Hertz—one of the largest car rental companies in the world—started over a century ago as a small-scale company and has grown ever since. In the early seventies, the company launched the first inception of its loyalty program, later known as Hertz Gold Plus Rewards.
The program is free to join and offers a compelling case for travelers who see themselves behind the wheel during their travels often enough to enjoy the perks of loyalty with Hertz. With a fleet of over half a million vehicles in the U.S. alone and more than 10,000 locations worldwide, chances are you’ll have plenty of opportunities to find value in Hertz and its loyalty program.
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History
Over 100 years ago, a Chicago gentleman started a small company called Rent-A-Car with a fleet of 12 Model T Ford cars. Business quickly took off, and by 1923, with a rapidly expanding fleet of 600 vehicles, the company was acquired by John D. Hertz, who renamed it Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System.
The company expanded from coast to coast very quickly, and it showed such success that, by 1926, General Motors Corporation purchased the company in a push to take the operation nationwide. The company opened its first airport location at Chicago Midway in 1932, cementing its business model and pioneering one-way rentals before going international in 1938.
By the 1950s, now with more than 1,000 locations worldwide, they were the largest rental car company to date and started innovating in the industry with specialty car rentals and even a loyalty program in 1972. The company continued with innovating ideas, from GPS-enabled cars to greener vehicle options and even a website in 1996.
In 2013, Hertz expanded with the addition of other brands like Thrifty, Dollar Car Rental and Firefly, diversifying its portfolio in the car rental market.
How To Earn Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Points
The only way to earn points within the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program is by renting vehicles from Hertz, which makes this program both very simple but also rather restrictive as there are no opportunities to transfer points in.
Members of the program can expect to earn a minimum of 1 point per dollar spent on car rentals, but earning increases as you graduate up the membership tiers within the program, as follows:
- Gold: Members in this free, entry-level tier will earn 1 point for every dollar spent on rentals.
- Five Star: Five star members receive a 25% boost, earning 1.25 points for every dollar spent on rentals.
- President’s Circle: Members in the President’s Circle tier have a 50% boost, earning 1.5 points per dollar spent on their rentals.
Elite Status
This program is very straightforward. The more rentals you complete or money you spend within a calendar year, the higher your status will be, and with that, the better your earning rate and the better the perks you will receive.
- Gold: Anyone who signs up starts at this point. It requires no spend, and all you need to do is sign up.
- Five Star: This level requires 10 rentals or $2,000 in spend. Benefits include a free additional driver, a wider selection of vehicles available to you, as well as upgrades when available.
- President’s Circle: This top-tier level requires 15 rentals or $3,000 in spend. Once you reach this level, you’ll enjoy a free additional driver, the widest selection of vehicles available, guaranteed one-class upgrades with a maximum upgrade to a full-size vehicle and a dedicated customer service line.
It’s worth noting that the requirements for rentals are independent of the duration of those rentals, so in order to qualify for Five Star, you could do so with either 10 one-day rentals or 10 one-week rentals, in theory.
Credit Cards
Hertz does not offer any cobranded credit cards of its own. However, several credit cards offer Hertz benefits as part of their perks.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: Get President’s Circle status with Hertz just by registering once you get the card. (Terms apply, see rates & fees)
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Get President’s Circle status with Hertz just by registering once you get the card. (Terms apply, see rates & fees)
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Get President’s Circle status with Hertz just by registering through your card. The same benefits extend to authorized users. (See rates & fees)
- World Elite Mastercards: As a World Elite Mastercard cardholder—both credit and debit cards—you can enjoy automatic status with Hertz Gold Plus President’s Circle just by enrolling.
Featured Partner Offers
Partners
Delta Air Lines SkyMiles
Delta Airlines elites receive Hertz status once they link their SkyMiles accounts with their Hertz membership. Silver and Gold Medallion members are granted Five Star status within Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, whereas Platinum and Diamond members are offered President’s Circle status.
Marriott Bonvoy
Elite members with Marriott Bonvoy can also benefit from Marriott’s partnership with Hertz. Ambassador Elite Bonvoy members receive President’s Circle, Titanium Elite members receive Five Star status, and Platinum Elites are given a fast track to Five Star, where they can qualify with fewer rentals than what are normally required.
IHG One Rewards
Only a single Elite tier of IHG One Rewards members gain Hertz status. Diamond Elite members with the IHG receive Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star status.
Miles or Points In Lieu of Gold Plus Rewards
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members can elect to earn airline miles or hotel points in lieu of points within the program. Do keep in mind that once you have chosen to earn points with a specific airline or hotel, you will forfeit your ability to earn points within Hertz’s program until you change your selection.
