Nobody likes ready in line — for something. And a number of the worst strains will be these at airport rental automotive counters. These (frustratingly) all the time appear to seem after a protracted flight with your loved ones when all you need is to get within the automotive and go.
Overlook all the different perks that include rental automotive elite standing. The upgrades, the “free second driver” — even the four-hour grace period on returns. None of that compares to the power to skip the road when choosing up your automotive. I would argue that it is the perk most of us care about.
Sadly, this sometimes is not accessible when reserving automobiles via a third-party platform. And this contains standard bank card portals like Chase Travel℠ and Capital One Travel — which is a bummer, since you may earn hefty bonuses for making journey reservations via these websites.
Happily, it is now doable to do exactly that with one standard journey rewards card.
Learn on for the whole lot you have to learn about reserving Hertz leases with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Associated: 9 rental car rewards programs you need to know about
Enterprise X rental automotive advantages
The Capital One Venture X Card touts two key advantages associated to rental automobiles:
If you happen to e book a rental automotive — from any firm — through the Capital One Journey portal and pay together with your Enterprise X card, you’ll earn 10 miles per greenback spent on that rental. However, leases booked elsewhere (together with straight with the rental automotive firm) will solely earn 2 miles per greenback spent.
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If you happen to hire a automotive for every week and spend $500, that distinction can actually add up.
Booked with Capital One Journey, you’d earn 5,000 miles from this rental. Nevertheless, you’d earn simply 1,000 miles by reserving anyplace else. Since TPG’s November 2024 valuations regard Capital One miles as being price 1.85 cents every, the distinction between the 2 quantities is $74.
Even in case you have been to only use these miles for journey at a fixed value of 1 cent per mile, you’d earn $40 in extra rewards by going via Capital One.
As well as, Enterprise X cardholders may take pleasure in Hertz President’s Circle standing, only for being a cardholder.*
You may have to register with Hertz first, and President’s Circle standing gives the next perks:
- Assured upgrades
- Potential so as to add your partner or home associate as an additional driver totally free
- The widest alternative of automobiles when beginning your rental
And most significantly, you may skip the road and head straight to your automotive at most main airports — which might prevent a ton of time, particularly throughout busy journey intervals.
*Beforehand, it was introduced that the complimentary Hertz President’s Circle standing that got here with being a Enterprise X cardholder was ending. This modified in September 2024, when a Capital One spokesperson confirmed that eligible cardholders will proceed to qualify for complimentary Hertz standing past Dec. 31, 2024.
Associated: Credit cards that offer elite status for car rentals
Stacking rewards on rental automobiles with the Enterprise X
When reserving a rental automotive within the Capital One Journey portal, begin by looking for a automotive as you usually would and choose the choice you need. Nevertheless, you’ll have a unique expertise on the ultimate web page relying on the rental automotive firm you choose.
If you happen to select a automotive from Hertz, Thrifty or Greenback (the final two are owned by Hertz), you may enter your rewards quantity on the final web page earlier than paying.
Here’s a rental I chosen for a Hertz automotive:
Since Hertz Company additionally owns Thrifty and Greenback, this selection is current when renting with both of these corporations.
Nevertheless, you may’t do that with different rental automotive corporations. If you happen to select to hire with Avis, Finances or others within the Capital One portal, you will not have the choice to place in your rewards quantity.
And TPG has confirmed that including your Hertz quantity does (the truth is) unlock the perks of Gold Plus Rewards whereas additionally incomes 10 miles per greenback spent.
TPG senior editorial director Nick Ewen has rented a automotive from Hertz and booked through Capital One Journey. Since he has the Enterprise X card, the portal indicated that he would earn 10 miles per greenback spent on the acquisition throughout the reserving course of.
Positive sufficient, as soon as it posted to his account, the preliminary fee of $58.09 earned him 581 miles.
Nevertheless, if he had rented with some other platform, he would’ve earned simply two miles per greenback on his rental — even on a Hertz automotive. You need to e book via the Capital One Journey portal to get the additional rewards.
However one essential query remained: Would including his Hertz quantity throughout reserving truly set off the perks?
Merely put, sure.
When he arrived on the Hertz storage at Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA), his title was on the board directing him towards the Gold members space.
Curiously, his Hertz person profile on-line (and his rental settlement) appropriately indicated his President’s Circle standing. It was additionally mirrored on his return receipt.
Nevertheless, the welcome board listed his standing as Gold — two tiers under the President’s Circle.
Nonetheless, he nonetheless was in a position to choose from over two dozen automobiles and head straight to the exit. This was regardless of reserving the most affordable automotive accessible — a Chevrolet Spark. His choices included a variety of intermediate automobiles and mid-sized SUVs, although he finally selected a Nissan Altima for his one-day rental.
Through the use of the Enterprise X card, he acquired a bigger automotive, saved invaluable time and earned 10 miles per greenback spent.
As well as, he might use his Hertz standing to match other rental programs, and utilizing the Enterprise X card even gave him major automotive rental protection in case of harm or theft to the automobile.
Evaluating with leases via on-line journey businesses
What makes this capability to stack points-earning with standing perks so distinctive is that it does not apply to different conditions. You’ll be able to’t add your lodge rewards numbers to bookings with Capital One Journey. You sometimes will not take pleasure in lodge perks together with your favourite loyalty program in case you e book via a portal. (You’ll be able to all the time strive calling the lodge on to ask about including your quantity after reserving, however there is not any assure it will work.)
The identical applies to most rental automobiles booked via on-line journey businesses (OTAs). Most do not even supply an area so as to add your rental automotive rewards quantity on the reservation, although Priceline is one exception.
Nevertheless, even in case you add your Hertz loyalty quantity, it probably will not carry over into Hertz’s system. Thus, you will not take pleasure in perks like upgrades or going straight to the automotive.
Once I made a reserving with Priceline and put in my Hertz quantity final 12 months, the Hertz counter at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) mentioned they could not see my loyalty quantity on the reservation. Hertz telephone representatives additionally informed me they do not see this quantity when reserving via a third-party service like Priceline. Thus, I wanted to attend in line to choose up the automotive — and I did not get an improve.
Whereas one TPG reader has reported success in doing this, it could not be just right for you.
When you have the Enterprise X and reserve a Hertz automotive via the Capital One Journey portal, you get a mixture of perks that you would be able to’t get elsewhere. You get further factors and standing perks on this particular mixture, although this is not doable with rental automobiles from different corporations, rental automobiles booked through different portals or with accommodations reserved in almost any portal.
Associated: 4 reasons to consider booking your next hotel stay through an online travel agency
Backside line
There is a implausible alternative for Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card cardholders to stack enhanced incomes charges with elite standing perks on Hertz rental automobiles. It is a distinctive technique to make your rental expertise as rewarding and stress-free as doable.
Upon enrollment, accessible via the Capital One web site or cellular app, eligible cardholders will stay at that standing degree via the length of the supply. Please notice, enrolling via the conventional Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment course of (e.g. at Hertz.com) won’t mechanically detect a cardholder as being eligible for this system and cardholders won’t be mechanically upgraded to the relevant standing tier. Further phrases apply