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Free Sixt Platinum status for Club Carlson Gold members and various other hotel elites

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I mentioned last week, in a throw away line in another article, that Gold members of Starwood Preferred Guest can claim Gold status with car rental group Sixt.

SPG Gold is a free benefit from American Express Platinum so a lot of Head for Points readers will have one.

Reader Dr Phil chipped in with something even better – a link offering free Platinum status in the Sixt programme for Club Carlson Gold members.  Club Carlson Gold is also an Amex Platinum benefit.

It isn’t just limited to Club Carlson Gold either.  It also applies to (and this is just a sample, see the link below for the full list) SPG Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Etihad Gold, Emirates Gold, Flying Blue Platinum and Miles & More Senator.

To get your free Sixt Platinum card via the schemes above, simply visit this website.  If you have lower tier status in these programmes you may qualify for Sixt Gold – see this link.

The key benefits of Platinum and Gold are:

15% off car and truck rentals (10% for Gold)

Quick Check-In

Mobile Check-In

An upgrade (not clear if guaranteed)

The middle two can be lifesavers when collecting a car at a crowded airport location.

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How to get FREE car rental status and other benefits via UK credit cards

How to get FREE car rental status and other benefits via UK credit cards (April 2025)

If you hire a car in the UK, you can get special benefits (discounts, upgrades, free additional drivers etc) if you have elite status with a car rental programme. You can get elite status for free via certain American Express cards.

The Platinum Card and American Express Business Platinum

The Platinum Card from American Express and American Express Business Platinum come with two free car hire status cards. Your supplementary Platinum cardholder can also receive status in their own right.

From Avis, you receive President’s Club status in Avis Preferred. This gets you up to 25% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a guaranteed one class upgrade. For weekend rentals you will receive a two class upgrade, subject to availability.

From Hertz, you receive ‘Five Star’ status in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. This gets you up to 15% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a one class upgrade, subject to availability.

Hertz also offers Platinum cardholders a 4 hour grace period on rentals. Your final day is treated as 28 hours, so a 1pm pick up with a 5pm return the following day is only charged as one day, not two days. We wrote about the Hertz / Platinum 4 hour grace period here.

The Platinum Card also comes with full car hire insurance with no obligation to pay for the rental via American Express. You can refuse any attempts to sell you additional insurance at pick up. This benefit has substantial value if you rent on a regular basis.

You can find more details on the two Platinum cards, and apply, in our full reviews linked below. You can apply here for the personal card and here for the business card.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is an excellent card in its own right. You receive 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up (convert to 20,000 Avios amongst other things), four airport lounge passes and £120 of Deliveroo credit. Even better, your first year is free.

There are two car rental benefits:

  • you receive Preferred Plus status in Avis Preferred
  • you receive a special package with Hertz – 10% off best available rates at participating locations, a one class upgrade for rentals of 5 days or more, subject to availability, and no additional driver fees

Find out more about the benefits of American Express Preferred Rewards Gold in our review. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Category

Air France KLM and Flying Blue, Emirates and Emirates Skywards, Etihad and Etihad Guest, Hilton Honors, Lufthansa and Miles & More, Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (19)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Henry says:
    12 May12 May 07:39

    Ooh excellent, thanks Raffles, this’ll be a boon for our family holiday in South France this summer. We usually use Sixt as they tend to be cheaper and we’ve always found them very helpful and friendly. This’ll be even nicer!

  • Mikeact says:
    12 May12 May 07:48

    I was just about to say the same thing. …comparing like for like, my Avis and/or Hertz cards always come out far better price wise.

    • Alan says:
      12 May12 May 08:02

      I must say I was impressed with Hertz on a recent trip. Bypassed a massive queue to go straight to the car lot where they already had my name and car location on the electronic display. Just got in and drove off (although could have swapped for another car in the Gold aisle if I’d wanted). Was a Hertz points redemption and they ended up not charging me any taxes plus it stacked with the 4h Amex Plat benefit 🙂

      • Elena says:
        12 May12 May 22:46

        Alan I agree I had excellent experience with Hertz as well. I think I will be using them again soon.

  • pauldb says:
    12 May12 May 08:02

    I’ve used Sixt twice – agree they are often not competitive. Second time around I booked through Orbitz for a lower rate without insurance, and was able to my Sixt Plat number on the Sixt website (and to earn some AA miles).
    Unfortunately neither rental got an upgrade and the mobile app which promises a choice of car offered a choice of just 1. 🙁

  • Rob says:
    12 May12 May 08:22

    Yes – if Carlson is still accepting applications under that Amex link then Sixt will accept a scan of your Carlson card.

  • N says:
    12 May12 May 08:28

    If you have Hilton Gold, Club Carlson will status match to their Gold, which gives a route to Sixt Plat.

  • Ben E says:
    12 May12 May 11:39

    Managed to get it using an expired Etihad gold

    • pauldb says:
      12 May12 May 16:50

      It does beg the question how do they know. You’d think there are some DPA issues here: are Carlson/Etihad really going to confirm their member’s details to Sixt?

      • Rob says:
        12 May12 May 17:01

        No they don’t. That is why status match promos are always great for people who can use Photoshop!

      • Jeff says:
        12 May12 May 17:02

        They don’t, the card is granted immediately. Meanwhile no checks beyond a cursory glance of an uploaded image (which could easily be doctored) could be performed anyhow. Of course, they weren’t anticipating a mass influx of HfP readers, so they may belatedly revisit this process, assuming it is viewed as a threat to their ‘Platinum’ programme (which I sincerely doubt).

  • Mario says:
    12 May12 May 14:48

    I’m getting a “Invalid File Type” when trying to upload the picture! Anyone else getting this?

  • Rob says:
    12 May12 May 17:00

    I don’t think so. Amex Preferred used to have either a fee or a minimum number of rentals, can’t remember which, so the Amex offer had value. Then it went free / no minimum rentals! No idea what the Amex deal is, if any!

    • drphilth says:
      13 May13 May 09:27

      It doesn’t. You get a bog- standard, lowest tier Avis membership. That said, the first time I used it I booked a very cheap compact car via ba.(I’ve found it is often cheaper to book via ba.com rather than Avis.co.uk)
      I got a brand new Audi A1 with 700 miles on the clock. I was quite happy with it – I was expecting a clapped out Renault Clio (which is what I got the second time I tried it – different location though)

      • thesaver79 says:
        13 May13 May 09:28

        I agree, prices on the ba.com site seem to be much cheaper! But I believe the cancellation policy is far less flexible.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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