Founded in 1976 in Miami, Florida, American Van Lines is an industry giant committed to the environment, sustainability, and quality service. This well-established provider has hubs in Pompano Beach, Texas, North Carolina, and other smaller locations throughout the United States, allowing it to serve customers in all 48 contiguous states. In addition to handling residential moves, you can rely on American Van Lines to offer a variety of specialty services like corporate relocations, commercial moving, and specialty item moving for antiques, pianos, and more.

After hours of research dedicated to learning the ins and outs of American Van Lines, I’ve compiled the following information to help you determine if this is the best moving provider for you. Keep reading for our comprehensive American Van Lines review and how this provider compares to its competitors regarding price, customer service, availability, and moving options.

My Preferred Moving Companies

After researching an extensive number of moving providers, I’ve ranked American Van Lines as my second-favorite mover, beaten only by International Van Lines. American’s transparent pricing, excellent selection of moving options and services, and dedication to environmentally friendly moving practices all contribute to the high ranking.

My Review of American Van Lines

In an industry filled with moving brokers, American Van Lines (AVL) stands out as a moving carrier, meaning that in-house employees complete all of its offered services. This distinction allows AVL to ensure that its service quality and moving options are consistent for its clients no matter where they are in the nation. I also like that AVL offers a wide range of moving and service options because you’re unlikely to feel limited in any way by what’s available. In addition, this company exercises eco-friendly practices by optimizing drivers’ schedules and routes to save gas, encouraging carpooling when possible, and using sustainable vendors.

On the other hand, I don’t love that American Van Lines is unavailable outside of the contiguous United States so you’ll need to look to other providers if you live in Hawaii or Alaska. Still, I recommend this provider for its stellar customer service, excellent reputation, transparent pricing, and wide selection of services.

My Review Scores for American Van Lines

Below is our quantitative scoring breakdown for American Van Lines. The gray line represents the average score we’ve given moving providers in each category, while the green lines indicate our AVL score.

American Van Lines Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Advertises price matching, unlike many providers who might refuse to match competitor pricing or require negotiations to adjust your quote
  • Environmentally friendly and gives back to the community
  • Only operates as a carrier and doesn’t broker services out to third-party companies, unlike most moving providers that often receive complaints about varying service quality due to working through third-party providers
  • Transparent, set pricing for all moves (no guesswork with hidden fees as is the case with other providers offering estimated prices)
  • Weekly shuttles to most major U.S. cities

Cons

  • Customer reviews note difficult communication
  • Doesn’t offer online moving quotes, which is uncommon in the moving industry
  • Only services the 48 contiguous states (Hawaii and Alaska are excluded)

What I Liked and Didn’t Like

In the following section, I’ll break down what I liked and didn’t like about American Van Lines within multiple areas of their business.

What We Like

  • Regarding moving options, American Van Lines offers nearly every option you could want. AVL executes local moves, long-distance moves, cross-country moves, and international moves. You can even opt for specialty moving options such as corporate relocation, commercial moving, and military moves, and arrange storage options through AVL. I like that you aren’t limited in any way by American Van Lines as long as your move takes place within the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. AVL also offers excellent availability with swift moving deliveries offered seven days a week, along with shuttle services to and from big cities weekly, which is a service I haven’t seen from almost any other moving provider.

What We Don’t Like

  • The only drawback of choosing AVL is its limited international moving options. Generally speaking, I’d only choose AVL for an international move if I was interested in a military move. For residents making a move abroad, moving providers like International Van Lines (IVL) provide more options, such as freight shipping and air shipping, making IVL my preferred international mover.

What We Like

  • I love that American Van Lines has a full suite of additional services. You can customize your moving package to pick a basic moving package, partial-pack, or full-service move with all the trimmings, such as furniture disassembly, vehicle shipping, specialty packing services for antiques and fragile items, crating, and packing supplies. Another significant benefit of working with AVL is that all of its services are completed in-house, so you will never work with third-party movers, which can lead to variances in services offered and overall service quality.

    Compared to other providers, many who operate as brokers, this is a huge win.

What We Don’t Like

  • I don’t like that American Van Lines doesn’t offer free storage options. Some providers, like IVL, not only offer storage options but will give you a free month of storage with some moving packages. AVL also doesn’t offer a moving container service, like Allied Van Lines, an excellent budget-friendly option for homeowners interested in a more cost-effective, DIY option.

What We Like

  • As of July 2023, American Van Lines has an excellent Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating, which I find reassuring as a homeowner.  Many moving providers don’t have a rating or have poor customer reviews. Customers frequently praise AVL for its fantastic customer service, specifically pointing out how simple and stress-free AVL technicians made their move and that communication was straightforward. American Van Lines also received Newsweek’s Best Customer Service 2023 award for the fourth year in a row, demonstrating its ability to provide consistent customer service. Overall, I appreciate the personal touch many experienced during their move with AVL and the high customer satisfaction ratings.

What We Don’t Like

  • I don’t like that negative reviews report experiencing a drop in customer service quality after contract signing with the company. This is an unusual customer complaint I haven’t seen in reviews for many other providers.

What We Like

  • American Van Lines has an excellent reputation with customers, the BBB, and the military community. In particular, the military community praises American Van Lines for its military discount and ability to uphold strict moving day deadlines to coordinate critical military moves.

    In terms of cost, I like that AVL offers set pricing because it means the company has a transparent pricing system that sidesteps hidden fees and upcharges that customers frequently experience with less transparent companies. Another benefit of choosing AVL is its commitment to the environment, demonstrated through its recycling initiatives, fuel consumption reduction plan, and process to ensure its supply chain meets responsible environmental and social practices. All of these factors and its thorough employee background checks contribute to American Van Lines’ top-notch reputation, which stands out amongst its competitors because of the many ways AVL contributes back to society while providing excellent service.

What We Don’t Like

  • I don’t like that receiving a quote from American Van Lines can be time-consuming. It gives AVL a reputation for frustration related to the quote process, which is something to consider since many moving providers offer online quote calculators. But these calculators are often inaccurate and wildly off from the final quote you receive, so this may not be a significantly better alternative.

What We Like

  • Overall, American Van Lines has top-notch nationwide availability. This provider has services in all 48 contiguous states and Washington D.C., which is suitable for most U.S. families interested in moving. Compared to many providers, this is exceptional availability, as many movers only provide services to a handful of states.

What We Don’t Like

  • On the other hand, I don’t like that AVL doesn’t provide moving services to Hawaii or Alaska. If your new home is in either of these states, you’ll have to look to other providers offering moving and storage services in these areas. AVL still has better availability than most providers but can’t compete against International Van Lines, which offers availability to all 50 states and over a hundred countries.

Availability of American Van Lines By State

American Van Lines offers services throughout the 48 contiguous states, so families in any state but Hawaii and Alaska can complete their move through this provider.

Not available: Hawaii & Alaska


American Van Lines Vs. Its Competitors

Here’s a snapshot of how American Van Lines compares to its competitors regarding prices, services, warranties, and much more.

Editorial Contributors

Amy DeYoung

Contributor

Full Bio

Full Bio

Amy DeYoung has a passion for educating and motivating homeowners to improve their lives through home improvement projects and preventative measures. She is a content writer and editor specializing in pest control, moving, window, and lawn/gardening content for Today’s Homeowner. Amy utilizes her own experience within the pest control and real estate industry to educate readers. She studied business, communications, and writing at Arizona State University.

Lora Novak

Senior Editor

Full Bio

Full Bio

Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics.
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