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With increasing demand for car rental services, companies offer rewards programs as an incentive for customers to choose their services over competitors. Both Avis and Sixt offer rewards programs that provide benefits and perks for returning customers. In this article, we will compare Sixt Advantage Circle and Avis Preferred Rewards. We analyze various aspects of these programs, including membership benefits, earning and redeeming points, and overall value for customers.
Sixt Advantage Circle
Sixt Advantage Circle is the rewards program offered by Sixt, a global car rental company with operations in over 100 countries. Membership in the program is free and a four status levels are available to its members. As members move up the status ladder from Gold to Platinum and then Diamond, the rewards and privileges become more exclusive. Members do not earn points towards free rentals, but rather earn points or miles with varies airline and hotel partners associated with Sixt Advantage Circle. The amount of points members will earn per car rental and redeeming options depends on which airline or hotel rewards program you opt into.
Avis Preferred Rewards
As an Avis Preferred member, each time you rent a car with Avis, you will earn points that can be redeemed for free car rental days. Alternatively, Avis Preferred members have the ability to earn airline or hotel points instead of free car rentals. Members also have access to faster reservations and free upgrades. Avis Preferred bases rewards on the amount of money you spend on each rental. Avis offers a three tier system and the higher you climb, additional benefits become available as well as an increase in points earned per dollar spent.
Redeeming points for free car rentals with Avis is straight forward. A minimum of 700 points is needed per rental and 250 points for accessories. Avis has no blackout dates when redeeming points for rentals. Rewards are grouped into four different levels based on standard base rate, car class and location. Below is a chart from Avis.com that illustrates the reward rental breakdown.
Avis Reward Chart
| Reward Day Level | Standard Base Rate | Points Per Day |
| LEVEL 1 | UP TO $50 | 700 |
| LEVEL 2 | $50.01 – $85 | 1400 |
| LEVEL 3 | $85.01 – $125 | 2100 |
| LEVEL 4 | $125.01 – $225 | 3500 |
Comparing Elite Tier Levels
| Sixt Express | Avis Preferred |
|---|---|
| Members are automatically enrolled in the Express status card level after signing up. Its free to join and benefits include: | Members are automatically enrolled in this tier when signing up and is free to join. Benefits include: |
| Ability to earn points or miles depending on which airline or hotel partners you choose. | Ability to redeem points for rentals and accessories. |
| The option to immediately pick up your rental without filling out forms. | Enjoy expedited service and go straight to your car at most locations. |
| Save your rental preferences and track your activity/rewards. | |
| Receive exclusive monthly email offers. | |
| Earn 1 point per dollar spent on car rentals and 2 points per dollar spent on accessories. | |
| Earn 100 bonus points if you rent within the first three months of joining. |
| Sixt Gold Status | Avis Preferred Plus |
|---|---|
| Is the second card level offered by the Sixt Advantage Circle Program. In order to qualify for the Gold status level members will need to have accumulated 3 or more car rentals in a 12 month period. Enhanced benefits include: | The second tier offered in the Avis Preferred Rewards program. I order to qualify for this tier level members will need to have banked 10 rentals or spent $4,000 in a 12 month period. Every January Avis will take a look at your rental/dollars spent history and either renew or downgrade your status level. Benefits include: |
| 10% discount on your SIXT rentals. | Free one-car class upgrade when reserving a midsize or above |
| Preferred mobility up to 48 hours (which means your booking is prioritized if you call at least 48 hours prior to your needed rental time). | Earn 1.25 points per every dollar spent on car rentals |
| Free additional driver for all rentals in the US. | Earn 2.5 points per every dollar spent on accessories |
| A Birthday Surprise and exclusive offers for Gold card members only. |
| Sixt Platinum Status | Avis President’s Club |
|---|---|
| I order to obtain Platinum Level card status members will need 10 or more rentals in a 12 month period. Benefits include: | Is the third and final tier offered by Avis Preferred Rewards. Members will need 20 rentals or spend $6,000 in a 12 month period to obtain Presidents Club status. Benefits include: |
| 15% discount on rentals. | Free two car class upgrades when reserving midsize or above. |
| Exclusive counter and parking services. | Guaranteed car up to a full size with a confirmed 24 hour advanced reservation. |
| Free upgrades, upon availability. | Upgraded support phone number. |
| Free additional driver for all rentals in the US. | Earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on car rentals. |
| Birthday Surprise. | Earn 3 points per dollar spent on accessories. |
| Sixt Diamond Status | |
|---|---|
| This is an invitation only level. | |
| Guaranteed free upgrades and up to 20% discounts on rentals. | |
| Free additional driver for all rentals in the US | |
| Access to Stix Diamond Lounge/VIP services, and a Birthday Surprise. | |
| Sixt Point Expiration | Avis Point Expiration |
| Points may expire, but that depends which airline or hotel rewards program you have decided to opt into. | Avis Preferred points will expire under two circumstances: 1st – if your account has no activity in a 12 month period. 2nd – over a 60 month timeframe, if you do not use any points they will expire. |
Comparing Airline Partners
Avis
As an Avis Preferred member, you have the flexibility to choose how you want to earn rewards. Members have the option to earn airline miles from 61 airline partners associated with the Avis Preferred rewards program. It’s important to note that each airline partner will offer a different number of points per rental. Below I have selected a few airline partners to demonstrate how many points you will receive per rental.
