Avis Car Rental

Avis is a US-founded car rental brand, part of Avis Budget Group (which also owns Budget and Payless). It operates rentals at 5,500+ locations across 165+ countries, with a US network spanning every major airport, downtown, and neighborhood location. Fleet includes economy, SUV, luxury (Signature Series), Zipcar (car-sharing), and Avis Prestige for premium classes. Book via avis.com or the Avis app and activate ShopBack via the ShopBack Avis merchant page to earn cashback on eligible bookings at the current published rate.

Avis Preferred has three tiers plus an invite-only Chairman's Club. Avis Preferred (base, free signup) earns 1 point per dollar on rentals, 2 points per dollar on accessories, and includes counter-skip at most US locations. Avis Preferred Plus is earned after 10 rentals or $4,000 spent per calendar year, earning 1.25 points per dollar on rentals. Avis President's Club (top publicly-earnable tier) is earned after 20 rentals or $6,000 spent, and delivers an automatic two-class vehicle upgrade at check-in, expedited pickup, 1.5 points per dollar, and a 50% bonus on free rental day earnings. Chairman's Club is invite-only.

Avis runs seasonal promotions aligned to spring break (March), summer road trip (June to August), fall (September to October), holiday travel (Thanksgiving through New Year), plus Black Friday (November 27, 2026) and Cyber Monday (November 30, 2026). Regular AWD codes discount weekend rentals 20 to 35% off with 3-day-plus bookings; verify eligible dates and locations on avis.com. Cashback via ShopBack tracks on eligible rentals at the current published rate.

The minimum age to rent a car from Avis in most US states is 21 (25 for premium and specialty vehicles). Renters ages 21 to 24 are charged a Young Driver Fee typically ranging $25 to $50 per day. In New York and Michigan, the under-25 fee is capped by state law. Avis also offers Avis for Business and government accounts where the under-25 fee may be waived. Confirm the exact fee at booking on avis.com since it varies by location and vehicle class.

Both are US-founded and roughly equivalent on US airport and downtown coverage. Hertz's Gold Plus Rewards has more aggressive 2026 threshold reductions (Five Star at just 3 rentals or $1,000). Avis President's Club (20 rentals or $6,000) gives an automatic two-class upgrade at check-in versus Hertz President's Circle's guaranteed one-class upgrade up to full-size. For casual US travellers hitting 3 to 5 rentals per year, Hertz Five Star typically wins. For heavy business rental users chasing consistent upgrades, Avis President's Club often pulls ahead. Both cashback-eligible via ShopBack.

Enterprise (which also owns Alamo and National) dominates US neighborhood-location coverage with free pickup/dropoff and typically has newer, better-maintained fleets. Avis dominates airport counter presence, has stronger business-travel elite recognition (President's Club two-class upgrade), and cleaner Preferred programme mechanics. For neighborhood or suburban rentals without airport hassle, Enterprise typically wins. For airport pickup and elite-based upgrades, Avis often wins. Both cashback-eligible via ShopBack via their own merchant pages.

Avis Loss Damage Waiver (LDW, US market equivalent of CDW) is optional and typically runs about $20 to $45 per day depending on vehicle class and location. Before adding LDW, check three sources: (1) your personal auto insurance may extend rental coverage; (2) many US credit cards (Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Platinum) offer primary or secondary rental car collision coverage when the rental is charged to the card; (3) programmes like Amex Premium Car Rental Protection (about $19.95 per rental, not per day) provide primary coverage. Adding Avis LDW on top of credit-card coverage is often duplicative for personal rentals.

Avis has staffed counters at every major US airport including Orlando MCO, Las Vegas LAS, Denver DEN, Los Angeles LAX, San Francisco SFO, Dallas Fort Worth DFW, Miami MIA, Atlanta ATL, Newark EWR, JFK New York, and Chicago ORD. Peak rental times align with spring break (March), summer road trip (June to August), leaf-peeping (September to October Northeast), and Thanksgiving through New Year. Book 3 to 4 weeks ahead for holiday windows since airport inventory tightens fast. Avis Preferred members skip the counter at most US airport locations.

Empty any pending Avis cart, then click through fresh from the ShopBack Avis merchant page to avis.com. Complete the booking in the same browser session using a personal credit card, then confirm the reservation email. Avoid pasting unofficial third-party promo codes at checkout since they can break cashback tracking. Cashback tracks on eligible car rentals at the current published rate on the ShopBack Avis merchant page. Corporate rate codes (AWD numbers), government rates, and third-party OTA bookings (Costco Travel, AAA) typically do not qualify.

Yes. Any cancelled or no-show portion of your Avis booking is removed from the ShopBack cashback total, since Avis only pays commission on completed rentals. Pay Now (prepaid) rate cancellations within the free-cancellation window typically issue a refund; the pending cashback will not confirm. Pay Later rate cancellations before pickup have no fee but also earn no cashback.