Why crediting Hertz car rentals to IHG One Rewards is surprisingly attractive

As Hertz is not a British Airways Avios partner, you have historically had to find an alternative home for the rewards you earn on your Hertz car rentals.

The good news is that this is no longer the case.  You can now earn Avios with Hertz rentals by crediting them to Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

This is because Qatar Privilege Club now uses Avios as its currency, and you can transfer the Avios onwards to British Airways Executive Club.

You only earn 500 Avios per Hertz rental, however. There is a little known partnership between Hertz and IHG One Rewards – the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental etc hotel scheme – which is more generous.

IHG One Rewards offers Diamond Elite members Five Star status with Hertz – click for more details – which is an extra incentive to book.

ALL IHG One Rewards members, irrespective of status level, can earn points when they rent from Hertz.  Full details are on the IHG website here.

You can learn more about IHG One Rewards in our overview article here.

Here are the headline details:

• You will earn 1,500 IHG One Rewards points per rental

plus

• an extra 125 IHG One Rewards points per day for non-status members, or

• an extra 500 IHG One Rewards points per day for status members

This is pretty generous, especially for Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond Elite members who are guaranteed at least 2,000 points per rental.

I’m not sure if these points still count towards elite status since the launch of IHG One Rewards.

Here are the snags:

• You must book via this link on this page of the IHG website

• You must include the IHG CDP in your booking – this means that, whilst you benefit from the IHG discount of up to 35%, you are excluded from any more generous deals you may be able to access

Let’s assume that you value IHG points at 0.4p each, as I do.  A 2-day rental for a status member would earn you 2,500 points which is £10 of value.  A week-long rental would get you 5,000 points valued at £20.

This compares well with the Avios deal via Qatar Privilege Club. This will only get you 500 Avios, which I’d value at £5. It also beats the generous Virgin Atlantic deal with Hertz, which gets you 1,000 Virgin Points per rental.

As long as the IHG discount rate throws up a good price, this is one of the better hotel / car hire tie-ups and one you should try to remember. It may trump the new opportunity to earn Avios from Hertz.

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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.