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American Van Lines Moving Company Review 2023

9.2
excellent
Michael Graw

In a Nutshell

American Van Lines is renowned for its customer service and prides itself on making your move as simple as possible. The company also specializes in moving antiques and delicate items like pianos. American Van Lines isn’t the cheapest option out there, but flat-rate pricing can be a huge plus for anyone who needs to know the exact cost of moving ahead of time.

pros

  • Flat-rate pricing for every move
  • Excellent customer service
  • Capable of moving specialty items like antiques and pianos

cons

  • Packing and unpacking services rely on local contractors
  • Relatively expensive

American Van Lines American Van Lines Visit Site

American Van Lines at a Glance

Main Services Covered
Local and long-distance moves, packing and unpacking, storage, moving specialty items
Participating States
48
Online quote tool 
Yes
Insurance included
Yes, up to $0.60 per lb

Services Covered

American Van Lines offers most basic moving services over both local and long distances. Loading and unloading from the moving truck is always included, while you have the option of hiring a crew for packing and unpacking your items. In addition to moving your stuff from one home to another, this top moving service also has a wide range of long-term and temporary storage options. American Van Lines doesn’t offer shipment tracking, but you can call the foreman in charge of your move at any time to get an update on the status of your belongings.

  • Local and long-distance moves — includes loading and unloading and insurance up to $0.60 per pound
  • Packing and unpacking — may be partial or full depending on your needs
  • Storage — long-term or temporary; climate-controlled units and personal vaults available with 24/7 security
  • Packing and moving specialty items — including antiques, collectibles, and pianos

Pricing

American Van Lines offers competitive pricing for most moves, although it is rarely the cheapest company on the market. That’s because the company offers flat-rate pricing. With this pricing model, your upfront quote is exactly what you pay for the move—regardless of whether it takes longer than the company estimated when giving you the quote.

This can be both good and bad. On the one hand, American Van Lines has to charge more in its quotes to ensure that the company won’t lose money on moves that take an extra day or two. On the other hand, you know exactly how much your move is going to cost before you agree to it. That’s a major difference from other moving companies, many of which calculate the final cost only after your stuff is delivered to your new home.

The exact price of any move will depend on the distances involved, how much stuff you have, and what extra services you need. But, to give you an idea of how much American Van Lines charges, a 500-mile move with a 26-foot truck (big enough for most small homes) costs around $6,000. Local moves are typically charged on an hourly basis and may cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000 depending on the city and the amount of care your items need.

Moving Process

The moving process with American Van Lines starts with a quote. You can either call the company or request a quote online for your move, which just covers the basics of when you want to move, where you’re located, and where you’re going. If you do submit a quote request online, the company will call you to follow up and offer pricing for different delivery speeds, extra services like packing and unpacking, storage, and insurance. In many cases, the company will request photos or a video walk-through of your home to better evaluate what size truck is needed and how long the move will take.

You can finalize the details of your move within a few hours for rapid departures. Otherwise, you’re assigned a foreman who is typically very good at following up with you by phone as your move date approaches. On the date of the move, the driver and a loading crew will arrive with a truck at your home and get everything loaded.

From there, your items will either go into storage or to your new home. Once they arrive, the process is repeated in reverse—the driver and a local crew will unload your items from the truck and help you move them into your home. If you requested unpacking, the crew will also help with reassembling large furniture and unboxing smaller items. 

Fleet Details

American Van Lines has around 50 drivers and a fleet of 51 trailers. The company’s size allows it to be more flexible than some competitors, since there’s almost always a truck available near your area. In some cases, American Van Lines will also rent trucks locally when the company doesn’t have fleet vehicles available for your move.

American Van Lines Moving Fleet

Importantly, American Van Lines primarily relies on contract labor for packing and unpacking services. The quality of your move and the level of protection your items receive during packing can vary quite a bit based on the local movers you get. The company does vet its contractors, though, so it’s fairly safe to assume that you’re going to get a reliable and hard-working crew to handle your stuff.

