I prepaid for a rental in full online on November 11 for my upcoming thanksgiving trip to see a sick family member who I probably will never see for another thanksgiving. I was asked by the counter person if I wanted additional insurance I told him no, I already paid in full and I want everything left as is. He asked for my cc to verify my online information. To my complete surprise this past week while looking at my cc statement on the 27th I was charged for the additional insurance that I said I did not want. I will never rent a car from AVIS and I highly recommend that you do not as well. If you decide to, make sure to read every tiny line of the contract that they print out for you. Also, if you do get shammed be sure to fill out the survey they send you, it is one of the key items that managers of each AVIS site is judged by during their employment review process. read more

I picked up a car at an Avis elsewhere and returned it here to BWI. The trunk was dirty when I picked up the car and thankfully the originating location documented this. Weeks after returning the car, BWI Avis apparently referred me for additional charges, a $75 cleaning fee for the trunk. Getting my $75 back was a complete nightmare. Endless calls, calls after calls after calls, getting bumped around from one prick to another, nobody believing me, nobody owning the situation, nobody giving my money back. Nonsense kafkaesque catch-22's, miserable jerks on the phone probably making $5/hr telling me they investigated the charges and they were sustained as legit (even though nobody had contacted the original location, ever.) Screw these guys. The only reason I didn't just do a credit card chargeback is because I am a captive audience. I am forced to use these people for work, they are the only option, and I didn't want to risk getting blacklisted. But, worst customer service EVER. Zero coordination between the individual locations and national customer service. Everyone passing the buck. Nobody giving 2 nuts about fixing a problem. Despicable experience. read more

They were nice and friendly. I received excellent customer service. A+. I do not have anything bad to say. The experience was very pleasant from the beginning and when I returned the vehicle. No issues or incidents. read more

It's frustrating after a long flight to have to wait for SO long in a line. When the shuttle pulled up and we disembarked there were two people at the counter. The very minute we all lined up, one of them left. We'd probably still be standing there -- hours later -- if not for another customer -- a very irate business man, probably used to efficiency. This is the 2nd time in a row I didn't get the car I was promised, and I took Avis over other companies -- even though it was more expensive -- because I wanted that particular car. Now they also charged me for a second driver, and I don't think I've been charged that before. The woman who finally did help us, took a while, kept making faces, and was rather rude. Now that I'm "twice bitten", I'll likely shy away from this Avis in the future. read more

I was dropping off a one way rental and heading for a flight out of BWI. We had about 6 full size suitcases and 3 carryons . . . and they make you drop off about a good quarter mile from the shuttle area to the airport. There is no trolley to help you out and you literally half to haul all of your stuff by walking to the shuttle area. I'm young, so I carried 4 of the full sized suitcases, but I saw an elderly couple struggling with their bags and I felt they should have done a better job of assisting people in that regard. I also had to go inside to customer service because the staff outside weren't able to help me with a question I had about my agreement and a credit I was suppose to get . . . wasn't a big deal but it just added to what was a less than stellar experience. Avis is wayyyyy back there, so expect to drive a good mile once you enter the rental facility. read more

This is a follow-up to a negative review I wrote about AVIS at BWI. The negative review was deserved. After we got home, we realized that we had left a bag with some small electronics in the car. After filing a lost-item report on line, after a few days, we were contacted that it had been found. After completing an on-line form, the item was shipped to us (at our expense, of course). I commend the facility for their honesty and professionalism. read more

I prepaid on the web, and didn't look at my return receipt until after I got home. Turns out I was "upgraded" from a mid-size to a full-size, and charged an additional $50 on top of what I pre-paid (I initially thought I was going to be refunded the difference because I returned the car early). I was not asked if I wanted or accepted the additional charges that went along with this - just asked which kind of car I wanted: Avenger or Malibu (both full-size cars). I guess I should have noticed this at the desk or upon returning it, but I didn't expect to be taken advantage of, like I feel like I was. I just called customer service and they say they will reverse the charges, but it still makes me upset. The car had 29,000 miles on it (seems like a lot for a rental), but surprisingly wasn't too dirty. However it had some huge scratches on the hood and rear quarter panel, and had a strange smell - something between old beer bottles and banana peels. It also had Mississippi plates, which, in Maryland, kind of ruined my plan to not appear to look like a tourist. Other than those issues - I was pretty satisfied. The rental facility holds all the rental companies - it's a 10 minute bus ride from the terminal. All the cars are in a garage. Pick up and return was pretty simple (although I did have to wait a few minutes both times). Still, feeling like I was taken advantage of by being upgraded without my knowledge, makes me not want to recommend Avis here. read more

I am a very seasoned traveler and a preferred member of Avis. My strong advise is be professional to Avis preferred employees and they will treat you the same. This is universal whatever country I am renting Avis in. The BWI preferred staff is first class all the way. read more

Outrageously unrealistic cancellation policy, charging $50 even if you cancel months in advance. Not worth the risk.

Booked a rate significantly lower than the Avis rate while landing on Hotwire...service was ok as he was just going through the motions. Nothing really stood out good or bad, hence the three stars. read more

The only redeeming thing about them was that the quote was cheaper than other rental places. The front desk is very slow and took over 40 minutes to see us and we were only third or fourth in line. Once we received the car the person came over real quick and verified my first name and said "here you go!" and took off. Didn't bother to ask if we had any questions about the car controls which I had to figure out for myself. Did not bother to explain the HOV switch and when it should be on or off which we ended up being charged an extra $35 for after the fact because we evidently didn't have it switched on when we should have. We only learned about it when our relative we were staying with in Virginia told us about it later. Being from Oregon we knew nothing about it. Didn't ask if we had any questions overall about the area or if we had any questions at all about directions or anything about the area. I will not be using Avis or recommending them to anyone I know. In my opinion, this location specifically needs some retraining for their employees on drastically improving customer service if they plan on having repeat customers or maybe they don't care about out of state customers other than just taking their money. If I could give 0 stars I would. read more

Simply put, I've rented from Avis virtually every time I've come to Baltimore, and I don't think I've been disappointed. The one time corporate booked me on something else, I ended up with a mess. Avis every time from now on out. read more

The car I got at BWI for a week long rental was old and beat up, with NY license plates. And good luck trying to return the car to BWI at 4am, it's like they don't want the damn thing back. read more

I rented a car from here, Ruth is the name of the agent who was helping me, she was absolutely amazing!

They need to extend their business hours. It's a pain in the ass when you have a dispute when you're returning a car late in the night or early in the morning and no attendant is on duty. You can easily get screwed that way. Oh, also the tank was not full, but about 7/8th when I got the car. But once again when returning a car at 4am there is nobody on duty. So you're screwed! read more

Expensive rental car location (~$150/day). Rented for a business outing, and was "upgraded" from a kia spectra to mitsubishi eclipse for $8 a day more. Go with a sedan for business trips, this sports coupe was claustrophobic and loud. Nice thing, at least the tank was full, I've picked up cars and had to go back to let them know it wasn't. Nice service staff, and for $28/day can rent a decent working GPS. read more

Watch for this fast one... woman behind the counter sneaks in the fuel option and the toll option, and then when you ask for it to be removed she gives you attitud, refuses, and tells you that you won't be charged if you returned it on full. How about you don't add unrequested services to my rental? When she continued to refuse to remove those charges, I ended up going outside to the preferred booth and they took care of it, much more professionally. Watch for unauthorized charges, and when you're going through the checkout process on the screen read what you are a agreeing to before hitting agree. Finally, after getting into a car, I go to the exit gate where I'm met with more attitude. I generally prefer not to hand over possession of my ID so that they can take it away into their booth and do as they will. I have had two IDs broken while in possession of one of those exit agents, so I just hold it up and show it to them for verification... I have never had an issue in doing so. Well this time the woman snatched it out of my hand and said that she had to take it, which is not true. Then when she gives it back to me I take it and she snaps at me and says " don't you snatch things out of my hand"... we won't even address the grammar of that statement, but I told her I didn't snatch it out of her hand and she got even more of an attitude with me and was yelling at me as I drove away. Did I step into the Twilight Zone today or is rudeness a Baltimore thing? read more

