Earn an amazing 20,000 bonus Etihad Guest Miles on Avis Car Rentals

A big car rental bonus is here! For the next three days you can book Avis car rentals that are credited to Etihad Guest and earn 20,000 bonus miles per rental! This is one of the biggest if not the biggest car rental offer we have ever seen. We’ll have to go back into our old posts to compare with some of those big SAS EuroBonus offers from the 2000s and 2010s. This offer needs to be booked by August 17 for rentals between September 1 and November 30 and awards 20,000 bonus Guest Miles for each 3 day rental of a Group C or higher car in the USA (excluding Alaska), Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia

August 27 Update: Rent twice with Avis and earn a free day, your best bets for getting a Buddy Pass to convert to Aeroplan points & more details on Flair Airlines new U.S. routes

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your daily dose (or near daily dose) of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more.

 
Avis Car Rental has brought back their annual free day offer after a one year hiatus due to COVID. This offer provides members of Avis Preferred (free to join)with a free rental day for every two rentals of two plus days. This offer runs until Feb 28, 22. Click here to register (Registration is required) and then visit Avis.com to book your car.

Earn up to 2,000 Aeroplan Points when you rent with Avis

 

One thing we haven't seen too much of from the new Air Canada Aeroplan program are bonus offers for flying (that one is a bit obvious as to why), hotel stays, car rentals and more. Yes, the current situation due to the pandemic in Canada and globally has curtailed travel and thus the promotions around them. However we track bonus offers from 170+ loyalty programs from around the world and are definitely starting to see the bonus offer market make a come back. With Aeroplan this really hasn't been the case however - right now we only have the small bonuses with the new Starbucks partnership and of course the ongoing offers for credit cards but beyond that nadda. Aeroplan used to be king of the castle when it came to bonus offers - in fact back in 2014 when kept detailed notes on the 5,000 or so bonus point offers we posted on our global site FrequentFlyerBonuses.com Air Canada came out on top in the number of promotions released that year.

Save 20% on Avis car rentals in Canada and a tip for getting them at a lower price

The final part of the three part promotion from Air Canada, Avis and Fairmont Hotels that we still need to cover here on Rewards Canada is the car rental special from Avis. The first two parts can be found in the following posts:

• Save 20% on all Air Canada flights within Canada when you book by June 16 - good for travel until May 15, 2021! 
• Fairmont Hotels Explore Canada offer - Get every 2nd night free for stays at 18 Fairmont Hotels until June 30, 2021

The Avis portion sees the car rental company also offer 20% off their base rates for rentals in Canada. These rentals need to be booked by June 16, 2020 and the actual rental only needs to be completed by June 16, 2021. You must quote AWD # C285901 when you book online at Avis.

Here's a quick look at a 2 day rental in Toronto:

The above rental was quoted on the global Avis.com using the AWD # C285901. I also tested it out from the actual offer page on Avis' Canada site Avis.ca and (not) surprisingly they charge more for the same rental even with the 20% off:

This comparison is for a 2 day rental from Avis at Pearson International and as you can see the .ca site is over $60 more for the exact same rental! So that's the tip for finding the rental at a lower price - don't book it on the .ca site. Go to Avis.com and manually enter the AWD # C285901 or just use the code that automatically populates with this link as it also gives you the 20% off.

One more comparison for you. This is Vancouver's Georgia & Hornby Avis location - care to take a guess which screen shot is .ca and which is .com?

Earn 1,226 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for Avis car rentals through to April 30 if you book by December 26

We continue with Aeroplan's Boxing Week specials,  this final offer is for renting cars from Avis. You can earn 1,226 bonus Aeroplan Miles on Avis rentals Worldwide. What makes this bonus really good is that it appears you can earn this bonus on even a one day rental and for most car groups. This means you can rent a pretty cheap car for one day and rack up a decent amount of miles for it. Simply book by December 26 for rentals December 26 - April 30, 20.

