You’re here because you’re looking to save money for an upcoming rental car booking. Well you’re in luck because we’re about to break down a complete listing of both official and corporate Avis rental car coupons and AWD codes.
Welcome to the world of car rental coupon codes!
If you love deals you should read these
- Which are the best car rental coupon codes in the market
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Where do I get the best deals on hotels?
- For the best prices on hotels and flexibility, I’ve been a huge fan of Booking.com. With their Genius program, you can get instant savings of 15%.
Table of Contents
Here's what we're covering:
What is an Avis AWD code?
AWD stands for Avis Worldwide Discount. This is their version of a coupon code or discount code that can be applied to car rental bookings.
There are two types of Avis AWD codes – one is for the general public and these are official promotions and the other are corporate codes that are meant to be for employees of companies to use both for business or leisure.
AWD codes are not to be confused with Avis coupon codes. Avis sometimes will issue separate codes that allow you to stack discounts on top of the AWD. These are typically minor promotions and not significant.
That said, when people think about Avis rental car coupons, they’re really thinking about AWD codes because these are what give maximum discounts.
Whether you agree with it or not, codes in the form of corporate account numbers are the best way to save money on car rentals which is contrary to what some other platforms want you to believe such as Discover Cars and RentalCars.com. Just make sure you read the disclaimer on using corporate codes before you leave.
What you need to know about Avis before you book
Here are a few tidbits about Avis that are worth noting.
Prices
Similar to National and Enterprise, the business model is to set inflated prices for people that book directly without a promotion or code. This is different from the discount chains such as Budget.
Also like many of the other car rental companies, there’s now a big push to “Pay Now” for a reduced price. As attractive as this sounds, “it’s a trap!” It’s always a good idea to keep your options open by not locking yourself into a booking or even car rental company. Plans change sometimes even last minute and you don’t want to be stuck with a booking. In most cases, all you’ll be saving is $10 or less.
Always “Pay Later” unless you’re 100% sure.
Locations
If you’ve read my background, you’ll know that I used to be a consultant and I travelled North America quite a bit. Avis was one of my go-to car rental companies because they have locations everywhere.
Not only do they have great coverage throughout North America (both airports and in the city) but they are well established globally including Europe, Asia, the Pacific, South America, Africa and just about everywhere else I haven’t mentioned yet.
This is a consideration for Avis when you’re looking at doing one-way rentals or planning an international trip such as an 8 day itinerary in Iceland, a DIY safari in Kruger National Park, or an epic trip to New Zealand.
Avis Preferred
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning the Avis Preferred program. This is their loyalty program.
By using the Wizard number they issue you on bookings, you can earn 1 point per $1 spent. This goes up to 1.25 points when you get to their Preferred Plus level (after 12 bookings or $5,000 spent). You can then redeem 700 points for a free rental day.
The points program is irrelevant though for most people unless you’re a business traveller. Why it actually matters is because you can skip-the-counter at the Preferred Plus level. When using corporate codes, it’s always best to have the least amount of interaction with service representatives.
Parent company
The parent company to Avis is the Avis Budget Group. The name kind of gives it away but yes Avis and Budget are one company which is why you’ll always see them together at the airport.
What isn’t so obvious is that the parent company also owns Zipcar, Apex Car Rentals (I found out about them in New Zealand), and Payless Car Rentals.
Compilation of Avis Rental Car Coupons
Now this is why you came here. This is a complete listing of current and tested Avis rental car coupons. I’ve broken them down between the official discounts offered and Avis AWD codes.
How to use the below tables
To use the codes, simply click on the orange button on the right side of the table. This copies the Avis AWD code to your computer so you can paste it in the rental car search form.
Official Avis promotions and discounts
For those that are worried about using corporate codes and want to go the safe route, these are the current deals offered by Avis. They change roughly every quarter or half year.
Avis corporate AWD codes
You’ll find the best savings by using corporate codes.
