Virgin Flying Club changes its generous Hertz deal – are you a winner or loser?

Virgin Flying Club has, for many years, offered a generous sweet spot for people who regularly did short car rentals with Hertz.

You would receive a flat 1,000 Virgin Points per rental. If you had only rented a car for a day or for a weekend, you were doing very nicely.

This has now changed with immediate effect.

As you can see on the Virgin Atlantic website here, the deal with Hertz has moved to the more traditional revenue based route.

You will earn 5 Virgin Points per £1 spent on qualifying rentals.

As a special offer to soften the blow, you will receive 10 Virgin Points per £1 on qualifying rentals until 31st May. You need to book by 29th February to receive this deal.

This deal is only valid in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, UK, USA and Canada. Blackout dates over Easter apply.

The cash discount remains at 10%

There is no change to the Hertz discount you receive for being a Virgin Flying Club member, which remains at 10%.

As part of this special offer, this is increased. Book by 29th February for rentals collected by 31st May and, as well as double points, you will receive a discount of 15%.

Again, this deal is only valid in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, UK, USA and Canada and blackout dates over Easter apply.

What are your options if Virgin Flying Club no longer appeals?

If your Hertz rentals tend to be short and cheap, you may want to reconsider crediting them to Virgin Flying Club.

Earning Avios via Hertz

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 Airways 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.

Earning IHG One Rewards points via Hertz

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 earn:

• 1,500 IHG One Rewards points per rental (we’d value these at £6)

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.

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

You can find out more about the revised Virgin Flying Club / Hertz deal on this page of the Virgin Atlantic website.

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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.