[Anonymous]

[Potakas]

Simply rent 6 times between 1st October 2010 and 31st March 2011 and you could earn over 9,000 BA Miles – enough for a return European flight, or a great boost towards a cabin upgrade!

And if you don’t achieve all 6 rentals – there are bonus BA Miles for every rental you take, so you’ll still boost your miles balance and get closer to your next redemption flight.

———————————————————————————————

Here is the offer’s link:

http://www.avisba.com/avisonline/gb/avis_ba.nsf/c/Latest_Offers,Accumulator

If you rent 6 times you will earn at least 9000 BA miles.

Regards,

Potakas

[NTarrant]

Thanks for the posting Potakas, it has reminded me that I need to contact Avis. 99% of my car hire is in the Channel Islands and they are not linked to the system so one always has to send a missing miles form.

I have just realised that I have also been short changed the 250 bonus miles for paying by BA Amex.

[Potakas]

Nigel, just remember that after 4 rentals per year you should get 750 BA miles bonus ( if you are registered to Avis Preferred).

Also the first rental as Avis Preferred Member will give you 500 bonus BA miles.

Regards

[NTarrant]

Thanks Potakas, I have to say I had forgotten that. I have been an Avis Preferred since early last year, but just realised that I have never had that bonus. I sent BA five claims for missing miles on Avis since June and I doubt I’ll get the bonus.

A suitably worded email to Avis is what is required and thanks again for the reminders, I have thousands of miles owing to me!

Regards

Nigel

[Potakas]

I think this is very common with Avis, although they offer excellent service every time you have to take Bonus miles you have to call them as i did.

Also, it is impossible to change my credit card and my address, i sent them email, i called them on the phone and every time they forgot to change something, also there a conflict because my credit card is registered to Greece. Eventually i will go to an Avis rental location to do it manually.

Regards,

[VintageKrug]

The Avis Preferred option is very handy; just turn up at the depot and your car is waiting for you.

Well worth using http://www.avisba.com to book, which has some considerably keener prices than used to be the case.

[openfly]

If you book on the phone, tell them that you belong to the AA and you get another 15% off…it works, believe me.

[VintageKrug]

True, but you get 15% off as a BA Gold Card holder, plus the additional free second driver and no one way fee via http://www.avisba.com

[openfly]

VK…read what people say before you rush to try to shoot them down.

Yes you do get 15% discount as a BA Gold…and all the other bits. But you also get another 15% for being AA, if you book on the phone, and talk to the kind AVIS folk in Barcelona.

[Binman62]

I have to say this is yet another non deal from the good people at BA executive club. Even with a 15% discount and free second driver, the price being charged for a 14 day rental in the USA is some £250 higher than Alamo for the same car from the same place. You really would need to be a milage junkie with deep pockets to use this.
It is all very well and good to hype these so called deals but the reality is that you pay for miles in hard cash. You would be better to book with Alamo (or someone else) and use what you have saved to buy the miles.
I will not hold my breath for BA to offer UK members a good deal anytime soon.

[VintageKrug]

Once again another personal attack on me from openfly.

I did not rush to shoot anyone down.

By all means if you have something to add to the debate, please do state you point, suggest alternatives, or criticise what I post.

There is simply no need to criticise me personally for sharing information which may help others looking to save money.

Is it possible to book online, using the avisba 15% Gold discount, then call up the rental office and ask for the AA discount on top? Is that your experience with one specific incident with an office in Barcelona or a more widely across Europe or worldwide?

To Binman’s point, I have actually found avisba to be a total rip off in the past, however in recent months this has changed and I have noticed that http://www.avisba.com is much more competitive than used to be the case, assuming you have the correct country of residence settings when booking, rent from airport locations, and also dependent on the duration of your rental and the type of car you select.

I am a big fan of Avis Preferred vs. Alamo and other providers’ sweaty wait for a desk agent to check out your car. The BA Miles are purely a bonus, but quite lucrative if you rent regularly.

As you will gather from my posts I do like a deal, and I can say absolutely that avisba has worked out the least expensive option for me on all *most* of my US rentals in the past year. As well as ensuring I have new-ish cars.

This is especially the case if you need a second driver, which is free on that site.

It would be interesting to have some price comparisons between providers on similar duration/location rentals.

[Binman62]

ok…BA Avis deal versus Alamo
pick up 6 feb drop off 12 feb
pay locally plus extra driver….Alamo gold also includes tank of fuel.

EDINBURGH group B Avis £197 Alamo £166

MUNICH Avis Golf 293 Alamo Astra £256

PHOENIX Tahoe SUV Avis £ 354 Alamo £294.

I did find a deal at LAX same date and also for a Tahoe where Avis were £100 cheaper but having found it coud not repeat it.

Perhaps someone can find another reason for using avisba.com but it sure is not on price.

Personally, I am big fan of Alamo in both the US and the UK where I have never had an issue and service generally excellent. Knowing I am also paying less makes it all the better

[Potakas]

Binman ,

Do you have any experience from Avis according to their service, is Alamo’s equal? What about the condition of Alamo’s cars?

[Binman62]

I have some experience of Avis but sadly not a good one. Had a car in Alicante some years back and after drop off and checks flew home. 3 days later credit card bill charged with over £500 to cover damages.
Have been using Alamo in the US for years and never had a problem, indeed last year during the vocanoe disruption they went out of their way to help.
My experiences however just that, my experiences.
The issue I have is that these much hyped deals are not exactly deals. For example 1 week hire group b from 8 Feb at LHR on avisba.com is £138. This price applies if you are a BA passenger or gold card holder, there is no difference. Moreover it is just £15 less than the Avis.com site for the same car. This is not 15% ( but that may be due to VAT I do not know). The point I am trying to make is that the “deals” offered by the executive club are frequently very poor value. The travelex deal last year for example was shocking with the exchange rates lower than joe public could have got at the airport and we all know how awful they are.
Caveat Emptor…….

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