The savings calculated are based on a hypothetical booking scenario that I used across all codes. That said, every booking scenario is different so use the Offer column as a guideline and test a few when making your booking.
These offer pretty significant codes but the caveat is the disclaimer which I explain below.
For transparency, I’ve added the companies and organizations some of these codes belong to.
View all Corporate AWD Codes (click to expand)
How to apply Avis AWD code
Entering the Avis AWD code is pretty easy and luckily it’s not something they try to hide.
When you land on the booking form on the home page, all you have to do is click on “Discount Codes” to reveal the field where you can enter an AWD #.
Other tips on saving money with Avis
Here are a couple of basic tips on car rental savings with Avis.
- Register for Avis Preferred – The real benefits kick in when you get to Preferred Plus level but in past bookings, I’ve gotten expedited pick-up service with just the regular base level. Every bit helps to speed up the process and also spend less time interacting with sales representatives.
- If possible, rent outside the airport – For cities where it’s possible, those airport fees add up. They sneakily call it something ambiguous which is why you’ll see Concession Recovery Fee (11.11% vs 10%) and Customer Facility Charge ($5/day). In parenthesis are examples of the fees at SLC airport. In this example you’re looking at $138.61 vs $69.17 in extra fees for a one-week rental.
- Week rentals sometimes cheaper than 5 or 6 days – Discounts often kick in when you hit a full week so if you’re close to that, try getting a quote for 7 days.
- Use credit card for car rental insurance – Instead of purchasing LDW, leverage your credit card for insurance. Make sure you read your policy beforehand to know what and how you’re covered.
- Refuelling service is never a good idea – Unless you think you’re going to be in a crazy time crunch, always fill up the tank before you return the car. Even if they offer you a temping fuel plan, it’ll always be more expensive than you filling it up by yourself.
Are there any codes for underage drivers (under 25)
One thing that Avis is not really good are promotion and codes that eliminate the underage fee for drivers that are under 25. I was not able to find any but if you find any do leave a comment below.
If you’re under 25, you might be better off looking at the Enterprise promo codes.
Disclaimer on using corporate codes
As I talk about in the complete guide to car rental coupon codes, one thing you need to be aware of is that codes from the corporate section belong to corporations generated for their employees or are for members of big box stores.
Using these codes without being an employee or member is outside of their rate terms. If you do get into an accident, your own insurance may be void coverage if your misuse gets surfaced. It’s also possible that car rental companies may change your rate during your rental if they find out. It is also unclear whether if you purchase additional coverage (LDW, PAI, PEP, etc.), whether that will be nulled if they find out.
You have to be okay with these uncertain risks if you decide to use one of the corporate codes. If you don’t feel comfortable, you should just stick with the official Avis car rental discount codes.
Here’s a perspective on using corporate codes that will give you more food for thought on the ethics of using them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Avis doesn’t normally check for ID but for any of the codes that have been known to check, I’ve marked them in the table (Bombardier and Costco).
I’ve heard some stories of people getting asked for ID but you can always say that you’ve forgotten to bring it on your trip.
Your best chances of not getting asked for ID is to get to Avis Preferred Plus status so you can skip-the-counter.
One-way rentals are allowed with Avis. Prices increase when booking one-way and they come in the form of either 1) a rate increase or 2) the elimination of any included miles.
Avis is unique in that in does have a very thorough partnership with many airlines and their loyalty programs. However this means you need to use a specific AWD code which means you can’t use another code. As a result, your discount won’t be very large.
As an example, with Aeroplan, you can use AWD C682300 for 500 Aeroplan miles per booking at an airport or 250 Aeroplan miles off-airport.
In the fine print, you’ll have to pay an additional Frequent Flyer Surcharge of $0.75 CAD per day, up to $5.25 CAD per booking.
Overall, I’d say it’s not worth it.
Overall, your best bet is to always try AWD codes B920508, C062090, or B270898 when doing price comparison within Avis.
No, Avis does not have any affiliations with AAA or CAA.
Featured image via Flickr by Henderson Images