Customer Service

Customer service is one of the biggest selling points for American Van Lines. The company makes it easy to reach out to your move foreman at any time during the quote or moving process. There’s also an after-hours emergency phone number you can call in case the main American Van Lines office is closed. That’s extremely reassuring, since you can always get an update on when your stuff is expected to arrive at your new home or report any issues that crop up during the move.

American Van Lines doesn’t provide strict guarantees for your delivery date, although the company has a strong track record of on-time deliveries. Insurance, up to $0.60 per pound for each item, is included as part of every move. You also have the option to pay extra for fully insuring the value of your goods during the move. 

American Van Lines American Van Lines Visit Site

Testimonials

“We had a great experience with your organization! The van showed up on time, the employees got the job done, and they were off to deliver the contents of the house to our new location. Everything went off seamlessly! If there was a problem our foreman never let us know it! We would definitely use this organization again! Thanks for a great experience!!”—Marybeth C.

“Friendly and efficient crew for the move out and the move into storage. The guys were thoughtful with many of our precious things. Also, we appreciated the proactive follow-ups from our move coordinator and the assigned person before we made our agreement for the move. I would recommend American Van Lines based on our experience.”—Michael M.

Bottom Line

American Van Lines is a strong option for local and long-distance moves anywhere in the continental US. The company offers excellent customer service and a wide range of services, including packing, unpacking, and storage. American Van Lines is particularly suitable if you want flat-rate pricing for your move or have specialty items like antiques that need to be moved with care.

Michael Graw is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Bellingham, Washington. His work has been published on a wide selection of popular websites, and he has built a solid reputation for his writing in the technology and finance sectors. Michael has a particular interest in new technology and runs a small business where he constantly puts the latest web, business, and consumer tech through its paces.

American Van Lines customer reviews

Based on 17 reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

Top Reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

9 months ago

They are the best because they are the type of company that takes extra care of the items they are transporting.

9 months ago

I could not have been happier with their professionalism, in particular how accommodating they were throughout my move.

a year ago

I just recently moved, and I can't express how badass and quick these movers are. I would genuinely recommend it. They moved my whole two-bedroom apartment in a little over an hour.

a year ago

It's the best moving company there is on the entire planet. I can say that because they offer a lot of perks, and they take great care of everything. You don't need to do a thing.

9 months ago

American Van Lines delivers your items in good to fair condition. I have been satisfied with their service in the past and will use them again in the future.

9 months ago

American Van Lines protects the contents they move very well. Their movers also do the majority of work when it comes to unpacking home items, which is very helpful. Also, they are careful not to damage anything.

9 months ago

It is a good value with competitive prices. They could improve the quality of their service and be more professional in handling their business.

9 months ago

We lived in Anchorage and were moving back to Texas a few years ago. There were only two long-distance movers in Alaska. American was one of them. They were also the least expensive. We went with them and were very pleased with the service.

a year ago

I appreciate that they provided boxes and tape for my self-packing. Their agent delivered the boxes in a timely manner and the ability to pack the smaller items helped with the overall cost.

a year ago

It was an interesting experience. Moving wasn't a problem and things went smoothly. We had no complaints.

a year ago

They picked up our belongings easily and safely. What they need to do better is when transferring your belongings to your home or a secondary moving company, they need to make sure you received everything they picked up from your old residence and nothing is misplaced.

a year ago

They are timely, provide careful handling of personal property, and have quality equipment for handling the move. I recommend them and will use them again for my next move.

a year ago

Their moving personnel were very efficient and capable. Pricing was made very clear. They could lower the cost of the deposit.

a year ago

They arrived on time and had efficient workers who were fast and capable. They worked hard and were careful with delicate items. They did everything fine, and I can't think of anything that needed improvement other than an additional packing team. That would have helped speed up the move, but that would most likely have increased the cost.

9 months ago

They are a solid company in the moving industry, but it is hard to compete with U Haul as the cost is so much cheaper.

a year ago

They broke a lot of my stuff and were speeding down the highway. I'm actually kind of shocked at their attitude and won't be calling them for my next move.

a year ago

Honestly, there's not much that they did well. They broke furniture and tried very hard to get me to not move certain things. They were late, and they were lazy. They broke an old cast iron pot that was my Grandmother's and threw it into the woods to try to hide it.

American Van Lines
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