Save up to 20% on Avis & Budget rentals with these targeted offers

Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission that helps contribute to the running of the site. Traveling For Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Traveling For Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card welcome offers, earning rates and benefits and some credit card benefits will require enrollment. For more details please see the disclosures found at the bottom of every page.

Hot on the heels of the Alamo offer that is being targeted specifically to Hilton co-branded cards, Amex has released two much more widely available offers for spending made with Avis and Budget. If you add in the Hertz deal that was published a few days ago, this means that Amex is now running offers for spending made at four major rental car agencies.

Spend $350 and get $75 back at Avis

Get a one-time $75 statement credit by using your enrolled eligible Card to spend a minimum of $350 in one or more purchases in-store at Avis Car Rental or online at avis.com by 3/26/2024.

And …

Spend $250 and get $50 back at Budget

Get a one-time $50 statement credit by using your enrolled eligible Card to spend a minimum of $250 in one or more purchases made directly with Budget Car Rental corporate-owned US locations in-person or online at Budget.com by 3/26/2024.

Key terms shared by both offers

• Must first add offer to Card and then use same Card to redeem.
• Limit 1 enrolled Card per Card Member across all American Express offer channels.
• Your enrollment of an eligible American Express Card for this offer extends only to that Card.
• Not valid for bookings made through travel agents, third parties, or affiliate booking sites.
• Eligible rentals must be paid by 3/26/2024 in order to qualify.
• Reservations must be made 24 hours in advance.
• Valid only on purchases made in US dollars.
• Limit of 1 statement credit per Card Member.
• Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 3/26/2024, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.
• Limit 1 enrolled Card per American Express Card online account.

See your targeted offers for full terms and conditions.

Specific Avis terms

• Must rent directly with Avis Car Rental.
• Offer valid only for rentals made through US website avis.com, US mobile app, by calling US phone reservations, or at Avis locations in the US and US territories.
• Excludes Budget & Payless brands, Chauffeur Drive, Car Sales, Scooter rentals, e-Toll and purchases with travel partners for lodging, airfare, ground transportation, or parking. Standard rental qualifications apply.

See your targeted offer for full terms and conditions.

Specific Budget terms

• Offer valid only for vehicle rentals made directly with participating Budget Car Rental corporate-owned locations in the US. Rentals can be made through the US website budget.com, the Budget mobile app, Budget US phone reservations, or in-person at participating Budget corporate-owned locations in the US.
• Must pick up and return rental to Budget corporate-owned US locations only. Excludes independently licensed or franchised Budget locations, Avis and Payless brands, Chauffeur Drive, Scooter Rentals, e-Toll, Avis Car Sales, RubyCar, and purchases with travel partners for lodging, airfare, ground transportation, or parking.

See your targeted offer for full terms and conditions.

Thoughts

These offers seem to be quite widely targeted and I’m seeing them on the following cards:

• card_name
• card_name
• card_name
• Amex EveryDay® Credit Card

I’m not seeing these offers targeted to my Marriott Bonvoy card.

As usual, only bookings within the US will trigger the two rebates on offer, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that a rental anywhere in North America or the Caribbean will trigger either of these deals.

Also, on a positive note, keep in mind that the terms and conditions say that the $350/$250 of spending required to trigger these rebates doesn’t need to be made in a single rental.

Obviously (hopefully it’s obvious), anyone who plans to use one or both deals should be loading these offers on the credit card that gives them the best combination of rental car cover and points earnings, and for me that means card_name.

Annoyingly, I’ll only earn a single point/dollar (terms apply), but I’ll have primary cover* (terms apply) which I value highly.

If you don’t have card_name but have this offer targeted to the American Express® Green Card, you may have to decide if you would prefer to forgo the saving on your next rental and use a card which would give you primary rental car cover and good points earning (like the card_name), or if you are prepared to use your own insurance (should anything go wrong) and take the 3 points/dollar and the savings from the Amex offers that the American Express® Green Card would give you (terms apply).

Personally, I would probably use the American Express® Green Card and take the  saving if I was renting for a short period of time. For a rental of any greater length, the insurance cover that the card_name gives would probably be more important to me than the saving from the Amex offer.

Note: All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Traveling For Miles. The American Express® Green Card is not currently available through Traveling For Miles.

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

Bottom Line

Holders of targeted Amex cards who need to book and pay for a rental car before 26 March should check to see if they’ve been targeted to save $75 on $350 of spending with Avis and/or $50 on $250 of spending with Budget.

Before booking, however, cardholders should also consider if the saving being offered and the benefits that come with the Amex card that they plan to use outweigh the earnings and insurance cover offered by any of the other cards that they hold.