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Hi all,
Relatively new, so thought id throw this out to you pro’s
Im all in for BA points with a BA AMEX going for my 241 tickets every year.
Im going away to Corfu, so wanting to hire a car. What’s the best way/company you use?
Ive seen Avis seem to do a link to BA. This the best to maximise value and points?
Thanks
https://www.carhire-ba.com/ Avis bookings via this cost more than the equivalent Budget bookings on the same page but earn extra avios and give a free additional driver. Personally I use the Budget links and save the money because I don’t need the 2nd driver, you get the same cars and same service at the same desk.
When not using BA Holidays flight+Car my default tends to be http://www.expedia.co.uk their prices are very reasonable and you can cancel up to 6hrs before pickup which means you can keep checking and if prices go down rent a new car up to the last minute.
PS: No avios this way but tbh never got much from car rental (if I can rent for £100 vs £00 with Avios I rather take the £400)
Avis currently have decent promotion with Miles & More
https://one.avisworld.com/en_GB/Avis-milesandmore/Offer
Rentals with length of 3 to 5 days earn 4500 bonus miles in addition to the standard miles per status.
Rentals with length of 6 to 10 days earn 6500 bonus miles in addition to the standard miles per status.
Rentals with length of 11 to 14 days earn 7000 bonus miles in addition to the standard miles per status.
Rentals with length of 15 to maximum 28 days earn 8000 bonus miles in addition to the standard miles per statusI need a car in Poland this weekend, and £52 3-day rental is showing as earning 5250 miles. Will see if it credits automatically or needs chasing.
Also have another rental for a weekend in US later this year, where they were also competitively priced, earning another 5250.Focus more on value and on non-shadiness of company than on Avios (unless someone else is paying). Here’s 11 pages worth of advice to keep you going:
@The Savage Squirrel This is the most important thing whether it’s hotels or cars.
That’s why I’m not going with Avis in Miami and choosing Sixt instead.
Having had a shocker with Avis in the past, agreed that picking a supplier on non-shadiness is my overriding priority
Avis are generally my go to brand in the US especially (after having multiple shockers with Hertz over the years and also with National) but you need to read the reviews, primarily via google maps. The Miami locations have so many “there were no cars available” reviews that I couldn’t risk it with my tight schedule.
Avis/Budget’s one way charges are generally the lowest in the US as well.
In europe I’ll use different criteria and often choose local companies that have better reputations than the franchised brands. Topcar in the canaries for example and Novacar in Croatia
Avis have been basically…OK…for me in Europe and the US but there’s more than a whiff of the barrow-boy about the operation:
* There are always random additional charges to the card in the weeks after rental. Each one is a phone call to Avis UK to request details as the “see your invoice” function in the app/website never works. Sometimes these are justified (tolls), sometimes the UK callcentre give an explanation (“it’s because you were later than the scheduled time of collection”) which I can tell from tone of voice that they know is balls, and they then refund.
* Never get offered the upgrade that Presidents Club status is supposed to produce. I’ve never pushed this as I haven’t wanted a larger vehicle. Always have to prompt them for the free second driver even if she’s standing next to me at collection, but they have always then added her without any argument.
* I’ve been through multiple cycles of cancel-and-rebook-at-cheaper-price and the refund never arrives until I call them to prompt it.
* TCB always declines.
On the plus side they have always had a car, it’s always been in decent condition and as-described, they’re never pushy about extra insurances, and I’ve had a couple of “road is exactly 2 inches wider than the car” type scrapes of mirrors against walls without any comeback.
We were really impressed with Avis in Florida at Christmas – we got an upgrade to a fabulous Cadillac XT6 at Key West and they changed our drop-off location from MIA to MCO free with no quibble. Not sure about Europe but there was no excess on the insurance, which is always a welcome bonus.
Just booked with Alamo for a flying (2-day) visit to Limoges in December – the cheapest rate I could get was £142 for the 3rd-smallest car with £2500 excess!
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