If your travels regularly involve renting a car, top-tier rental car elite status can be an invaluable tool in your travel belt. And unlike with airline or hotel status, it doesn't require blind loyalty or exorbitant spending to earn it.
Like several other car rental companies, Hertz's loyalty program gives its top-tier President's Circle status to travelers with the right credit card in their wallet. With Hertz President's Circle status you'll get valuable perks like a guaranteed vehicle upgrade, bonus point earning, and a way to skip the long check-in lines.
Some of those benefits are worth more than others. But even if you only rent a car a few times a year, having President's Circle status can save you both time and money.
Read on for everything you need to know about getting and using Hertz's top-tier President's Circle elite status.
How to Get Hertz President's Circle Status
Just like the major hotel chains and airlines, rental car companies have their own loyalty programs that reward their most valuable customers with points and perks. Hertz's Gold Plus Rewards program is free to join, offering three different tiers of elite status.
- On the bottom rung, you have Gold status, which is the level all Gold Plus Rewards members start at.
- Mid-tier Hertz Five Star status can be earned by renting 10 vehicles (or spending $2,000) in a year. With Five Star status, you'll get a wider selection of cars to choose from, an occasional upgrade, and earn 25% more points on your paid rentals.
- President's Circle status is at the top, unlocking all the best benefits like guaranteed upgrades and the widest selection of vehicles.
Here's how to get there.
Spend $3,000 or Complete 15 Rentals
Let's get this option out of the way first: Hertz President's Circle status can be earned by renting 15 vehicles – or spending $3,000 – with the company each year.
If you travel regularly for work and your employer is paying for your rental car, then this might not be such an egregious option for getting Hertz's top-tier status. But for most, there are far easier routes to take.
The Capital One Venture X Card
There are many reasons why carrying the *venture x* makes good sense for frequent and casual travelers alike.
Beyond the card's initial welcome bonus of 75,000 Capital One miles for spending $4,000 in the first three months, the card also comes packed with benefits that help make its $395 annual fee a no-brainer for most travelers. There are the obvious perks like airport lounge access, anniversary miles, and an annual $300 travel credit … but one often overlooked benefit is automatic Hertz President's Circle status.
If you already have the Venture X or are adding it to your wallet, enrolling in your complimentary Hertz President's Circle status is quite easy. Once logged into your Capital One account online, you can navigate to the benefits section and see Hertz President's Circle status under the list of eligible benefits.
From there, it's as simple as entering your Hertz loyalty program number and verifying your personal details. If you're not already a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards member, you can enroll at the same time that you register for President's Circle status.
Related reading: Get a Big Bonus, Lounge Access & More With the Capital One Venture X Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Having *amex platinum* is another easy shortcut to earning President's Circle status.
Amex's top-dollar Membership Rewards point-earning card comes with an 80,000 point welcome offer for spending $8,000 in the first six months, if not much more. But the real value of the Platinum Card is for all the added perks and benefits. Among the laundry list of perks, complimentary Hertz President's Circle status is an unsung benefit.
If you already have the Amex Platinum, you can enroll in your complimentary President's Circle status by navigating to the “Benefits” page for your Platinum Card.
This page lists all of the many benefits you get for being an Amex Platinum Cardholder, so don't be surprised if you have to scroll quite a ways down before you find the benefit listing for “Car Rental Privileges.”
Thrifty Tip: In addition to Hertz, Platinum cardholders also get National's Emerald Club Executive Elite® status as well as Avis Preferred Plus status.
From here, you'll be able to enroll in the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program and ensure you're upgraded to President's Circle Status. If you're already an existing Hertz Gold Plus Rewards number, you can instead enter that number rather than enrolling all over again.
Having the Amex Platinum Card doesn't just get you automatic Hertz elite status. It also means you'll also be able to use the Amex Corporate Discount Code (CDC) to save big on your car rentals.
With this discount code you'll get up to a 20% discount off the published rates … plus you also get a four-hour grace grace period on returns in the U.S. before an extra day is charged. You can build this extra four hours into your rental when booking and all you'll have to pay is a slight up-charge in taxes and fees.
That one-two punch of status and discounts makes getting President's Circle Status with the Amex Platinum card the most valuable of all.
Check out our full review of the Amex Platinum for more on all its benefits!
