Zipcar Flex expands to Ealing and Richmond – an easy way to get to Heathrow Terminal 5

We’ve written before about how you can use Zipcar Flex to rent a car and drop off a car directly at Heathrow Terminal 5. It’s actually my preferred (and fastest) way of getting to the airport, and last year I reviewed the Zipcar Flex experience from start to finish.

You can do the same in reverse, picking up a car from Heathrow T5 and driving home or wherever you need to go.

Unfortunately, whilst Zipcar does offer its Flex (one-way rental) services in many parts of London, vast swathes are still excluded.

This is slowly changing. Zipcar has announced it is expanding Zipcar Flex into the boroughs of Ealing and Richmond.

If you want to try Zipcar out use our link to receive £15 free driving credit you can get when signing up. Membership is free and £15 will get you just over an hour of drive time. Note that if you drop off or pick up at Heathrow you have to pay an additional £7.50 fee.

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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.

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.