I flew into BWI at 12:30 in the morning! I never check a bag so went straight to Rental Car Shuttle pick up location, and waited and waited and waited. I counted at least 8 Long Term Parking bus's drive by most had 2-4 people in them, I called the Avis Location but they don't answer their phone! After 25 minutes a Huge bendy bus showed up, by this time SEVENTEEN people were waiting! Every seat in the bus was taken, all the racks for luggage were full. We get to car lot and walk to the Avis board and it list my wife's name and says parking space F16, we walk over to a red Ford Mustang, load our bags and drive to "get out gate" the lady asks for drivers license then tells me "this is not your car" I told her when it was in space with our name I assumed it was "our car" she said "no go back and park it" I pulled through first gate then over a large hump and went back to F16 to park it! PS there is no paperwork in car! There is now a white SUV parked in F16 so I left Mustang and by this time there was a nice young lady with long black hair who was aware "they were making this harder than it should be, she said sorry we should have just given you the mustang, she offered "Any car" but there were only about six cars there! We took the white SUV in F16 and I did walk back to the board and it still had wife's name and space F16. We drove back to the "get out gate" now there are 3 cars before us, the lady asks for paperwork and drivers license, I gave her license and guess what NO PAPERWORK IN THE THE CAR. I told her "lady it's 1:30 in the morning there is no paperwork and I'm about to loose my patience, she quickly blamed the nice long hair girl, I told her "I need one of those Chairman Club folders so I can get someone to drive me to gate, when I bring car back, she tells me she doesn't have those! By the time I left the airport it was an hour after we landed. The next day I called the BWI Avis phone to say, "I have no proof that I did not steal this car" but they don't answer the phone, so I have to call 1-800-633-3469. Next time I will take an Uber or Taxi in and save time, and frustration! Very disappointed read more

Car was not available for pickup even tho I am a Avis Preferred Member -- no names on board -- had to wait in line for more than 15 mins for car. GPS provided had outdated maps (last update was in 2012!), provided incorrect directions back to the rental facility! read more

I've always experienced excellent and efficient customer service from AVIS car rental at BWI Airport. The folks who work here are fantastic and efficient with getting your reservation to you quickly which allows you to get your car and enjoy the area. read more

Very Bad Experience. First the staff was very rude. My credit card blocks all unrecognized transactions and so my card got declined the first time. I called up the bank and they said it should work now. When I went back to the person at the desk, he was telling me that since it did not work once it will not work again and his behavior was as if I did not deserve a rental car from them. He refused to use the card again but I asked him to try once and when finally he tried it worked. And then he did not even let me choose the car. I guess he was angry that what he said was proven wrong. And to add to the misery the car I received smelled like sweat the whole trip. I did not have time to exchange the car since we were already running late on our plan. But when I booked AVIS which was expensive than the other competitors, I assumed they would have a good condition car. It was a horrible trip, we had to drive with windows down at 45F because of the bad smell. WILL NEVER EVER RENT FROM AVIS AGAIN. Also, I lodged a complaint/feedback on their website and never heard back from them. read more

when I arrived I found everything closed because my flight was delayed. I toke the BWI RENTAL CAR BUS in which the driver greeted me with a kind smile. I must say she was easy on the eye. I like how they have it set up in Baltimore but where is the gas station? read more

PA and MD are in a state of emergency and the going rate online is $17/day. However because i ALREADY HAVE an avis car and am unable to return it (due to snow emergency) they gave me the following options: a) authorize them to charge me 100/day to extend the rental, b) drive the car through the state of emergency to return it, c) have the car reported stolen and deal with who knows what their legal people do. I'm choosing option B. Drive 200mi in the snow to exchange for a car from Hertz at $17/day.... That's right. Supply/demand: $17. we-know-you're-stuck: $100 read more

Customer service is not one of their priorities, the two women that were at the desk acted like they didn't want to be there. My son had reserved and pre paid for a mid size SUV , he had a screen shot of the confirmation as well as the email confirmation. When we arrived at the airport he called to see if we could pick the car up early, they charged him $9 extra to pick it up 30 min early. When we got there the reservation changed to a mid size car. The lady at the counter wanted to argue with us and say that we modified the reservation, after explaining several times to her that was not the case and showing her the confirmation she called for a manager who agreed that something happened on their end , so they proceeded to give us another SUV that supposedly they didn't have, when we went to the parking garage to get in the car their was another lady that they had also given it to, so back in we went to deal with the "happy" lady at the desk, she immediately said to us " whats the problem now?" So we told her she sent us to the lady at the next window, she was no better, not even a thank you, have a nice day , sorry for the inconvenience, nothing. And I might add, we never asked for a discount, my son addressed them by "Mam" and the manager by "Sir", my son is the one who thanked them for figuring out their mistake! After we left I was upset that they couldn't even be nice about it, especially since it was their mistake ,then I wondered if they saw his 10% discount he receives for being a policeman read more