Offer details:
1,226 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on a qualifying rental at participating Avis locations worldwide. Full details & online booking. Book by Dec 26 for rentals Dec 26 - Apr 30, 20

Here are the other Aeroplan Boxing week offers we have already covered here on Rewards Canada:

• 100% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you fly Air Canada within Canada, from Canada to the U.S. or Canada to Sun destinations
• Aeroplan IHG Hotels Boxing Week offer - 4x miles if you book by Dec 31 for stays until Apr 30, 20
• Aeroplan eStore Boxing Week event - Earn up to 7x miles for your online shopping until December 29

Image via Air Canada Aeroplan

Avis Preferred: Receive a Free Day Rental Award after you complete two rentals

Offer details:
Receive a Free Day Rental Award when you rent twice with Avis for two or more days in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico or U.S.V.I. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Until Feb 29, 20
For residents of the U.S. or Canada only (includes Puerto Rico and USVI)

Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on Avis rentals until December 15

Offer details:
Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on qualifying rentals at participating Avis locations worldwide. Full details or simply use AWD H522500 when you book online at Avis.com Until Dec 15, 19

Members will receive 1,000 bonus miles for $100-$250 spend before taxes, 2,000 bonus miles for $251-$400 spend before taxes, and 3,000 bonus miles for $401 or more spend before taxes.

 Terms & Conditions:

• Promotion runs from September 3, 2019 through December 15, 2019
• Bonus mile offer valid on a qualifying rental at participating Avis locations worldwide. Members will receive 1,000 bonus miles for $100-$250 spend before taxes, 2,000 bonus miles for $251-$400 spend before taxes, and 3,000 bonus miles for $401 or more spend before taxes.
• The total spend will be calculated in CAD for rentals in Canada, and USD for all other locations.
• The total spend includes time and mileage and all ancillaries added to the rental and is exclusive of taxes and fees.  
• A qualifying vehicle rental is defined as one vehicle rental per day, per city, for all consecutive days a vehicle is rented - whether or not the rental is renewed during those consecutive days.
• All rentals must mention a valid Aeroplan number at the time of reservation or at the time of rental to receive miles.
• A Frequent Travel Program Fee of $0.75 CDN per day, up to $5.25 CDN per transaction will apply and will be assessed in connection with miles earned pursuant to a reservation. The amount assessed is collected by Avis to offset a portion of Avis' annual cost of participation in this frequent travel program.
• Miles may not be earned on free, tour or certain travel industry & AWD rates and may only be earned on one frequent travel program per rental.
• Bonus Aeroplan Miles may take up to 4‑6 weeks to be credited after the promotional offer end date. Offer cannot be transferred, sold and we reserve the right to change terms any time at our sole discretion.
• The savings of up to 25% applies to Avis base rates and is applicable only to the time and mileage charges of the rental, at participating locations, worldwide. Offer does not apply to car group X or prepaid rates.
• All taxes, fees (including but not to limited Air Conditioning Excise Recovery Fee, Concession Recovery Fee, Vehicle License Recovery Fee, Energy Recovery Fee, Tire Management Fee, and Frequent Travel Program Fee) and surcharges (including but not limited to Customer Facility Charge and Environmental Fee Recovery Charge) are extra.
• Weekly rates require a minimum five-day rental period. Weekend rate available Thursday noon; car must be returned by Monday 11:59 p.m., or higher rate will apply. A Saturday night rental and an advance reservation may be required.
• Offers subject to vehicle availability at the time of rental and may not be available on some rates at sometimes, including some online rates at Avis.ca.
• Car rental return restrictions may apply. Offers subject to change without notice.  
• Holiday and other blackout periods may apply.
• Renter must meet Avis age, driver and credit requirements. Minimum age may vary by location. An additional daily surcharge may apply for renters under 25 years old.
• Offer valid for reservations made and rentals checked out between September 3, 2019, and December 15, 2019. 
• Rental must begin by December 15, 2019.

