Adding Platinum benefits to existing Avis account

[CharlieUK]

On the Amex Platinum website it says you can add ‘Platinum’ to a new Avis account and get free upgrades etc. But does anyone know how you add it to an existing Avis account?

[Ash]

HI Charlie, I’m thinking of getting the platinum, does it mention the Avis Presidents Club or Avis Preferred tiers? The benefits you mention sound like those tiers.

[CharlieUK]

Hi Ash, it doesn’t mention those tiers. This is what it says online: https://www.americanexpress.com/icc/cards/benefits/travel/avis-preferred.html

[shub]

You can send email to one of these 2 email addresses database.northern@bsc.avis-europe.com or database.northern@abg.com with your account details, and they would update your account.

[CharlieUK]

shub wrote:

You can send email to one of these 2 email addresses database.northern@bsc.avis-europe.com or database.northern@abg.com with your account details, and they would update your account.

Thank you!

[Luca M]

Based on recent experience, the Preferred Status you get via Amex is not a great deal, maybe just skipping the queue, however I swapped back from Amex Platinum to a World Elite MasterCard and got President Club status. I also used the World Elite Avis link for discounted booking before officially booking a car, and it was 23% cheaper than the discount I would have got via Platinum /Preferred benefit

[Ash]

Hi Luca, did they ask to see your World Elite Mastercard when you picked up the car?

[Luca M]

Ash wrote:

Hi Luca, did they ask to see your World Elite Mastercard when you picked up the car?

No, but was a prepaid tariff (which was great as it was an EU rental) and to confirm the discount a World Elite card had to be used. When I got the invoice at the end of the rental, confirming no extra charges, my card last 4 digits and that it was a MasterCard were on it.

[Luca M]

Ash wrote:

HI Charlie, I’m thinking of getting the platinum, does it mention the Avis Presidents Club or Avis Preferred tiers? The benefits you mention sound like those tiers.

Just to add to my response above and specifically as you are considering platinum, I would say that unless you have no other means of getting better status via another means (World Elite MasterCard for Avis, Hertz and Sixt, then status match with National and Enterprise), the Avis status benefit (entry level, supposedly with some associated discount and potential upgrade in very particular circumstances) is not that bad, but should not be the deciding factor for signing up to the Platinum.. £200 Travel credit, £300 dining credit, £100 Harvey Nichols credit plus the 60,000 sign up bonus (5000 more if referred, happy to help here) more than pay off the first year card fee, even not considering Priority Pass, Hotel statuses and finally the Car Rental consideration above

[CharlieUK]

shub wrote:

You can send email to one of these 2 email addresses database.northern@bsc.avis-europe.com or database.northern@abg.com with your account details, and they would update your account.

Having emailed the first address, my Avis account has now been upgraded to President’s Club.

Thanks again Shub!

[WaynedP]

I had an existing Avis Preferred Membership number when I persuaded (ahem) my wife to get the Amex Platinum and give me a supplementary card.

When I followed the process from the Amex Plat benefits page, I got repeated errors linking to my existing Avis Preferred account, and subsequently was told that the benefit is for primary card holder only, not supplementary.

Nevertheless, I have still benefitted from using the Amex Plat AWD discount code (A756900) when making bookings, enjoying satisfying discounts as recently as May 2022 when I discovered that most other AWD discount codes that historically enjoyed decent discounts had been thoroughly robbed of their value.

[shub]

Luca M wrote:

Ash wrote:

Hi Luca, did they ask to see your World Elite Mastercard when you picked up the car?

No, but was a prepaid tariff (which was great as it was an EU rental) and to confirm the discount a World Elite card had to be used. When I got the invoice at the end of the rental, confirming no extra charges, my card last 4 digits and that it was a MasterCard were on it.

Once the account is updated to reflect the Presidents Club, the price it shows when doing a search while logged in directly in Avis is same as the price quoted by Avis World Elite offer page (at least that was the case with my last EU booking). And in your Avis account you can make the payment using any card including Amex.

