Many car rental companies reward customers with airline miles for each paid rental. This can be useful both for boosting airline account balances and for keeping existing miles from expiring.

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1. Sep 09, 2016 Renting a car is often considered a hassle. By leveraging the value of various reward programs, however, customers can save while enjoying the.
2. The best rental car services also have special promotional offers from time to time and a loyalty program to reward their most. All Car Rental Company Reviews.

Here are the best travel rewards programs for business. Its own frequent traveler and loyalty incentive program. Best Rental Car Rewards Programs.

That’s great, but what if you’d rather earn free car rental days? Let’s take a look at two of the most popular car rental programs: Hertz and National.

Both programs allow customers to choose to earn car rental rewards rather than airline miles. And, both are setup to allow elite members to earn free rentals faster. Beyond those two minor similarities, though, the two programs are completely different Hertz Hertz has a very simple rewards program. Unless they’re running a promotion, renters earn 1 point per dollar. Points then can be used for rental days or rental weeks. Hertz elite members earn points a bit faster:. Five Star members earn a 10% bonus on all points earned through qualified rentals.

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President’s Circle members earn a 25% bonus on all points earned through qualified rentals. Both Five Star and President’s Circle members earn a 675 point bonus after every 15 qualifying rentals.

Hertz has two reward pricing tiers: Standard and AnyDay Rewards. AnyDay Rewards are charged during peak times and cost twice as much as Standard Awards. Here are some of the Standard Award prices for the US and Canada (award prices vary in different countries). Keep in mind that AnyDay prices are double what is shown here:. 1 weekend day: 550 points. 1 weekday: 675 points.

1 weekend day one-way: 1100 points. 1 weekday one-way: 1325 points. 1 week: 2750 points. 1 week one-way: 5500 points Hertz points expire after 24 months of inactivity. Using or earning points resets the clock.

National With National’s program, instead of earning points, customers earn rental credits. Each rental results in 1 earned credit.

An exception is that with long rentals, customers earn 1 rental credit for every four continuous days (in other words, an 8 day rental results in 2 rental credits). Free rental days are earned as follows:. Emerald Club Members: 1 free rental day for every 7 credits earned.

Emerald Club Executive Members: 1 free rental day for every 6 credits earned. Emerald Club Executive Elite Members: 1 free rental day for every 5 credits earned Free rental days cannot be used outside of the US, Canada, and participating locations in the Latin American Caribbean.

Free rental days expire on December 31st of the year following the year in which they were earned. Comparing Apples to Oranges It seems to me that Hertz’s reward program has a number of advantages over National’s:. With Hertz, longer and more expensive can rentals are more rewarding. National provides a fixed reward (1 rental credit) almost regardless of the cost and length of the rental. Hertz points remain active as long as you have account activity at least once every two years.

National rental credits expire at the end of the year following the year they were earned. Hertz points can be redeemed internationally. National rental credits can only be used in the US, Canada, and participating Caribbean locations. Hertz points can be redeemed for many different types of rentals: one-way, specialty cars, etc. I believe that National rental credits can be used only for rentals in which the drop-off and return are at the same location.

UPDATE: Several readers have since informed me that National does allow one-way rewards. For specialty cars, National’s terms say that the free rental day can be used as partial payment for specialty vehicles: “Members entitled to a Free Day for a given class of vehicle may use the Free Day as partial payment for a more expensive vehicle class.”. Hertz points can be used for weekly rentals at a greatly reduced per-day rate. National does not have weekly rental rewards. National’s program does have a couple of advantages over Hertz:. Free rental days can be used during peak times (I believe).

Very short/cheap rentals earn just as many rental credits (e.g. One) as longer and more expensive rentals. UPDATE ADDED: One-way rewards allowed Ignoring most of the differences listed above between the programs, lets look at which program results in free rentals faster. We’ve already pointed out that National is better for cheaper rentals and Hertz is better for more expensive ones. But how do you know what the cutoff is? Can we calculate the break-even point?

In order to compare Hertz rewards to National rewards, we need to make a few assumptions about how Hertz points would be used:. Assumption 1: 75% of redemptions will be at the Standard rate and 25% will be at the AnyDay rate. National’s EMC program is WAY better, IMO. Even if you rent a car for $25/ day, you still earn a rental credit. After 6 credits, b/c you’re automatically an Executive member with Amex Plat., you get a free day. Even better, if you’re an Executive Elite, the free day can be used for any rental, like a 1-way luxury SUV, for example. The free day certainly can be used for a 1-way rentals, which are usually $100-200 or more per day for a fullsize car.

Plus, National’s customer service, especially if you call their loyalty department, is excellent! On top of that, you can rent with Enterprise, which has lower prices, and still have that rental credit deposited into your National EMC account. I’ll start my 2 week hiatus after this postas this article was one I was looking for on other blogs. I travel every week for work and National is our preferred agency.

