Avis Preferred from Avis Budget Group Inc. - digital perks and faster rentals

Reviewed: ad hoc news New Release & Launch desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-30, 14:19. Details in the imprint.

Avis Preferred from Avis Budget Group Inc. greets you right at the airport counter, your name glowing quietly on a screen while others shuffle paper at the next desk. You swipe through the Avis app, feel the phone buzz with your assigned bay, and simply walk to your car.

What Avis Preferred offers

At its core, Avis Preferred is the company’s loyalty program for regular renters, bundling priority service, digital tools and points on qualifying bookings. According to the official Avis overview, members earn points on every eligible rental dollar and can redeem them for free days and upgrades. The Avis Preferred program page

The program sits alongside the Budget and Zipcar brands in the wider mobility portfolio but is clearly aimed at frequent travelers who stick with Avis. Members sign up for free online, then simply include their profile number when booking to access the benefits. The Avis Budget Group annual report

Digital tools and faster pickup

What renters like Lisa, a business traveler highlighted in several customer stories, notice first is how the check-in rhythm changes. Instead of queuing with printed confirmations, Avis Preferred lets them use the app to confirm details, skip some counter steps and head straight to a pre-assigned vehicle bay in many major locations. Avis mobile app information

The app itself feels tidy, with upcoming bookings, digital receipts and profile data neatly stacked on the screen. When you land late at night, that matters: you tap once, see your plate number, and the only sound is the automatic boot latch clicking open in the dim garage.

Tier levels and extras

Avis Preferred has several tiers, including Preferred Plus and President’s Club in selected markets, which unlock extra perks like complimentary upgrades, higher point accrual and priority availability during busy periods. The structure is typical of travel loyalty schemes but tuned to car rental usage patterns.

For a frequent renter who hits the upper tiers, the difference is tangible: you step out of arrivals, see a mid-size car assigned automatically instead of the compact category you paid for, and feel the slightly heavier steering wheel under your hands on the first turn out of the garage.

Where customers see limits

The program is not without friction. On review platforms, some Avis customers praise the speed and free rental days but criticize inconsistent recognition of their status at smaller locations, or feel that upgrades are more modest than they expected. That mismatch can be sobering after a long flight.

Another practical limitation is geographic: benefits such as guaranteed availability or specific app features vary by country, and certain extras are focused on North America rather than Europe. For a German customer booking through local portals, the experience might not fully match stories from U.S. airports.

Context and share reference

For chief executive Joe Ferraro, loyalty initiatives like Avis Preferred sit right in the middle of the group’s strategy to deepen relationships with frequent travelers and corporate accounts while keeping distribution costs in check. They also tie neatly into the wider push toward mobile-first bookings and self-service pickup.

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This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.