- American Airlines AAdvantage: Members will earn: 2 base miles per dollar spent with each qualifying rental. You will also earn 3 base miles per dollar spent on Avis car rentals with – Citi / AAdvantage cardmembers and AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard cardmembers without AAdvantage status. AAdvantage Platinum and Gold members will earn 4 base points per dollar spent on Avis rentals and AAdvantage Platinum pro and Executive Platinum members will earn 5 base points per dollar spent on rentals.
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: Members will earn: 1,250 miles per rental for Mileage Plan members with MVP Gold 75K or MVP Gold 100K status. 1,000 miles per rental for Mileage Plan members with MVP or MVP Gold status or 500 miles per rental for all other Mileage Plan members. Discounts are also available when members provide their Alaska Airlines Mileage plan/Avis Worldwide discount number K197800.
- United MileagePlus: Members will earn: 500 base miles per rental. Chase card holders will earn 750 base miles per rental. Premier Silver and Premier Gold members can earn 1,000 base miles per rental and Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members earn 1,250 base miles per rental. Additional discounts are available when members provide their MileagePlus Avis Worldwide discount number A791500.
Sixt
Sixt has partnered with 49 airlines to provide their Advantage Circle members with the opportunity to earn airline miles or points for every car rental. The amount of airlines miles/points members will earn depends on which airline rewards program you choose to participate in. Below is a few selected airline partners and the amount of miles/points you Will earn per rental.
- Delta: As a Skymiles member, you will earn 500 miles for each car rental.
- Singapore Airlines: As a member of KisFlyer you will receive 500 miles for each rental, 1,000 miles for every car rental booked directly through www.sitx.com/singapore-airlines and 3 miles for every Euro spent on premium limousine services of SIXT ride (Business & First Class).
- Virgin Atlantic: Flying club members can earn 500 Virgin points for every rental with SIXT and 3 miles for every Euro spent on the premium limousine services of SIXT ride Business and First class.
Comparing Hotel Partners
| Sixt — 23 Hotel Partners | Avis — 9 Hotel Partners |
|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy: As a Marriott Bonvoy member you will receive 750 points per rental and 3 points per every 1 USD spent with SIXT Ride. | Choice Hotels: Earn 1,000 Choice Privileges points per rental on qualifying rentals. Discounts are also available when members provide their Choice Privileges Avis Worldwide discount number 0418900. |
| Best Western: As a Best Western rewards member you can earn 1000 Best Western Rewards points for every rental. You can also earn 2,000 Best Western rewards points for every booking with SIXT limousine services. Best Western Rewards members are automatically eligible for a 15% discount on SIXT rentals and Best Western rewards points can be redeemed towards SIXT card rental vouchers. | Hyatt Hotels and Resorts: Earn 500 World of Hyatt Bonus Points per rental on qualifying rentals. Discounts are available when members provide their World of Hyatt/Avis Worldwide discount number K817700. |
| Melia Hotels International: As a MeliaRewards points member, you can earn 1,000 MeliaRewards points per rental and 1,000 MeliaRewards points for every booking with SIXT limousine service. As a MeliaRewards customer, be sure to book directly through www.melia.com to receive discounts. | Wyndham Hotels and Resorts: Members will earn 100 Wyndham Rewards points per rental on qualifying rentals. Members can also earn discount when they provide their Wyndham Rewards/Avis Worldwide discount number K969100. |
Additional Perks
Avis: The Avis QuickPass app allows members to skip the counter at most airport locations and while you don’t need to be a Preferred member to use the QuickPass app, only Preferred members get to skip the counter.
Sixt: Members that subscribe to Sixt newsletter will receive a 10% discount on their next SIXT rental. Members will also receive exclusive offers and discounts for SIXT Rent, Ride and Plus services delivered directly to your inbox.
Conclusion
Both Sixt Advantage Circle and Avis Preferred Rewards programs offer numerous benefits for frequent travelers. However, upon closer comparison, it is evident that Avis has a slight advantage over Sixt in terms of flexibility and options for redeeming rewards. One of the key differences between the two programs is that Avis offers the ability to choose between earning free car rentals days or airline/hotel points. While both programs allow members to earn points through their respective airline partners, Avis has a wider range of partners, providing more opportunities for members to earn and redeem miles.
Furthermore, Avis has a larger presence in the United States with more locations (1,436) available for members to earn and redeem points compared to Sixt’s (80 US locations). This can be a significant advantage for travelers within the US, as they have a greater chance of utilizing their rewards at a convenient location. Sixt is heading in the right direction and if they expand their presence in the US as well as airline partners, they will become a major contender.
Editorial Note: Information and opinions articulated in this article are solely those of the author’s, not those of a credit card company, bank, airline or hotel chain. This article has not been reviewed or approved by or otherwise endorsed by any of these companies or organizations.
