Avis/Budget credits will require prepaid reservations

It must be secret devaluation season. AA and Citi apparently didn’t want to be left out of the Bilt devaluation, so they quietly devalued the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card’s $120 Avis/Budget annual credit. Those who applied for the card after 7/15/24 can only earn the $120 annual credits through prepaid locations. Those who applied before 7/15/24 can continue to earn credits via prepaid or postpaid rentals until the end of 2025, and then only via prepaid reservations after that. What about those who applied exactly on 7/15/24? I have no idea.

The $120 Avis/Budget credit devaluation

A reader emailed us to let us know that Citi and AA have removed all mention of the $120 Avis/Budget annual credit from the public pages for the Citi AAdvantage Executive card. He wondered if the benefit had been completely removed. I reached out to contacts at Citi to find out what was going on, but never heard back. Finally, it occurred to me to log into my own Citi account and look at the benefits page for my Citi AA card. That’s where I found the answer. No, they haven’t removed the benefit, but they have changed it so that it only works for postpaid bookings:

Those who applied for the card before July 15 will have the rest of this year and all of 2025 to earn the credits using the old postpaid method.

This wouldn’t necessarily be a big problem except that Prepaid reservations cannot be cancelled free of chargeAfter reviewing several postpaid reservations on both the Avis and Budget websites, I found that there appear to be consistent cancellation fees across both programs: a $50 fee for canceling more than 24 hours in advance, or a $150 fee for canceling within 24 hours. Yuck.

Terms

If you applied before July 15, 2024:

For all cardholders who requested to open their account before July 15, 2024:

Up to $120 Avis® or Budget Car Rental Credit (through December 31, 2025)

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard credit cardholders are eligible to receive a statement credit of up to $120 per calendar year when purchases of up to $120 or more made at an Avis® or Budget car rental location or both are posted to their card account. The credit will be awarded on car rental expenses that include time and mileage, taxes, purchases and other fees.

This statement credit applies only to Avis or Budget brands at participating locations. Car rentals not paid directly through Avis or Budget will not be eligible. For example, car rentals purchased through travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators, or as part of a package offered by merchants, such as cruise lines and railroads, will not be eligible. The purpose of the car rental must be the transportation of the driver and passengers. Merchants that offer RV or vehicle rentals for transportation purposes are not included in this category.

Statement credits will appear on your Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard monthly statement within 8-10 weeks after the transaction posts to your Card Account. One credit per Card Account. Applicable terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. To be eligible for this benefit, your Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard must be open and in good standing at the time the statement credit is issued.

Trader Classification Codes

Merchants are assigned a Merchant Category Code (“MCC”), which is determined in accordance with Visa/Mastercard/American Express procedures based on the types of products and services the merchants primarily sell. We do not control the assignment of these codes and are not responsible for the codes used by merchants. When you use your Card to make a purchase, we obtain an MCC for that purchase. We group similar merchant codes into categories to identify your spending for statement credits. Sometimes you may expect a purchase to fit into a category, but if the merchant assigned code has not been grouped into that category, as recognized by Citi, your purchase amount will not be eligible for a statement credit.

Up to $120 Statement Credit on Avis or Budget Prepaid Car Rental (effective January 1, 2026)

City^® /Advantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard credit cardholders are eligible to receive a statement credit of up to $120 per calendar year, up to $120 or more on eligible Avis or Budget rentals. Eligible rentals are defined as a prepaid reservation made directly with Avis or Budget through www.Avis.com or www.Budget.com. For clarity, deferred payment reservations or reservations made through travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators or as part of a package offered by merchants, such as cruise lines and railroads, will not be eligible. The purpose of the car rental must be the transportation of the driver and passengers. Merchants that offer RV or vehicle rentals for transportation purposes are not included in this category. Duplicate, fraudulent, cancelled, refunded purchases, and purchases made in violation of the Merchant’s or Citi’s Terms of Use, as determined by the Merchant or Citi, as applicable, are not eligible.

Credit will be given on car rental expenses that include time and mileage, taxes, purchases and other fees.

Credit statements will appear on your Citi^® /Advantage^® Citi Executive World Elite Mastercard monthly billing statement within 8-10 weeks of the transaction posting to your card account. One credit per card account. Applicable terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. To be eligible for this benefit, your Citi card^® /Advantage^® The Executive World Elite Mastercard must be open and in good standing at the time the statement credit is issued.

Trader Classification Codes

Merchants are assigned a Merchant Category Code (“MCC”), which is determined in accordance with Visa/Mastercard/American Express procedures based on the types of products and services the merchants primarily sell. We do not control the assignment of these codes and are not responsible for the codes used by merchants. When you use your Card to make a purchase, we obtain an MCC for that purchase. We group similar merchant codes into categories to identify your spending for statement credits. Sometimes you may expect a purchase to fit into a category, but the merchant’s assigned code has not been grouped into that category.

If you applied after July 15, 2024:

For all cardholders who requested to open their account after July 15, 2024:

Up to $120 statement credit on your Avis or Budget prepaid car rental

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard credit cardholders are eligible to receive a statement credit of up to $120 per calendar year, up to $120 or more on eligible Avis or Budget rentals. Eligible rentals are defined as a prepaid reservation made directly with Avis or Budget through www.Avis.com or www.Budget.com. For greater certainty, deferred payment reservations or any reservations made through travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators or as part of a package offered by merchants, such as cruise lines and railroads, will not be eligible. The purpose of the car rental must be the transportation of the driver and passengers. Merchants that offer RV or vehicle rentals for transportation purposes are not included in this category. Duplicate, fraudulent, cancelled, refunded purchases, and purchases made in violation of the Merchant’s or Citi’s Terms of Use, as determined by the Merchant or Citi, as applicable, are not eligible.

Credit will be given on car rental expenses that include time and mileage, taxes, purchases and other fees.

Statement credits will appear on your Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard monthly statement within 8-10 weeks after the transaction posts to your Card Account. One credit per Card Account. Applicable terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. To be eligible for this benefit, your Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard must be open and in good standing at the time the statement credit is issued.

Trader Classification Codes

Merchants are assigned a Merchant Category Code (“MCC”), which is determined in accordance with Visa/Mastercard/American Express procedures based on the types of products and services the merchants primarily sell. We do not control the assignment of these codes and are not responsible for the codes used by merchants. When you use your Card to make a purchase, we obtain an MCC for that purchase. We group similar merchant codes into categories to identify your spending for statement credits. Sometimes you may expect a purchase to fit into a category, but the merchant’s assigned code has not been grouped into that category.

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