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

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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.

Zipcar Flex ealing

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

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

General

Comments (34)

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

  • Ehch says:
    22 Jul22 July 05:47

    Survey done Patricia but adjusting option 2/4 on the likert scale will help future respondents and your results. 2 – ‘it must be that way’ is stronger than 1 – ‘i like it’ in my reading. Also, 4 – ‘i can live with it that way’ is neutral and same as 3.

    • Susan says:
      22 Jul22 July 08:42

      Also it’s pretty common these days for s/haul = economy, l/haul = business. The survey didn’t recognise this mix.

      • Andrew says:
        22 Jul22 July 11:00

        Who are the employers (outside of PE firms before Rob says them) that pay for long haul business these days and how can I get a job for one?

        • Red Flyer says:
          22 Jul22 July 11:40

          I work for an international pension and investment company and our contract states economy up to 5 hours and business if over that. I think that is still pretty standard for most financial services companies these days?

          • Rob says:
            22 Jul22 July 11:48

            I think my wife is 5 hours.

            The only exceptions were a couple of times when she wanted to go to conferences in Asia, and the bank was like ‘look, we’ll pay the fee, we’ll give you a luxury hotel, we’ll adjust to not having you here for a week but we’re not dropping £5k on a flight as well’ – which is fair enough.

        • the_real_a says:
          22 Jul22 July 12:32

          My former employer (top 3 tech firm) used to only offer business if you had a medical need. It was surprising how many of the frequent travelers had bad backs and knees. The local private doctor have a reliable income stream for medical notes.

          • Jonathan says:
            22 Jul22 July 16:13

            Tbf if I was regularly travelling long haul economy I’d probably have a bad back or knee!

  • Olly says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:20

    No detail on how much one would be paying for the points and whether this represents good value? Is HfP getting lazy in the summer heat?

    Is the 5 for 4 deal available for all Honors members or only those with Silver upwards?

    • Chris Heyes says:
      22 Jul22 July 07:37

      Oily That’s a bit unfair there are plenty of posts/articles on how much a Hilton point is worth, including when buying them
      Also plenty of articles about Hiltons 5 for 4 deals including qualifying
      Maybe readers on HFP are getting lazy in the summer heat and want Rob/Rhys to hold there hand ?

      • Olly says:
        22 Jul22 July 07:47

        I know how much a point is valued at Chris as I’ve read those articles but if there’s no detail included in this article of how much you’re paying for the points, then it’s not possible to judge the value of this particular offer. Analysis always adds value to the reader.

        • Lady London says:
          22 Jul22 July 08:05

          Very, very recent articles with 7Pines detail and ditto for valuation of Hilton points

  • MiddleEngland says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:36

    I book the Hilton points offer last night. I was able to use this offer despite having purchased the maximum annual amount in the last offer. 160,000 cost 800 USD.

    • Olly says:
      22 Jul22 July 07:44

      Thanks middle

    • Sean says:
      22 Jul22 July 08:54

      Yes offer seems to suggest that you can buy 80k and get 80k free regardless of other purchases – a brucey bonus as they say.

  • Travel Strong says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:57

    Needed 6 rooms in Bournemouth on a recent weekend with the Hilton running at £330 per night. Bought all the points and secured 6 x 50k redemptions at a cost of 250 USD / £178 per room. Which was even cheaper than the few premier inn rooms that were still available.

    However it took points.com a couple of days to process the $1500 purchase which was very unnerving! Thankfully the rooms stayed available through that time – but be aware the Hilton points purchases may not be instant.
    When purchasing IHG’s through points.com in the past, I recalled them being instant, so was suprised.

  • Dave1985 says:
    22 Jul22 July 08:13

    Good to see zipcar expanding. Great news to coincide with freedom week!

    Freedom!

  • Judge says:
    22 Jul22 July 08:26

    Airplane?

  • Jamie says:
    22 Jul22 July 08:55

    Is there any way round the Hyatt 55k points limit? Barely enough for two nights at my intended redemption (Hotel Martinez Cannes)

    • Rob says:
      22 Jul22 July 09:38

      Another member can transfer points to you (for free, needs a call) BUT both accounts – giver and receiver – must have had a stay in the last 12 months.

  • Roy says:
    22 Jul22 July 10:32

    Worth pointing out that the offer runs until 29th July or until sold out.

    • Roy says:
      22 Jul22 July 10:32

      The Hilton offer, that is.

    • Rob says:
      22 Jul22 July 11:52

      How you can sell out of a non-physical item is a very meta question.

      • Sean says:
        22 Jul22 July 13:44

        they quote a figure of 280 million points available in the email.

        • Roy says:
          22 Jul22 July 18:01

          That’s not so much, if you assume that a fair few people will go for the max available. Wouldn’t surprise me if they sell out.

      • Roy says:
        22 Jul22 July 20:31

        Same way those Amex offers “sell out” after the first xx,000 people click on them….

        • Rob says:
          22 Jul22 July 21:02

          Well no, because that is linked to a fixed budget provided by the merchant.

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

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