Update: The Avis First hack will also work with MasterCard DEBIT cards as well!

There is a new travel hack out that allows you to get elite status with two major car rentals companies, Avis and National Car Rental, for FREE! The Avis elite status offer is intended for MasterCard World Elite cardholders, but it seems that as long as you have any Mastercard, you can still register to get Avis First. For National Car Rentals, there appears to be no requirements since there is a link in which anyone can signup for Emerald Club Executive status without any restrictions! I doubt this is intentional since Executive status requires 12 paid rentals or 40 rental days so I highly recommend taking advantage of this deal before they pull the link! Here is a summary of how to get the two offers.

Avis First Elite Status

1. Go to this link – Avis First Elite Status
2. Have your driver’s license and MasterCard (credit or debit) ready and register for an Avis account. It will look like you are signing up for Avis Preferred, which is correct. Once you get to the part where you input your MasterCard, it will recognize the elite status to be Avis First which is a tier higher.
3. If you already have Avis Preferred status (which you get if you have an American Express Platinum card and you registered it with Avis), click the small link on the bottom of the page and email Avis a request to be bumped up to Avis First.

Avis First will get you free upgrades of at least 1 category, free weekend rental after every 4 rentals of 2+ days, skip the line and go straight to your car access (Preferred status has this as well) and a special 1-800 number for assistance and reservations. In short, signing up for this is definitely worth doing especially if you are not already a Preferred member so you can skip the lines to pickup your car at the bare minimum.

National Emerald Executive Club Elite Status

1. Go to this link – National Emerald Club Executive Elite Status
2. Have your driver’s license and MasterCard ready and register for a National Emerald Club account. It is a direct link to Executive Club status so upon completion you should instantly be an Executive member.
3. If you have an American Express Platinum card, you are entitled to this same status.

Executive Status will get you the ability to pick any car in the Executive aisle if you pay at least a midsize rate, skip the line and go straight to your car (or aisle) access, and a special 1-800 number for assistance and reservations.

Again, I highly recommend signing up for these offers now in case they are pulled which they could be at any moment. Good luck!

(H/T to View From the Wing)