Status on the Road: Car Rental Loyalty Programs Compared

Airline and hotel loyalty programs get most of our attention. Car rental status can also deliver benefits to frequent travellers, whether it’s vehicle upgrades, a faster pickup experience or guaranteed vehicle availability.

This article looks at what you can expect to get in return for your loyalty to major car rental brands in Australia, while being wary of the industry’s traps and pitfalls.

Major car rental loyalty programs in Australia

The major rental brands operating in Australia all offer loyalty schemes. Some offer multiple tiers with status perks, while others are essentially just an express service where you pre-register your details for quicker rentals.

Another difference between programs is that some have their own points currencies, while others automatically transfer points to your chosen airline or hotel program.

Here’s a quick snapshot of what the major car hire loyalty programs offer…

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards

When booking with Hertz, you will be prompted to choose whether to earn Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points or to credit to a partner program such as Virgin Australia Velocity. When crediting to Velocity, you can earn four to six points per dollar spent, depending on your Velocity status.

Hertz also has various status tiers for frequent renters:

Status level	Qualification	Benefits
Gold Plus Rewards	Entry level	Skip the counter Earn points towards free rentals Free additional driver
Five Star	10 rentals or $2,000/year	25% bonus Hertz points Availability-based upgrades
President’s Circle	15 rentals or $3,000/year	50% bonus Hertz points Guaranteed upgrades Dedicated customer service line

Avis Preferred and Budget Fastbreak

Avis and Budget operate as two brands under a single parent company. In Australia, neither program offers status levels nor an in-house points currency – but both are Qantas Frequent Flyer partners.

You earn four Qantas Points per dollar spent on rentals in Australia. Alternatively, you can choose to credit to an extensive list of other partner programs, including British Airways Club, IHG One Rewards, Air New Zealand Airpoints… or even Air Botswana Teemane Club!

These are the benefits you can enjoy with either program just for signing up:

Program	Qualification	Benefits
Avis Preferred	Entry level	Priority service counters Counter bypass at major airports Free additional driver
Budget Fastbreak	Entry level	Added convenience, including express pickup and drop-off Free additional driver

Europcar Privilege For You

Europcar Privilege For You members earn 0.6 Privilege points per AUD (or one point per Euro). The points you earn determines your status level. The program also offers “surprise rewards” every few hundred points such as discounts, upgrades and free weekend days.

Uniquely, Europcar lets you accumulate points in its own program and credit to the airline program of your choice. Red Velocity members earn 3 points per dollar spent on Europcar bookings in Australia. Silver, Gold and Platinum Velocity members earn 50%, 75% and 100% bonus points respectively.

These are Europcar’s status tiers and benefits:

Status level	Qualification	Benefits
Discoverer	0-999 Points	10% off rentals Up to 15% off Accor hotel bookings Surprise rewards
Traveller	1,000-2,999 Points	As above plus 10% higher point earn
Adventurer	3,000-10,000 Points	20% more Points Vehicle upgrades Free additional driver Priority counter
Navigator	10,000+ Points	30% more Points Double upgrades

SIXT

The SIXT loyalty program is straightforward. There are three status levels and the thresholds to level up are easy to attain:

Status level	Qualification	Benefits
Express	Entry level	Faster pick up Special offers for email subscribers
Gold	3 rentals	Up to 10% discount on rentals world-wide Free additional driver in Australia Extra offers
Platinum	10 rentals	Up to 15% discount on rentals world-wide Bonus points with participating programs Upgrades on availability

SIXT doesn’t have its own points currency. You can credit eligible spend to your Velocity account at the same rates as Europcar. Other point transfer partners include Lufthansa and Accor.

SIXT is now the main rental partner of automobile clubs such as NRMA, RACV, etc. Members of those organisations are eligible for 10%-15% rental discounts.

Thrifty Blue Chip

Thrifty’s Blue Chip Program is pretty bare bones. There are no status tiers and no points currency, but members can get:

• 15% off the base rate
• Priority counter service, and
• A free additional driver.

Velocity Red members earn three points per dollar spent. This increases though Velocity Status levels to six points per dollar for Platinums. Members can instead transfer to Emirates Skywards, LifeMiles, IHG or several US airlines.

Which car rental loyalty program is best for Australians?

As with any brand comparison, “best” will depend on your particular needs and circumstances. Here are some things to consider…

Corporate rates

First, find out if your employer has negotiated rates with any car rental companies, and if so, whether leisure bookings are also eligible for those discounted rates. Rental companies will generally let you collect a vehicle on corporate rates, so long as you have a matching work email address in the booking. If in doubt, ask.

I was once able to get a last-minute booking on Christmas Eve for 3 days from a CBD location for $50 a day using my employer’s corporate leisure rate when the advertised price was over $250 a day!

That said, it’s unwise to share corporate codes with friends and family or to grab a random discount code off the internet. These scenarios may lead to trouble if you need to make an insurance claim.

Speaking of insurance, many point-earning credit cards include car hire excess reduction, meaning you can save money by not taking out the rental company’s excess reduction upsell.

Earning points

Next, consider whether you prefer to transfer your points directly to your chosen airline or hotel loyalty program, or to accumulate with the car hire company for future free rentals. Your decision will probably depend on how often you rent.

Make sure you carefully check earning eligibility. For example cheaper pre-paid rates may be ineligible for earning airline points in some programs. Also, consider that some programs like Hertz Gold Plus Rewards have quite strict points expiration policies.

As you can see from the summary above, Velocity has a much wider choice of car rental partners than Qantas.

Status benefits and status matches

In my experience, the best perk of being a member of a number of car hire loyalty programs is express pick-up. At major airport locations you can head straight to the carpark, find your name on the signboard and walk to the bay. At city locations your paperwork will be pre-filled and you’ll be handed your key after a quick licence check.

Upgrades in the car hire world are a mixed bag. “Upgrade” usually just means a bigger car… and bigger isn’t always better. Though, I have noticed slightly better odds of newer vehicles when holding status.

Car hire status matches are surprisingly easy to obtain once you have status with one company. That initial status could even come from a status match via another loyalty program such as Accor or Velocity Frequent Flyer.

Final tips for frequent flyers

• Personally, I find all the major car rental companies pretty indistinguishable in terms of vehicle quality and customer service – I book mostly on price
• Always join the program of the car hire brand you’re booking with to save time at the counter
• Link your preferred airline (or hotel) loyalty program to your car rental profile
• Booking direct is usually the same price as via airline booking engines, but it doesn’t hurt to compare