[Ash]

Luca M wrote:

Ash wrote:

HI Charlie, I’m thinking of getting the platinum, does it mention the Avis Presidents Club or Avis Preferred tiers? The benefits you mention sound like those tiers.

Just to add to my response above and specifically as you are considering platinum, I would say that unless you have no other means of getting better status via another means (World Elite MasterCard for Avis, Hertz and Sixt, then status match with National and Enterprise), the Avis status benefit (entry level, supposedly with some associated discount and potential upgrade in very particular circumstances) is not that bad, but should not be the deciding factor for signing up to the Platinum.. £200 Travel credit, £300 dining credit, £100 Harvey Nichols credit plus the 60,000 sign up bonus (5000 more if referred, happy to help here) more than pay off the first year card fee, even not considering Priority Pass, Hotel statuses and finally the Car Rental consideration above

Hi Luca, Oh yes, going for platinum for the other benefits primarily.

How did you get the status for Hertz and Sixt? Is there a special link or email?

I didnt know you could then match status with Enterprise and National using the Avis Presidents Club status, how do you do that?

Thanks for the tips.

[Luca M]

shub wrote:

Luca M wrote:

Ash wrote:

Hi Luca, did they ask to see your World Elite Mastercard when you picked up the car?

No, but was a prepaid tariff (which was great as it was an EU rental) and to confirm the discount a World Elite card had to be used. When I got the invoice at the end of the rental, confirming no extra charges, my card last 4 digits and that it was a MasterCard were on it.

Once the account is updated to reflect the Presidents Club, the price it shows when doing a search while logged in directly in Avis is same as the price quoted by Avis World Elite offer page (at least that was the case with my last EU booking). And in your Avis account you can make the payment using any card including Amex.

@shub when I linked my Amex Platinum to my existing Avis account (following the instructions that come with the intro pack and card) I was only givens Preferred Status (which was the status indicated on the brochure anyway), with supposedly Amex discount code, same thing with Hertz… and when I looked at making booking with that profile the price was always higher than the one I could get via the MasterCard World Elite Link (without having to log in yet). I then decided to switch back to get the President Club via MC World Elite and I received an email from Avis that I had to change my payment method on my account to the World Elite Card in order for them to verify and approve me, which was done minutes after I updated payment method. I then sent an email to Hertz for the President’s Circle status and they wanted me to send pictures of the actual card (with card number covered but for the last 4 digits) to prove it was a world Elite and the same card had to be on My account.

[Luca M]

Ash wrote:

Luca M wrote:

Ash wrote:

HI Charlie, I’m thinking of getting the platinum, does it mention the Avis Presidents Club or Avis Preferred tiers? The benefits you mention sound like those tiers.

Just to add to my response above and specifically as you are considering platinum, I would say that unless you have no other means of getting better status via another means (World Elite MasterCard for Avis, Hertz and Sixt, then status match with National and Enterprise), the Avis status benefit (entry level, supposedly with some associated discount and potential upgrade in very particular circumstances) is not that bad, but should not be the deciding factor for signing up to the Platinum.. £200 Travel credit, £300 dining credit, £100 Harvey Nichols credit plus the 60,000 sign up bonus (5000 more if referred, happy to help here) more than pay off the first year card fee, even not considering Priority Pass, Hotel statuses and finally the Car Rental consideration above

Hi Luca, Oh yes, going for platinum for the other benefits primarily.

How did you get the status for Hertz and Sixt? Is there a special link or email?

I didnt know you could then match status with Enterprise and National using the Avis Presidents Club status, how do you do that?

Thanks for the tips.

With the Amex Platinum you are supposedly getting status with Avis and Hertz. Unless something changed since April, it was just Avis Preferred status but supposedly with an underline Amex link which it is supposed to have slightly more benefits regarding upgrades and similar; you also get Hertz five star. There is no other official Car Rental Membership Benefit Associated with it.

With MasterCard World Elite however you would Get Avis President Club and Hertz President Circle. MC World Elite also allow you to register with Sixt and get Platinum status. National does status match, but on selected competitors, and I used my Sixt status to get Emerald Club Executive. I think I also used MC WE to get status on Enterprise Plus but was downgraded after a year with no activity.

