Bits: Zipcar / Avios deal ends, got unused BA eVouchers?, Hertz / Eurostar deal

News in brief:

Zipcar and Avios end their partnership

‘Pay by the hour’ car rental company Zipcar is ending its partnership with Avios on 30th June.

Whilst I was still on the Avios earning plan, it was no longer the best deal for many and was not even still publicly available.

The Avios plan had a £59 annual fee with no driving credit. New Zipcar members could choose from a free plan, a £6 per month plan with £6 per month of credit or a £15 per month plan with £15 per month of credit.

The hourly rates are higher for those on the free or £6 plans but for light users it was a better option. For comparison, an MG is £8 per hour on my £59 Avios plan but £10 per hour on the ‘pay £6 per month but get £6 of credit and no Avios’ plan.

People on the Avios plan were earning 50 Avios per trip.

Given that Zipcar is owned by Avis Budget, BA’s official car hire partner, I doubt that Avios is switching to another ‘pay by the hour’ rental company.

Still got outstanding credit on a covid BA eVoucher?

An article on MoneySavingExpert reminded me that there are still a lot of unused British Airways eVouchers in circulation from cancelled flights during the pandemic.

If you have an eVoucher, it must be used by 30th September 2025. This is your final travel date, not your final booking date, so you may have less time than you think.

If you aren’t sure whether you have a full or partial eVoucher left to use, British Airways has an online search facility.

Enter the email address associated with your British Airways account here and you will be emailed if you have any outstanding credit.

Interesting Hertz deal with Club Eurostar

Club Eurostar doesn’t have a lot of partners. The only ones of scale are Hertz, Accor and American Express Membership Rewards.

A new Hertz offer has just launched and it is surprisingly generous. At least, it’s generous if you believe our 7p to 10p per point valuation of Club Eurostar points.

Via this special booking page, you will earn:

• 300 points on 1–2-day rentals
• 400 points on 3–5-day rentals
• 500 points on 5+ day rentals

This means that you are potentially looking at up to £50-worth of Club Eurostar points.

You need to book by 30th June and pick up your rental by 31st October.

You must book via this page of the Hertz website or ensure that CDP code 859340 and PC code 211780 are in your booking if you use another page.

The crux, of course, is whether the rate code is competitive compared to other discount codes you can access. If it is, you will find this a decent deal.

Note that 500 Club Eurostar points isn’t going to get you a free trip. Using points to part-pay for a cash Eurostar ticket is a bad deal (2.5p per point) so this offer isn’t worth it unless you have an existing Club Eurostar balance.