How to earn Avios from Avis car rentals

Avis Budget Group is the exclusive car rental partner of British Airways which means you can earn Avios when you rent from them.

We looked at how to earn Avios from Budget car rentals in this article. Today I want to look at how to earn Avios from Avis car rentals.

Before I go on, I want to make something clear. Despite the Avis Budget Group deal, you CAN earn Avios from Hertz, Europcar and SIXT car rentals. You do this by crediting them to a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account, which uses Avios as its currency, and then transferring the Avios across to British Airways Executive Club.

How do I book Avis car rentals to earn Avios?

Avis and BA have a dedicated booking site which you can find here and which automatically adds the correct British Airways discount code.

If you use avis.co.uk, you will need to manually add the British Airways discount codes (AWD) which are, based on your British Airways Executive Club status:

• Gold members – N744400
• Silver members – N744300
• Bronze members – N284300
• Blue members – N744100

Full details of this offer and all of the partnership benefits are on the Avis / BA website here.

You can also book, and find out more, on the car hire pages of ba.com here.

How many Avios will you earn?

You earn 5 Avios per £1 spent at Avis.

Following changes a few years ago, there are no longer additional bonuses for paying with a British Airways American Express card or making multiple rentals in the same year.

There is also no longer a minimum earning rate. A very cheap rental will now only earn a very small number of Avios. You may be better off, if the rate is the same, crediting low value rentals to Qatar Airways Privilege Club which gives a flat 500 Avios per rental.

Are there bonus offers?

Yes, occasionally.

There is an 80% bonus running until 28th November 2024 as we covered in this article.

Are there any other Avios bonuses available from Avis?

Yes. If you join Avis Preferred for free you will collect an additional 1,000 bonus Avios on your next rental.

Are there other benefits?

Yes.

If you book via the British Airways discount codes, you will receive a free additional driver. This can represent a decent saving and is one of key perks of the Avis / BA partnership.

You can no longer pick up Avis cars at Terminal 5

Avis no longer has a depot inside the long stay car park at Heathrow Terminal 5. It has moved to the car park of the nearby Staybridge Suites hotel which requires you to take a bus to and from the airport.

The only car rental group with cars inside Terminal 5 is SIXT, which has a desk in the lobby of the Sofitel Heathrow hotel.

Is the Avis / BA deal better than the Virgin Atlantic / Hertz deal?

Virgin Atlantic and Hertz used to be a better deal for most people when Virgin Atlantic awarded a fixed 1,000 Virgin Points per rental.

However, this deal has now switched to 5 Virgin Points per £1 when renting from Hertz. This means that, if no bonuses are running, it is the same as the BA / Avis deal.

Details of the Virgin Atlantic / Hertz deal are on the Virgin Atlantic website here.

Remember that, if you do end up renting from Hertz, you can now earn Avios in a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account.

Find out more

You can check out the full details of the Avios partnership on the Avis / British Airways website here.

You can learn about the Avios deal with Budget car rentals in this article if you want to compare your Avios options.

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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.

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.