[CharlieUK]

As Shub says, all you have to do is email Avis to say you’ve got a Platinum card and they’ll upgrade you to President’s Club.

[Luca M]

CharlieUK wrote:

As Shub says, all you have to do is email Avis to say you’ve got a Platinum card and they’ll upgrade you to President’s Club.

That is good to know although is not indicated anywhere on the Platinum site or brochure.

In any case if and when I cancel my MC WE I may use this method if I get downgraded to Preferred again.

[tiriavpo]

This is all a bit confusing. I got Presidents Club, based on my Avios Barclaycard, although I didn’t have that card number saved in my profile – maybe that why I didn’t seem to get my status recognised on my last rental? Now I am hearing that the Avios Barclaycards might not actually have World Elite benefits anyway!

Now I have a Platinum Amex, how do I get the status re-linked – by email as above? I can’t put my Amex Plat card number in my Avis profile as it only seems to accept a mastercard – presumably based on my supposed MC-based status.

Do you need to use the appropriate card, when making a booking, to get the avis status benefits?

[Luca M]

tiriavpo wrote:

This is all a bit confusing. I got Presidents Club, based on my Avios Barclaycard, although I didn’t have that card number saved in my profile – maybe that why I didn’t seem to get my status recognised on my last rental? Now I am hearing that the Avios Barclaycards might not actually have World Elite benefits anyway!

Now I have a Platinum Amex, how do I get the status re-linked – by email as above? I can’t put my Amex Plat card number in my Avis profile as it only seems to accept a mastercard – presumably based on my supposed MC-based status.

Do you need to use the appropriate card, when making a booking, to get the avis status benefits?

If your profile is President Club, due to the MasterCard World Elite by Barclaycard, then it is already the right status. You can also google the World Elite Avis discount page where you can search directly the special tariff. The Black BarclayCard Avios IS a WorldElite card for sure, but only has the basic benefit associated with it, not the full “Travel Benefits” that MasterCard offers for such a Card. As far as I know, no UK issued MC WE offer the full list of potential Travel Benefits offered by MC. HSBC signed up to their own LoungeKey deal, Santander also offers a specific Lounge access and things like Forex Free spending, and even Coutts offer their own concierge service, not the one offered by MasterCard.

As I stated above, there is no reference to Amex Platinum giving President circle benefits and when I linked my own card I did not get it, however other users have reported above that you need to email Avis CS and specifically ask for it, so try this if it gives you some further reassurance .. however, my last discount with the MC WE link was 23% more then the supposedly 15% discounted Amex Platinum Tariff.

[sayling]

Luca M wrote:

tiriavpo wrote:

This is all a bit confusing. I got Presidents Club, based on my Avios Barclaycard, although I didn’t have that card number saved in my profile – maybe that why I didn’t seem to get my status recognised on my last rental? Now I am hearing that the Avios Barclaycards might not actually have World Elite benefits anyway!

Now I have a Platinum Amex, how do I get the status re-linked – by email as above? I can’t put my Amex Plat card number in my Avis profile as it only seems to accept a mastercard – presumably based on my supposed MC-based status.

Do you need to use the appropriate card, when making a booking, to get the avis status benefits?

As I stated above, there is no reference to Amex Platinum giving President circle benefits and when I linked my own card I did not get it, however other users have reported above that you need to email Avis CS and specifically ask for it, so try this if it gives you some further reassurance .. however, my last discount with the MC WE link was 23% more then the supposedly 15% discounted Amex Platinum Tariff.

https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/the-platinum-card/?inav=uk_wt_plat_menu_service_card_benefits

Business Plat is just Avis Preferred. Personal Plat is President’s Club and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star – these can be seen in the Travel tab on the above link, expand the section on Car Rental.

Or go to https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/the-platinum-card/avis-presidents-club.html

[ChasP]

yes thats my experience Bus Plat only gives Preferred status – not even plus which I got via Hotels.com