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Earning Stories: 3,000 Aeroplan Miles earned on an Avis rental in Palm Springs

Welcome to the another post in the Earning Stories series right here on Rewards Canada. For years we have provided you with the details on earning points and miles (both regular earning and bonus opportunities) and these stories show the actual offers in action.

This earning story is for a rental we completed in Palm Spring back at the end of March. We rented a SUV for 5 days to get us around the Palm Springs area. I booked it using this promotion we had listed on Rewards Canada's Aeroplan Bonus Miles page:

1,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on qualifying Avis rentals Worldwide of 3 days or more during the week, or 2 days or more during the weekend. Book online at Avis.com with AWD # C682300.

Plus there was an additional exclusive offer that came in my email for another 1,000 miles:

The booking was simple via Avis.com and when we arrived the line ups for the car rental counters were insane at PSP but thanks to being Avis Preferred (free to join!) that line only has one person init!. We were provided with a really nice Nissan Armada Platinum, an upgrade from what we had originally booked. The rental cost us about US$295 which was a steal for the vehicle we got!

At the outset of the rental we ended up earning the 500 base Aeroplan Miles plus the 1,500 bonus miles from the offer plus the 1,000 miles from the exclusive targeted offer for 3,000 miles total.

Here is a screen shot of the miles that posted:

Overall I think this was yet another good earning action for an inexpensive rental and it's always nice to boost an account with these bonuses. This is another example of how we always stress our readers to check the Rewards Canada bonus offers section before you make any booking. If you are planning on traveling and need to book flights, hotels, car rentals you should always check first to see if you can earn more miles or points for that booking!

Tips for Car Rentals
- Watch the rates that include bonus miles - For us it is about 50/50 in terms of earning bonuses on rentals, many times rates are out there that are quite a bit cheaper and provide more value versus paying more and earning more miles. For a complete list of car rental bonus offers see this page on the main Rewards Canada site.
- Read the fine print - When a bonus offer is available be sure that your rental meets the criteria. Those are primarily minimum number of rental days and vehicle type. There are many promotions that don't get awarded on the smallest/cheapest vehicles.
- Join the Car Rental company's program - Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, National Emerald Club and others all provide great benefits such as dedicated check in counters, bypass check in counters and more.

You can find more Earning Stories listed here!

Earning Stories: 2,500 Aeroplan Miles on an Avis SUV rental

Welcome to the another post in the Earning Stories series right here on Rewards Canada. For years we have provided you with the details on earning points and miles (both regular earning and bonus opportunities) and these stories show the actual offers in action.

This earning story is for a rental we completed in Abbotsford earlier month. We rented a compact SUV for 4 days to get us around the Abbotsford area for the Volleyball Canada National Championships. I booked it using this promotion we had listed on Rewards Canada's Aeroplan Bonus Miles page:

Earn up to 3,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on Avis rentals Worldwide. Book online at Avis.com
Bonus Aeroplan Miles may be earned on qualifying rentals, at participating locations as follows:

• 1000 bonus miles on weekday rentals of 3 consecutive paid days or more, and on a weekend rental of 2 consecutive paid days or more. A weekend rental must be picked up after Thursday 4pm, local time. Available at participating locations worldwide.
• 1000 bonus miles on select vehicles, including Specialty (Group X), SUV’s (Groups W, F, Z, L), Vans (Group V), Luxury (Group H), Convertibles (Group K) and Premium (Group G) vehicles. Excludes Economy (Group A), Compact (Group B), Intermediate/Midsize (Group C) and Full size (Group D, E).  Available at participating locations in North America.
• 500 bonus miles on rentals that are prepaid at the time of reservation via avis.com/ca, or via the Avis Call Centre. Available at participating locations in North America.
• 500 bonus miles on Rental Option / Coverages purchased including: GPS by Garmin, Sirius XM Satellite radio (US only), Child Safety Seats, Travel Tab Adventurer, Extended Roadside Assistance (RSN), Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), Personal Accident Insurance (PAI), Personal Effects Protection (PEP), Additional Liability Insurance (ALI – US only). Bonus will be awarded one time only, per rental agreement, regardless of the number of Rental Options / Coverages purchased. Available at participating locations in North America.
• 500 bonus miles as a Status Member. A Status member are those with Aeroplan Silver, Black or Diamond status only.