The rentals earned via 1-2-free can be used 2 at a time, after that you need to pay or return the car and start a new rentalyou can book whatever car w/ those 1-2-free, but as an exec/exec elite, you could grab most any car. As for the free rentals earned “the hard way” after 5-7 rentals (of 2 days or more I seem to recall.so a 1-day rental may not get the credit.though I could be confusing that as a rqmnt of the 1-2 free) The best of these credits, which can be used for ‘weekly’, as I think you can use up to 7 (at least on the old site) at onceis for 1-way rentals.

There isn’t a sur-charge and you only pay some tax (for either type of free rental). I called to make sure I could get a mini-van w/ that rental day and used as a 1-way. It would have been $500+ I recallso huge value there. Also, if you’re an (exec)elite, and book more than 48hrs, they will guarantee a car is available, and have never had an issue w/ “blocked” or peak holidays either.

It sounds with hertz, they don’t do that. Finally, it’s been my experience, most corp codes are on average more expensive at hertz than at national. So, if you’re footing the bill, or cost-conscience, while you may not get more rental days, national may well be more worth while. All that saidNational has semi-consistently (4 times in last 9 rentals) over-estimated how much fuel was used (using 3 different locations).

The latest was a rental I used for 39 miles and said I used SEVEN gallons of fuel. I called and they admitted it was only 6/8th full (their term) and charged me 4 gallons for 39 miles in a Ford Fusion. Which rates at 22+/gal city. Candidly, you’d have to be a fool to use Hertz over National’s Emerald Club (especially if you’ve got the Executive status). National gives you WAY better cars, and you get to pick what you like. The service is very good. The awards program is also excellent.

The math will produce different results for different people, but if you EVER have use for one-way rentals, National’s is incredibly valuable, because one-way rentals can be very expensive. I do have points in Hertz’s program (from the Daily Getaways promo) but they can be difficult to use: the “you’ll need to pay twice because it’s a peak time” rule is sometimes in effect even when it doesn’t seem like a peak time. And using them overseas can also be difficult. In Europe, where it would be nice to use the points, you generally can only reserve a manual shift car with points (not useful for most Americans).

I did once use my points in Australia, but they have very extensive peak blackout periods. Bottomline, I would highly recommend any frequent travel join the Emerald Club and use Hertz only as a back-up. Thanks for the very good empirical comparison. I’ve used most car rental companies. I did like National’s emerald aisle but I’ve found Hertz’s program more rewarding as well as their promotions.

I’m not really the typical renter. I rent a vehicle at least 40 weeks of the year or more.

I usually get one free rental day every 3 rentals with rental cost ranging from 250-$300. Most Hertz airport locations now offer and Emerald Aisle like offering “Hertz Gold Choice” which I’ve used once but if you are renting regularly you should have no problem getting good cars and of course Hertz in my experience has been very good any time I don’t like a vehicle in swapping it out the need for which has happened less and less as I’ve maintained my status. The cars I’ve driven my last 5 rentals have been 2 new Dodge Chargers, an Altima, and a new Volkswagen Beetle all 2015 models. Historically I’ve been given really good upgrades.

When I was working in Atlanta they gave me free upgrades to Mercedes every week. When working in Providence I got free upgrades to a Hummer, a Chrysler 300 Hemi, Mustangs, etc.

I think for regular renters like me Hertz clearly provides a better loyalty program. It still has its hiccups and I wish it let me specify cars I’d really never like to drive but none of the programs do this. Also as a word of advice if you are polite even if you don’t have status you can get the counter agent to help accommodate your exact car needs. Advertiser Disclosure: FrequentMiler is an independent, advertising-supported web site. Frequent Miler has financial relationships with many of the cards mentioned here, and is compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program. This compensation does not impact how or where products appear on this site.

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Renting a car is often considered a hassle. By leveraging the value of various reward programs, however, customers can save while enjoying the freedom of a car at their destination. Many travelers ignore rental car reward programs; we get the pitch at the rental desk when all we want are the keys. Here, we'll review and rank the benefits of different programs, so you're equipped to choose before arriving. The car rental industry saw significant consolidation as recently as 2013.

As a result, there are just a few major players to consider. This list ranks the best rewards offers.

Enterprise Reward programs are only useful when the underlying provider has a significant presence in the market. Enterprise has a fleet of 1.1 million vehicles. This scale bests all other vendors. Nearly any destination is likely to have an Enterprise option given their 6,250 locations. The “Enterprise Plus” rewards program is straightforward; each dollar spent equals one point.

These points are used to earn free rental days. You can earn a free rental day for as few as 400 points. The required rental points to earn free rental days depends on the dates of travel and automobile used. The average weekly cost of a standard-size car will run $192.00.