Status Matches
Hertz will status-match elite members from other rental car companies in an effort to win their business by offering them a taste of the benefits they can enjoy through its Gold Plus Rewards program.
Elite members from Avis, Enterprise, National, Europcar and Sixt rental car companies can head to Hertz’s Status Match website to find out how to get this process started.
Shopping Portals
While Hertz does not operate its own shopping portal to earn additional points through your everyday purchases, you may be able to stack your points-earning strategy by booking your Hertz rentals online and going through other portals such as Rakuten and TopCashBack. Cash-back earning rates vary throughout the year, but check back each time you need to reserve a rental car to maximize your earnings.
Buying Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Points
Members can purchase a yearly maximum of 10,000 Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points at $0.20 each. The minimum points purchase is 50 points, and you must have earned at least 500 points via car rentals before you’re allowed to purchase additional points. Point purchases are done over the phone with customer service at 1-888-999-4900.
While purchasing points is an option, the cost is relatively high, and you’d probably be better off just paying the cash rate for the rental.
How To Redeem Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Points
Earning Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points is just the beginning. The best and most satisfying part comes from redeeming them. You can use your hard-earned points to redeem for free rental reservations.
Rental Redemptions
Standard reward rentals start as low as 950 points for day rentals within the U.S., but you may be able to use fewer points for weekly rentals.
Standard Rewards vs. AnyDay Rewards
There are two basic ways to leverage your points. You can use them for a Standard Reward redemption, which is subject to blackout dates, or spend double the points for an AnyDay Rewards redemption, which is not restricted by blackout dates.
Other factors affecting the cost of your redemption in points are the length of your rental, the country you’re renting from, the class of vehicle you’d like to drive off the lot and whether or not this will be a one-way rental.
Daily vs. Weekly vs. One-Way Rewards
The price of redemptions varies a lot according to the duration of your rental. That way, you can leverage the daily rates for short-duration rentals but take advantage of slightly reduced weekly rates for longer rentals. You will notice that the cost of a five-day daily Standard Reward is the same as a weekly Standard Reward, effectively getting two days for free with the weekly rate.
If you need to rent a car at one location and return it at a different one (whether a few miles down the road or in a completely different state), be prepared to pay slightly higher rates—think of it as a premium you’ll be charged for depleting that location’s car inventory once you drive it off their lot.
Sweet Spots
While the redemption tables don’t allow room for any specific sweet spots, you will notice that international redemptions show different price points than those same redemptions in the U.S. You might find additional value for the same points if you can take advantage of redemptions in places like Brazil, where a one-day Standard Reward will cost you 600 points instead of the 950 it takes for the same redemption stateside.
Note that Brazil is unique from other non-U.S. locations, as there is no price difference for Standard rates versus AnyDay Rewards.
Quirks
Expiration
Your points will not expire as long as you have activity on your account within the prior 12 months—but any period of inactivity longer than that would result in your points being forfeited. Earning or redeeming Gold Plus Rewards points counts as eligible activity to keep points from expiring.
Fees
There are no fees as part of the program, but do keep in mind that even when using your points to redeem for free rentals, those points only offset the base rental price. Any government-mandated taxes and fees, airport-related fees, government surcharges, city tax or additions like refueling, excess mileage or insurance are considered optional and cannot be paid for with points.
Family Pooling
Hertz allows points to be transferred to spouses or domestic partners as long as they’re members of the program. They can always join for free, but both accounts must be created for more than 48 hours before you’re allowed to transfer points. There is no cap on the amount of points you can transfer, nor is there a fee to do so.
Bottom Line
Considering the ease with which Hertz points are earned via car rentals and how some credit cards give elite status with Hertz, it makes sense to earn Gold Plus Rewards with each rental. Getting great value from your points is also easy, considering that Hertz doesn’t limit the cash value for your rewards, meaning that you can get outsized value by using your points for expensive rewards rental days.
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To view rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the value of my points?
Free rental days have a static cost. For example, a one-day Standard Reward prices out at 950 points. The value of those points will vary depending on the cash rate for that same rental. In some cases, you will see outsized value if that cash rate is high, but conversely, you may see cheap cash rates where using points may not make sense.
How hard is it to earn points with Hertz?
Earning points is not hard, but does require renting with Hertz or buying points. The primary thing you need to do is make sure your number shows up on your reservation—which you can do just by logging in to your account before you finish the booking. Points will be credited automatically shortly after the end of your rental. Hertz does not partner with any transferable rewards currencies.
What do I do if my points don’t post?
If you notice points not posting to your account after a rental, you have six months to claim missing credit. All it takes is logging into your Hertz Gold Plus Rewards account at the Hertz website, heading to “My Account” and clicking “Use My Points,” where you can find a link to a “Missing Points Request” form under the Use My Points link.