The booking was simple via Avis.com and when we arrived much to our surprise instead of the Ford Escape or equivalent that we had booked they put us in a nice BMW X3. 

At the outset of the rental we ended up earning the 500 base Aeroplan Miles plus the 2,000 bonus miles from the offer (1,000 for 2+ weekend days and 1,000 for an SUV)

Here is a screen shot of the miles that posted:

Overall I think this was yet another good earning action for an inexpensive rental and is always nice to boost an account especially in this day and age when more and more programs are going revenue based  and making miles actually harder to earn by flying so you have to make use of these partner offers.

Tips for Car Rentals
- Watch the rates that include bonus miles - For us it is about 50/50 in terms of earning bonuses on rentals, many times rates are out there that are quite a bit cheaper and provide more value versus paying more and earning more miles. For a complete list of car rental bonus offers see this page on the main Rewards Canada site.
- Read the fine print - When a bonus offer is available be sure that your rental meets the criteria. Those are primarily minimum number of rental days and vehicle type. There are many promotions that don't get awarded on the smallest/cheapest vehicles.
- Join the Car Rental company's program - Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, National Emerald Club and others all provide great benefits such as dedicated check in counters, bypass check in counters and more.

You can find more Earning Stories listed here!

Hurry! 18,000 Bonus Avios for a 3 day Avis Car Rental in Europe. Must book and pick up by Dec 10!

So not sure if any of you may be able to take advantage of this unless of course you are reading this from Europe or the UK or are flying there in the next day or two.....

Here is a huge car rental offer that I wish we came across earlier! If you can manage to book by the 10th and pick up the car by the 10th you can get 18,700 Avios! (18,000 bonus + 700 base) Might be worth it to book in your hometown and use the rental car for commuting! Let us know below in the comments for cheap offers you find for Group C cars that perhaps others can take advantage of as well!

Offer details
18.000 Bonus Avios on Avis rentals of 3 days or more on a minimum group C vehicle in Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland. Full details can be found here

• Qualifying rentals must be booked between 21st November and 10th December 2016, to be picked up between 8th and 10th December 2016, and returned on or after 11th December 2016.
• To qualify, rental length must be minimum 3 days and include overnight Saturday 10th December, and minimum car group C.
• Rentals must be booked on iberia.com, avisiberia.es or avis.es
• Rentals must include the Iberia Plus membership number of the first named driver (the “renter”). This Iberia Plus membership number must be given at time of reservation and the card shown at time of rental.
• Valid for all participating rental locations in Spain mainland, Balearics and Canaries, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland Offer subject to vehicle availability.
• Qualifying rentals will receive 18,000 bonus Avios, in addition to the 3 Avios per €1 spent; minimum award 18,700 Avios (including minimum 700 Avios for 3+ day rental). .
• This Avios bonus is not valid on Prestige rentals, Chauffeur Drive or Van rentals worldwide..
• Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other coupon, promotion or frequent flyer points offer. Avis reserves the right to withdraw the offer at any time.
• The awarding of Avios may take up to 8 weeks from date of rental.
• This promotion is subject to all General Avis Terms and Conditions and to all Avis & Iberia Plus partnership Terms and Conditions, available at avisiberia.es..
• This promotion and all Avios issued are subject to Iberia Plus terms and conditions, available at iberia.com/es/iberiaplus/conditions.
• Renter must meet standard Avis age, driver and credit requirements.