Avis First membership means nothing at this location - I cannot imagine what you will be treated like if you have no status. I'm 1K United, Platinum SPG, Gold Marriott and Hyatt, so yes, I travel a lot. I am (soon to be was) Avis First. My recent BWI experience included a wait of over 20 minutes (I saw cars available, but not for me), then they delivered me a Hyundai Elantra with a significantly stained driver's seat and NO REMOTE CONTROL. I complained via Avis website; no reply. Cancelled my Detroit reservation and went with Hertz. Responded to the routine email asking to provide feedback on the rental; I did. Still no reply. Sent another email to customer service, telling me they have referred this to management at BWI and that it's a third party that collects routine survey responses (thus the delay - BS!). So, I've cancelled San Diego and reserved with Hertz. I'm sensing a pattern developing. And, as one who routinely talks to others on the shuttle bus, I'll be relaying my Avis story as much as I can....... read more

I've rented Avis cars from this location many times with no problem. But this spring and summer things have fallen apart in a way that always seems to involve me getting overcharged and having to challenge it. Past four rentals, all from this spring: -- Charged me for a bigger car than I asked for. It was a pre-paid Avis preferred rental, the car is picked for you and ready when you arrive. The paper given to me at the checkout showed the correct amount that I had pre-paid. After I got back, the receipt at check-in showed that I paid for a compact car but I drove and was being billed for a bigger car, and I was charged for the difference. (And no, this wasn't a busy time when they were out of compact cars.) (Funny thing: part way through the trip my wife noticed that the car seemed a bit bigger than our normal.) -- Charged $20 for a tunnel toll. I didn't drive anywhere near it. (This charge shows a few weeks later in e-mail.) -- Two times I was charged the $15 gas fee if you drive less than 75 miles and don't return it full. Both times I returned it full and had the receipt. () In one case the check-in attendant said something like he had noticed that the car wasn't full while he approached. () In the other case the check-in attendant said something like the car's data indicated the tank wasn't full, even though the gas gauge said full. Which is a brilliant move, by the way. Even if I have a receipt from a gas station a couple of miles away there is no way to dispute it. They seem quite unsurprised when customers show up with this kind of error on their bill. It's like Oh, we overcharged you? No problem, no argument, I'll override it. read more

Don't even think about renting here unless you have extra $1000 dollars to throw away. I never rent car from AVIS used to rent from other companies. First time I rented here and they charged me $1000 extra. This company ruined my family vacation. Read the contract carefully and take a picture of mileage odometer when you rent the car. Otherwise they will charge you for extra 2 or 3000 miles that you have never driven for. No more Avis. They don't understand what preferred customer means and I don't know why have such BS program. They could go sell mortgages. read more

worst car rental company ever. horrible customer service. i wouldn't recommend this location to anyone.

So, we rented a car here Dec 9-Dec 13. No problems. When we got home to Tempe, Az., we got two emails from Avis etolls. One told us we were charged for two bridge tolls, before we rented the car. Called and got that removed. Got another, after we turned the car in, from Florida at 10:59 PM, for a rental we turned in at BWI at 2:30 PM. Oh, and our credit card number was also stolen the same day. Something is seriously wrong with computer security at Avis and Avis etolls. They better fix this or I will take my business elsewhere. read more

Do NOT expect the car you ordered to be there when you arrive. Do NOT expect them to bill you appropriately, either. When i called to contest the charges (they added surcharges after i left) - they refused to submit a request for dispute. Terrible. read more

I had a bad experience on my first rental from this location. This was the only issue I had all weekend that put a blemish on my wedding weekend. I checked my statement on the day after the rental and noticed a $162.00 charge. I was told this was for being 30 minutes late. They have a 29 minute grace policy. No one was at the lane when the vehicle was returned. I waited 20 minutes for someone to come out and sign off on the vehicle. When I went to the garage kiosk 3 employees were on their phones. I gave them the key and asked if there was anything left to do. They said no, see you later. I signed nothing, I received nothing in writing and was told nothing was needed. Be careful and always check you statement when renting from Avis. I won't have this issue with them ever again, because it will be a cold day in hell before I ever rent from this company. I called the credit card company and filed a dispute. Charging a credit card at will is illegal and as far as I'm concerned constitutes fraud. THanks for the terrible service Avis. I called the customer service 800 number and basically recieved the same low level of service, even when I spoke to the manager, she basically told me it is what it is.... Well, paybacks are here and this review is only the first level of letting the public know, when you receive horrible service, spend your money elsewhere. Also, if you do get bad service or feel you have been ripped off, be sure to fill out the survey they send you, this will affect the managers of each AVIS site. Maybe they will wake up and start treating the customers better and will follow the rules with regards to credit cards. read more