For years, I’ve been trying to figure out how to use one specific credit card benefit. At this point, I’m starting to think it doesn’t actually exist.
We all have that one thing we keep chasing. For some people, it’s a rare award redemption or a perfect upgrade. For me, it’s something that should be much simpler—at least based on how it’s marketed.
It’s the “complimentary weekend rental” benefit that comes with Chase Visa Infinite credit cards.
On paper, it sounds like a genuinely valuable perk. It’s listed alongside other benefits like rental car discounts and elite status, so you’d expect it to be relatively easy to use, or at least easy to understand. But when I actually tried to figure out how to book one, I quickly realized that nothing about this benefit is straightforward.
The Official Booking Page… That Doesn’t Help
There’s even an official Avis page for Visa Infinite members:
At first glance, it looks promising. The page highlights discounts of up to 30%, automatic enrollment in Avis Preferred Plus, and potential upgrades. It feels like you’re in the right place to access everything tied to the partnership.
However, after looking through the page and even trying to start a booking, one thing becomes very clear: there is no obvious way to actually book a free weekend rental. There’s no button, no promo code, and no explanation of how the benefit is supposed to be applied. That’s when I realized I needed to dig deeper.
The Fine Print Raises More Questions
Eventually, I tracked down the terms and conditions for the benefit, hoping they would clarify things. Instead, they introduced a new layer of confusion.
The key detail is that a “Weekend Reward Certificate will be applied at time of rental.” That sounds straightforward until you stop and think about it. If a certificate is required, then this isn’t a benefit you automatically receive just by holding a Visa Infinite card. You would need that certificate to exist in your Avis account first.
So the real question becomes: where does the certificate come from?
Asking Avis (Back in 2019)
This isn’t a new mystery for me. Back in 2019, I reached out to Avis directly to ask how the benefit worked and how to obtain the certificate.
Their response pointed me in a completely different direction. They explained that I would need a coupon number (CPN) from Chase and suggested contacting Chase customer service to obtain it. That answer implied that the benefit wasn’t something Avis controlled directly, but rather something issued by the card issuer.
At the time, that seemed like progress. If Chase provided the code, then there had to be a way to request it.
By now, my need of the free weekend had passed, so I let it go. But it was a splinter that wouldn’t go away.
Asking Chase (Years Later)
Fast forward to now, and I decided to revisit the question. I contacted Chase through my Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite card account to see if they could finally provide a clear answer.
Instead, I received what was essentially a restatement of the marketing language. The response listed the standard Avis benefits—discounts, Preferred Plus status, and free weekend rentals—and then directed me back to the same Visa Infinite booking page on Avis’s website.
There was no mention of a certificate, no coupon code, and no instructions for actually accessing the free rental. In other words, I was right back where I started.
Putting It All Together
After going through this process more than once, the pieces don’t line up in a way that makes sense. The terms say a certificate is required, Avis says the coupon code comes from Chase, and Chase simply points back to a website that doesn’t provide any way to use the benefit.
That’s not just confusing—it’s a broken chain. Each part of the system seems to assume that another part is handling the actual delivery of the benefit, and as a result, there’s no clear path for a cardholder to follow.
So… Does This Benefit Actually Exist?
At this point, I don’t think the Visa Infinite free Avis weekend rental is a myth. It’s referenced in official materials, and the terms clearly describe how it would work if you had the necessary certificate. Instead, it feels more like a benefit that was introduced at some point but never fully implemented, or possibly one that relied on promotions that are no longer active.
Whatever the original intent, the reality today is that there’s no clear way to earn the certificate, request it, or apply it to a booking. For something that sounds like a headline perk, that’s a pretty significant gap.
Final Thought
I’ve spent years trying to figure out how to use this benefit. I’ve reviewed the terms, searched the booking page, contacted Avis, and asked Chase directly. After all that, I still don’t have a clear answer for how a cardholder is supposed to actually redeem a free weekend rental.
If there’s no practical way to access a benefit, it probably shouldn’t still be listed as one. Then again, maybe I’m the only one who’s been trying to track this down all these years. If you’ve managed to use it successfully, I’d genuinely love to hear how.
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