Last Updated on February 28, 2023 by Katrina
When you ask AutoSlash for a quote, it’s very likely that one of the cheaper rates will be from Payless Car Rental. Be forewarned that this company is the least popular within the Avis Budget Group and gets a ton of complaints from consumers. Despite its poor reputation, the company offers a rewards club called Payless Perks.
The Benefits of Joining This Program
Payless Perks promises three benefits:
- Instant Savings
- Special Promotions
- Faster Booking Process
You would think these would be easy wins to obtain but we’re talking about Payless.
- Instant Savings — Unfortunately, the promised savings come with a cost. The “big savings” with Payless are for prepaid reservations. Payless’ prepaid rates come with a cancellation penalty of at least $50. In our tests, AutoSlash was able to find cancellable, non-prepaid rates at the same price points.
- Special Promotions – Often you may see a promotion of “up to” 20% off, which turns out to be the same prepaid prices listed without the promotion.
- Faster Booking Process — The Payless Perks program stores your name, e-mail address, mailing address, and date of birth. At the time of booking, the program prefills in your name and e-mail address. So it saves a few seconds of time. The program does not store phone numbers, drivers license information or credit cards numbers.
Another Non-Benefit of Joining This Program
- Rent from Payless and you’re standing in line for your rental car, just like every other Payless customer. In other words, there is no skipping the queue or faster checkout.
Our Take
What does the Payless Perk program provide for customers? Just the option of prepaying for reservations at the same rate AutoSlash can help you book a cancellable reservation. That’s a money-losing proposition given Payless’ cancellation penalties.
This is the first time AutoSlash has recommended against signing up for a loyalty program because it meets zero criteria:
- Does the Payless Perks program give renters credit toward free days? Nope.
- Does the Payless Perks program offer airline frequent flyer miles as a benefit? No.
- Does the Payless Perks program provide discounts otherwise unavailable? Negative.
- Does the Payless Perks program allow users to bypass the counter? Nope.
- Does the Payless Perks program treat renters to upgrades? Not according to the rules.
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