Therefore the value of the program will be evident after a few weeks of rentals. Points never expire, and there are no blackout dates. Benefits compound as a user rents more cars. You'll earn 'Silver' status when you rent six times per year.

This level offers a 10% increase in your total points earned. Become a 'Gold' status member by renting 12 times a year (or 40 days total) and get a 20% boost to your earned points.

Finally, the 'Platinum' level is for those renting 24 times a year (or 85 days total). This top tier offers a 20% bonus to your points.

Dollars spent on taxes and surcharges, vehicle license fees, airport-related fees, fuel purchase option and refueling don't earn points. 'Qualifying dollars' are defined as spending on time and mileage (base rate), paid upgrades and additional add-ons. Hertz The second-largest rental car business in the US has 5,140 locations. Their rewards program is a tiered system with three levels.

The “Hertz Gold Plus Rewards” is free to join. Every dollar spent equals one point. Like Enterprise, these points generate for free rental days.

One free rental day starts at 550 points. The definition of a “qualifying dollar” is wider. Therefore you can earn points on spending that includes fuel purchases, upgrades and insurance coverage options. Users renting seven to 19 times per year (or spending $1,500 to $3,999) earn a 10% bonus on total earned points.

Additionally, Hertz issues 675 bonus points after every 15 rentals. The “Hertz President’s Circle” is the highest tier reserved for those renting 20 times per year (or spending $4,000 or more). Members earn a 25% bonus on all points and an additional 675 points for every 15 rentals. The average Hertz standard size rental cost $175 per week, meaning that most will earn their first free rental day after approximately two to three weeks work of rentals.

Company Fleet Locations One-week Price Reward Points Enterprise 1,166,828 6,250 $192 165 Hertz 499,100 5,410 $175 175 Avis 365,000 3,250 $265 265 Zipcar 12,000 580 $636 0 Source: Auto Rental News (2015), ValuePenguin research (2016) 3. Avis With 3,250 locations Avis is the third largest major player in the car rental business. Like the others on the list, the program here consists of three tiers. “Avis Preferred” members earn one point for each dollar spent. You can earn two points for each dollar devoted to accessories. With “Avis Preferred Plus,” members earn 1.25 points for each dollar spent and 2.5 points for each dollar spent on an accessory. To qualify for this tier, the member must rent at least 12 times per year (or spend $5,000).

The top-tier members enjoy 1.5 points for every dollar spent and three points for every dollar spent on accessories. Qualified members must rent 25 times in a year (or spend $7,000). Points last up to five years for active members.

Avis, on average, is the most expensive of the big names. There is no clear basis for the minimum points needed to earn a free day, so users may be in for a surprise if points don’t translate to value as quickly as Hertz and Enterprise. National Given the complexity of typical reward programs, National's offer is refreshingly simple.

There are no points. Instead, National issues 'credits.'

Seven credits earn a user one free day. “Executive” members - you must purchase 12 paid rentals or 40 paid rental days in a calendar year - can earn one free day with just six credits. “Executive Elite Members” - you must purchase 25 paid rentals or 85 paid rental days in a calendar year - can earn one free day with five credits. You'll earn one credit for each four continuous days of renting. Therefore a rental period of eight days earns you two credits.

National is an attractive option for those who seldom travel. Zipcar This online “industry disrupter” is the newest competitor to enter the field. The model is different than the more traditional three listed above. To provide an equal comparison to Hertz, consider this analysis from ConsumerReports: “Zipcar did well in our cost comparison, based on our pricing of a sample Toyota Corolla for 1.5 hours. Including tax, the cost came to $19 for Zipcar, compared with $36, the daily rate, at Hertz.” The authors then continue, “For a week, the Zipcar rental climbed to a deal-breaking $636 compared to Hertz’ more reasonable $182.” Zipcar is an easy, flexible and affordable option.

Do some research first; Zipcar has far fewer locations nationwide compared to the big three above. The majority of these sites are on college campuses. There is also a one-time $25 application fee and membership fees. A basic plan membership costs $70 per year. An intermediate plan costs $19.95 per month, and the largest plan costs $50 per month. The rewards program is just as unconventional as the business model.

There is no point system. Instead, Zipcar users are offered on different business that are both national chains as well as smaller local spots. Zipcar members can get up to 25% off Avis rentals for longer duration needs. This same offer applies to Budget rental cars.

Additionally, members receive discounts of 10 to 20% on local eateries, gyms, retailers and other venues. Before choosing a rental car consider your frequency of travel. If you know your list of destinations ahead of time, you can make a much more informed decision. For those who don't know where they'll be traveling, consider Enterprise, which includes Alamo, as a good option. At least, until you can. Comments and Questions.