Why you should consider crediting your Avis rentals to SAS EuroBonus

A few weeks ago (or was it even last week?) we passed along the news that SAS EuroBonus will now award 1,000 points for any eligible Avis rental that is booked through their page on the Avis World website at avisworld.com/eurobonus

Why is this significant? 1,000 points for a rental may not seem a lot but when you compare it to many other programs it actually is especially when looking a rentals of 1 day or less. Aeroplan only offers 500 miles per Avis rental excluding any bonuses and many U.S. programs offer 50 miles per day excluding bonuses. Some programs award varying levels of points per day so that is why this SAS EuroBonus tactic should really only be looked at for one day rentals.

When looking at our home grown program, Aeroplan, it would take you 50 Avis rentals to get enough Aeroplan miles for an economy class award ticket within North America. With SAS EuroBonus their old earn rate prior to April 1st was also 500 points but now that it has been doubled, you can get enough SAS EuroBonus points for a round trip economy class award ticket in North America with only 25 Avis rentals and this is why you should consider moving your 1 day or less Avis rentals to SAS EuroBonus. Of course bonus offers may change this value proposition but most of the time those bonus offers require rentals of multiple days.

Although we haven't wrote about before here on Rewards Canada, you should do the same for one day or less Hertz or Alamo rentals by crediting those to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club as you'll earn 1,000 miles for any eligible rental with those two companies. This is also valuable as Flying Club miles can be converted to Hilton HHonors points if you never for see redeeming miles via Flying Club for flights.

But what about consolidating all your points into you main account you may ask? While I still tend to preach about focusing on one program a person should also look at how quickly you can be rewarded. If you are planning 25 Avis rentals this year and know you'll be 12,500 miles short of an award with Aeroplan than you should probably credit those to Aeroplan but if you have no award flights planned or just wing it when it comes to that department you are better off crediting to EuroBonus and getting a free round trip award flight vs. a one way award flight.

EuroBonus' Star Alliance Award chart - 25,000 Miles for North America round trip

Find the complete details on booking Avis cars with SAS EuroBonus at avisworld.com/eurobonus

Air France KLM: Earn over 50,000 Flying Blue Miles on Avis car rentals

Here at Rewards Canada we list hundreds of car rental bonus offers each year from the 160+ programs that we track but for the past couple of years no offer has topped Air France KLM's Avis Accumulator offer. This year we originally brought it to you back in March in this post but with just a little over four months left in the year the offer deserved mention once again to either remind you of it or if you weren't aware of it to give you enough time to get to the top bonus level.

The offer is a tiered bonus that will award you with a total 50,500 Flying Blue miles when you complete six rentals of 3 more days each, which are enough miles for a classic award ticket in economy class between North America and Europe. If you haven't credited any such rentals to your Flying Blue account you better hope that you can get in 18 days (6 rentals x 3 days) with Avis in the next four months!

Here are the full details on the bonus offer as we posted it to RC's Flying Blue page back in March:

Earn up to 50,500 Flying Blue Miles on your Avis rentals of 3 or more days per rental Worldwide.
Earn 2,000 bonus miles on your second rental
Earn 5,000 bonus miles on your third rental
Earn 7,500 bonus miles on your fourth rental
Earn 14,000 bonus miles on your fifth rental
Earn 20,000 bonus miles on your sixth rental
For a total of 47,500 bonus miles plus 3,000 base miles unless you are a Platinum member in which case you'll earn 3,600 base miles.

To qualify, reservations at Avis.com must be made using a Flying Blue/Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) number: Ivory members F982700;
Silver members F982800;
Gold members F982900;
Platinum members F983000

or with a KLM Flying Blue AWD number:
Ivory Z266200;
Silver members Z266100;
Gold members Z190300;
Platinum members K885100

or with an Air France AWD number:
Ivory members i939600;
Silver members i939700;
Gold members i939800;
Platinum members i939900.

There is no registration required for this offer, you just need to ensure that you use on of the above AWD numbers when you a book a 3 day or longer Avis rental anywhere Worldwide at Avis.com