Landing after a long flight only to join another queue at the rental car desk is one of travel's small miseries. Avis President's Club — the top published tier of the free Avis Preferred program — exists to erase that step, and a growing number of premium credit cards hand it to you without a single rental required.
What does the status actually get you? A free two-car-class upgrade when you book a midsize or larger vehicle (subject to availability), a guaranteed car up to full size on reservations made at least 24 hours ahead, expedited service that lets you walk straight to your vehicle at most locations, and a dedicated support line. Normally you'd need 20 rentals or $6,000 in spending with Avis in a calendar year to earn it, so a free shortcut is genuinely valuable.
The newest route is the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Legend Mastercard, which now includes complimentary President's Club status for primary cardmembers, with enrollment open through 31 August 2028. It joins older options including the United Presidential Plus cards — though those two are closed to new applicants. As a sweetener, the Citi card currently carries a welcome offer of 125,000 bonus AAdvantage miles after $15,000 in spending in the first five months, reportedly the richest the card has seen.
Don't hold an eligible card? Loyalty status can work instead. American Airlines AAdvantage members who reach 100,000 Loyalty Points in a year get complimentary President's Club, while United's Premier Platinum, Premier 1K and Global Services members can enrol too. In all cases you'll need to link your Avis Preferred account (sign-up is free if you don't have one) to your airline or card programme.
One wrinkle worth knowing: the benefit doesn't switch on automatically. With the Citi card, enrolment happens through your AAdvantage account rather than the card's benefits page — log in, head to the Rewards or Status section, find the Avis offer, confirm your details and link accounts. Your name, email, postal code and Avis Wizard number must match across both accounts or verification will fail. Once linked, log into Avis to confirm President's Club shows as your tier.
The practical advice here is straightforward. If you already carry one of these cards, spending ten minutes activating a free top-tier rental status is a no-brainer — upgrades and counter-skipping cost you nothing extra. But nobody should open a card with a hefty annual fee purely for this perk; the math only works if the card's other benefits (lounge access, in the Citi card's case) earn their keep. For frequent Avis renters it's a genuine upgrade to every trip; for occasional renters, it's a nice thing to have waiting in your wallet.