Delta Platinum and Diamond Medallion Members
I don't think anyone would classify this method as “easy,” but travelers who have worked their way to one of the top two rungs of Delta Medallion Status have another way to get Hertz President's Circle status.
Delta Platinum and Diamond Medallion members can navigate to the “Other Loyalty Programs” page in their SkyMiles profile and add their Hertz Gold Plus Rewards number to get complimentary President's Circle status.
Not a Platinum or Diamond Medallion yet? Silver and Gold elites get Hertz's mid-tier Five Star status instead.
No matter which level of Delta Medallion status you have, you'll also be earning SkyMiles for every dollar you spend with Hertz, in addition to the complimentary status.
Full Benefits of President's Circle Status
Trying to quantify the perks of President's Circle status is impossible, but one thing's for sure: Having these extra benefits will save you time and money on each and every Hertz car rental.
Guaranteed Car Upgrades
On paper, this benefit might seem like the best of all. Knowing that you're “guaranteed” to get at least a one-category upgrade from whatever kind of vehicle you originally booked is sure to save you money – or, at the very least, give you a more comfortable ride.
But in practice, the guarantee only extends to participating locations. And it's subject to whatever vehicles are available. If you're renting from a smaller airport location or a standalone Hertz,they might not have any higher category vehicles to upgrade you to.
Hertz Ultimate Choice Vehicle Selection
If you're renting from one of the 50-plus airport locations across the country that offers Hertz Ultimate Choice, you'll get to pick nearly any vehicle on the lot and go. This means that you can skip the long check-in line altogether and head straight to whatever vehicle catches your eye.
All you need to do is go to the zone listed by your name on the directory board (or find it on your reservation) and pick the car you want. When you leave the parking garage, you'll need to stop at the gate and give the attendant your driver's license to let them know which vehicle you selected. This is also where you can disclose any damage that you noted on the vehicle.
Choosing the vehicle that you want is an awesome perk, but being able to skip a long line in the process makes this benefit all the better. Anyone who's rented a car before should know that the check-in representatives are salespeople, first and foremost. They're going to try and upsell you on everything from extra insurance to prepaid fuel to toll fees. It's rarely a pleasant experience.
Saving time and avoiding that hassle is more beneficial to me than getting an upgrade – or even being able to choose my own car.
Thrifty Tip: Be sure to pay for your rental with a credit card that comes with primary rental car insurance so that you're covered in the event of an accident.
Add Another Driver for Free
Every little extra thing costs money when it comes to renting a car, so of course that applies to adding an extra driver to your reservation. Unless you have Hertz President's Circle status, of course.
With this benefit you can add a spouse or domestic partner to your reservation without paying any extra. Compare that to other companies or those without status, and you're looking at saving $50 or more each and every time you rent with Hertz.
Additional Benefits
Beyond the bigger benefits already listed, as a President's Circle status member you'll also get a few less noteworthy perks.
When it comes to earning points, you'll get a 50% bonus over general Gold Plus Rewards members by earning 1 1/2 points for every dollar spent on car rentals. Points can be redeemed for free rentals starting at 950 points for a one-day standard reward (blackout dates apply) or twice as many points for an AnyDay Reward (no blackout dates).
You'll also get access to a designated phone line if you need to call in for assistance with your reservation.
Is President's Circle Status Worth It?
Having Hertz's top-tier rental car elite status is certainly worth having … but not if it costs you much to get it. You don't need to worry about that.
If you're getting it because you've already got the *venture x* or *amex platinum* then, of course, it's nice to have. Even if you rarely rent a car, it will likely come in handy at some point. If you're instead spending more money with Hertz than you could be with other car rental companies just to chase elite status, it likely won't be worth it.
In my opinion, the access to Hertz's Ultimate Choice lot – being able to pick your car and go – is the most valuable benefit of all. Others will no doubt find value in earning additional points on their rentals and being able to add an additional driver without paying an extra fee.
Bottom Line
President's Circle is Hertz's top elite status, unlocking perks like a guaranteed vehicle upgrade, earning more points, and the ability to skip the line, pick any car, and go.
You can easily get President's Circle status just by carrying the right credit card in your wallet. If you've got one of those cards already, make sure you're using these benefits ahead of your next Hertz rental.