Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Hertz introduces ‘The British Collection’ of luxury vehicles for rent

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Hertz is introducing a new premium service called The British CollectionIt is primarily based around a varied fleet of Jaguar and Land Rovers and will only be available from the Heathrow, Edinburgh Airport and London Marble Arch locations. The cars come with a make-and-model guarantee, so you can pick exactly which vehicle you want.

Hertz is also introducing a “dedicated lounge” (their emphasis, not mine!) for ‘The British Collection’ customers, including soft furnishings from Tom Dixon, a botanical mocktail from Seedlip, neon light installation by British artist Lauren Baker and an “in-lounge garden installation” from florist McQueens (whatever that means!).

Hertz British Collection lounge

Only one render was provided with the press release – see above – which makes the term ‘lounge’ seem very generous.  However, you don’t necessarily need to use the lounge as The British Collection comes with complimentary terminal delivery and collection for Heathrow and Edinburgh Airport customers, and local pick-up near Marble Arch, so you can avoid the Hertz branch entirely.

To rent a car with the British Collection you must be over 25 years of age (I’m out!).


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 2024)

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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Comments (102)

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

  • Louise says:

    OT Hilton Amex offer:
    Hotel I have made an advance booking for this morning haven’t charged card yet. Should
    I chase this today or is it something that may get charged overnight?

    • BJ says:

      Just call and ask them to charge it now, they might even do it during the call.

      • Louise says:

        Rang them, have to ring between 9-5 for the reservation team to charge, luckily tomorrow is last day

  • Nigel says:

    OT – does anybody know: if using BA app to upgrade short haul flight for cash, is it possible to upgrade just one passenger on the booking or must it be bought for all? (Only need TP for one person to hit status target)

    • Lyn says:

      Sorry I don’t have the BA app, so don’t know if this is possible using the app. However, as far as I know, the booking first has to be split into two linked bookings – one for the person to be upgraded and the second for everybody else, so it may well have to be done over the phone.

  • Paul says:

    OT. I have a IHG ambassador voucher which says it expires July 2019. Does it expire at the end of Juky or the 1st?

  • Zara says:

    OT: I now have enough Bonvoy points for my trip ahead but as only gold elite, I won’t be eligible for breakfast – it’s going to set us back £500pp! Does anyone have any tips or know whether there’s absolutely any way around it? Many thanks

    • BJ says:

      Eat someplace else, hotel buffets are so uncivilised anyway.

    • Anna says:

      Where are you staying, are there no other cheaper places to eat breakfast nearby? We’ve got a points booking at the Weston Grand Cayman next Easter, breakfast would be around £100 per day for 3 of us at these kind of properties so we chose a hotel with a reasonably priced diner across the road but will also be taking some drinks and snacks!

      • Zara says:

        Sorry Anna I’m not sure how to get notifications when a response comes in so I missed this. It’s Saudi Arabia and as its Ramadan the meals are at premium rates and with two children it will be tough to have to go elsewhere daily for this.
        Incidentally however I managed to get the hotel to agree to 50% discount on F&B as a courtesy for being gold. I’m glad as that will save me £500! Perhaps you can reach out directly to the hotel concerned too and see if there could be some wiggle room?

    • Binks says:

      Lol 🤣

  • AndyGWP says:

    OT – Apols if mentioned over the past few days, but got my Platinum card today (did upgrade last week), and it arrived in a cheap flimsy folder, and doesn’t appear to include luggage tags anymore (not for me… for ebay!)

    • Tom1 says:

      Same for me… no tags.
      Americans love them for some reason.

      • mark2 says:

        My wife ‘s card arrived a few weeks ago in th big wasteful box,

  • The Original Nick says:

    O;T, I’ve just booked a flight via Aer lingus website using Stobart air. Will ib get Avios credited to myth BAEC account if plug in my BAEC membership number?

    • The Original Nick says:

      Sorry for the wonky spelling. Predictive text gone wonky!

  • Spurs Debs says:

    O/T I have outgoing flight in 1st booked, if I call You First customer services number can they book return if reward seat available ?

    Wondering if this is possible instead of calling Japan/USA at 1am?

    • Lady London says:

      Its possible but if it’s a hotly desired route you could lose the seat availability if there is the slightest delay in you doing it that way.

      The real and long established Lady London.

      • Cat says:

        Maybe the fake one can be longest abolished.

      • Spurs Debs says:

        Thanks The real Lady of London ! I saw there was an imposter using your name. I don’t know identity theft on a miles blog, what’s the world coming to.

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

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.