drivers etc) if you have elite status with a car rental programme. You can get elite status for free via certain American Express cards.

The Platinum Card and American Express Business Platinum

The Platinum Card from American Express and American Express Business Platinum come with two free car hire status cards. Your supplementary Platinum cardholder can also receive status in their own right.

From Avis, you receive President’s Club status in Avis Preferred. This gets you up to 25% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a guaranteed one class upgrade. For weekend rentals you will receive a two class upgrade, subject to availability.

From Hertz, you receive ‘Five Star’ status in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. This gets you up to 15% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a one class upgrade, subject to availability.

Hertz also offers Platinum cardholders a 4 hour grace period on rentals. Your final day is treated as 28 hours, so a 1pm pick up with a 5pm return the following day is only charged as one day, not two days. We wrote about the Hertz / Platinum 4 hour grace period here.

The Platinum Card also comes with full car hire insurance with no obligation to pay for the rental via American Express. You can refuse any attempts to sell you additional insurance at pick up. This benefit has substantial value if you rent on a regular basis.

You can find more details on the two Platinum cards, and apply, in our full reviews linked below. You can apply here for the personal card and here for the business card.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is an excellent card in its own right. You receive 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up (convert to 20,000 Avios amongst other things), four airport lounge passes and £120 of Deliveroo credit. Even better, your first year is free.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

There are two car rental benefits:

  • you receive Preferred Plus status in Avis Preferred
  • you receive a special package with Hertz – 10% off best available rates at participating locations, a one class upgrade for rentals of 5 days or more, subject to availability, and no additional driver fees

Find out more about the benefits of American Express Preferred Rewards Gold in our review. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Category

Avis and Avis Preferred

Comments (24)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Robert says:
    6 May6 May 04:15

    This actually prompted to me to check out the different Preferred level benefits, and especially the difference between President’s club UK/Europe and the US.

    To get Preferred plus status in the US you’ll need 10 rentals or $4000 of spend, compared to €1000 spent over 5 rentals in Europe.
    For president’s club, you’ll need 20 rental or $6000 of spend in the US, compared to just €2000 in Europe over 10 rentals.

    The benefits are slightly different too. While Avis US offers no free additional driver, and no discount at any level (although there are definitely President’s club discount codes out there offering significant savings), President’s club there offers a two class upgrade at any time, not only weekends. Although I have to say, I’ve always enjoyed at least double upgrades in Europe and the UK on most of my rentals, weekends or weekdays, but I did notice the terms do now say weekends only for double upgrades, so not sure if that’s a recent “enhancement”…

  • Ian says:
    6 May6 May 05:38

    Surely with the Amex Platinum card you will opt for the President’s Club with Avis?

    This is a higher level benefit.

    • Rob says:
      6 May6 May 08:30

      True. The article is really aimed at Gold cardholders.

  • DWB1873 says:
    6 May6 May 07:20

    Despite Presidents from the Platinum, Class of car I prefer (M) never gets an upgrade. Quick service but overall it’s not particularly game changing.

    Maybe different if I rented outside UK – but I don’t.

    • Patrick says:
      6 May6 May 07:56

      PC with Avis has more often than not yielded benefits:
      Most of the time at least one class upgrades, and sometimes way higher (Peugeot 108 to MB C-class, or C3 Cactus to MB CLA).
      Similar levels of upgrades worldwide, renting primarily in the UK and Europe

      • DWB1873 says:
        6 May6 May 13:04

        Yeah. The thing I’m probably getting wrong is absolutely want an auto, so I pick the car I want and then see. If I rolled the dice and went lower with view of upgrading, likely would work out better – but I might get a manual – which I don’t want! 🙂

        • lumma says:
          6 May6 May 17:54

          I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t randomly be given a manual if your original booking was for an auto. With no status at all with Avis is was once asked if I was ok with an auto and was given an E Class when I booked a Ford Fiesta at Newcastle airport though

        • Patrick says:
          6 May6 May 20:52

          It might vary by location, but agents will generally upgrade to auto in countries where manual is dominant (e.g. France for instance)
          I usually book manual there as I am used to both gearbox types, the only time when I don’t get upgraded from a manual class to auto is when they’re out of stock

  • Terry says:
    6 May6 May 08:12

    You get President’s Club tier with a World Elite Mastercard, which includes Free Roadside Assistance Plus and double upgrade at the weekend (subject to availability).

    https://secure-one.avisworld.com/en_GB/Avis-Mastercard/AvisPreferred

    • yonasl says:
      6 May6 May 10:29

      Indeed, which means the Barclays Avios Premier card (or whatever it is called) can get Presidents Level without needing an Amex platinum.

  • Doc says:
    6 May6 May 08:15

    If I have the basic preferred status already, can I upgrade to plus with this offer or do I have to create a new account?

    • Terry says:
      6 May6 May 10:31

      You definitely can with a World or World Elite Mastercard.

    • sayling says:
      6 May6 May 10:36

      Email Avis customer services – normally pretty good at sorting this sort of thing

  • Ross Park says:
    6 May6 May 08:49

    I only see links for new Avis customers to link.
    There is no website I can find to link both accounts so I can benefit. I have both memberships but can’t seem to find it?

  • David S says:
    6 May6 May 10:05

    My latest Preferred Plus experience is a queue that went right to the door but only three people in the normal line

    • DWB1873 says:
      6 May6 May 13:06

      Mine is presidents never having a staff member – but to be fair very quick once you get there, especially if pre validated etc on the app.

  • David says:
    6 May6 May 16:12

    Avis rental in Aruba. They told me the Presidents status has no bearing at their site. So basically I might as well shown my student ID from 2000s

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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