Avis Now lets you pick your rental car from your phone
Taking a page from the car sharing playbook.
To keep up with with the growing proliferation of car sharing services (and their own sister company Zipcar), Avis will now let you pick your ride, extend your rental or just breeze through the car pick up process right from your phone. The updates are all part of the new Avis Now features, which launched today at 50 locations across the US and will expand to select international markets in the near future.
To take advantage of Avis Now, drivers have to be enrolled in the free Avis Preferred loyalty program and have the Avis app installed on their iOS or Android device. From there, users can book a car, view real-time availability and even switch cars in the lot if they spot something they'd rather be driving. Like other car sharing services, the app lets you flash the lights, lock or unlock the doors and return the car without the need for human interaction. (Added bonus: you can leave those bulky rental car keys in the car during your vacation and unlock your car with TouchID.) On a more mundane note, the app also lets drivers check their mileage, fuel and rental agreement. It's all here in Avis's slick new commercial:
