【Updated 2019.12】You can directly pick up elite status with several rental car companies, starting with the top-tier complimentary National's Emerald Club status, then matching to Hertz, Avis, and Enterprise. If you have any upcoming car rental needs, go claim these now.

After registering by following the steps, you should see that your account is automatically set to the highest National's Emerald Club tier. Then use the matching methods below: send your screenshot and status match request to the designated email.

  • Hertz President’s Circle match: once you get National Executive Elite, you can match to Hertz President’s Circle (official link). Send an email to [email protected] explaining your current status and the status you want matched. Be sure to attach a screenshot of your elite status showing your name.
  • Avis match: send an email to [email protected] explaining your current status and the status you want matched. Be sure to attach a screenshot of your elite status showing your name.
  • Enterprise match: you can do it directly on the website.

Official websites for each rental car company

Here are the major nationwide rental car companies in the U.S., listed alphabetically:

Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, National, ACE, Advantage, E-Z, Enterprise, Fox, Hertz, Midway, Silvercar, Sixt, Thrifty.

The relatively larger companies are bolded and linked to their official websites.

For reference, here is J.D. Power’s 2018 customer satisfaction ranking.

Features:

  • Earn member points
  • Earn elite status — the main programs here are Avis, National, Enterprise, Hertz, and Sixt
  • These companies all allow Status Match.
  • Enjoy elite benefits — mainly Express pickup, vehicle upgrades/aisle choice, and bonus points earning.
  • Good prepaid rates (Prepay Rate)
  • Use official website discounts — Discount Code/CDP, Promotional Coupon (PC), Rate Code (RQ), and AAA discount are four relatively common discount types. These can offer direct savings, discounted rates, rebate, free day, upgrade, and more. See each company for details. On the official website, there is usually a prominent Deal/Discount section where you can find them.
  • Non-prepaid reservations can be canceled for free at any time, even in case of No show

Rental car loyalty programs

Compared with other booking channels, one major advantage of booking directly with rental car companies is the value of elite status. For example, you may get vehicle upgrades, bonus points, and other perks. Most importantly, if you have elite status with one company, you can often match it to elite status with other companies.

  • Hertz President’s Circle match: once you get National Executive Elite, you can match to Hertz President’s Circle (official link). Send an email to [email protected] explaining your current status and the status you want matched. Be sure to attach a screenshot of your elite status showing your name.
  • Avis match: send an email to [email protected] explaining your current status and the status you want matched. Be sure to attach a screenshot of your elite status showing your name.
  • Enterprise match: you can do it directly on the website.

Online travel agency websites (OTAs)

These are the major U.S. rental car OTAs:

Priceline, Expedia, Booking, Hotwire, Orbitz, Travelcity, Kayak.

Expedia UK is a site that can sometimes be useful. Its prices can occasionally be much better than the U.S. site. However, the premise is that you have a non-U.S. driver’s license, and preferably a passport as well, because the rental counter may ask to see them. The counter may also accept a U.S. driver’s license, but it is better to be prepared. If your non-U.S. driver’s license does not include English annotations, you will need a translation document.

Features:

  • Earn OTA elite status and points
  • You are not limited to one or two companies, so you can search more broadly across many rental car companies
  • It is very easy to compare each company’s public prices
  • Some companies may also let you apply coupon codes, but YMMV
  • There are Express Deal options that can sometimes be very cheap, but that means the rental company is chosen blindly and the booking is non-cancelable
  • Non-prepaid reservations can be canceled for free at any time, even in case of No show

Costco Travel

To book rental cars through Costco, you first need to be a Costco member and register for a Costco Travel online account. It mainly offers rentals from these four companies: Alamo, Avis, Budget, and Enterprise.

Features:

  • Prices are often very good
  • Includes 1 free Additional Driver — this alone can save you tens or even hundreds of dollars
  • Non-prepaid reservations can be canceled for free at any time, even in case of No show

Airline & Hotel Websites

Many airlines and hotel groups also offer rental car booking services. They are not actually becoming rental car companies themselves; instead, they act as rental car OTAs. When members book rental cars through their websites, they can earn the corresponding points, and during promotions there may be bonus offers. Airline websites can only book airport locations, while hotel websites are not limited in that way. Here we mainly introduce a few options with stronger returns.

Features:

  • Earn airline/hotel points rebates
  • Enter your rental car loyalty number when booking to earn rental car elite status credit
  • Enter your rental car loyalty number when booking to enjoy rental car elite benefits
  • You’re not limited to just one or two companies, so you can broaden your search across a wide range of rental car providers
  • It’s very easy to compare each company’s public rates
  • Some companies may also let you apply coupon codes, but YMMV
  • No prepayment required; reservations can be canceled for free at any time, even in the case of a no-show

Delta car rentals with Hertz

Take advantage of DL elite-status bonus earnings for up to 1250+300*X miles!

United car rentals with Hertz

With UA elite-status bonus earnings, you can get up to 2750 miles

AA car rentals with Avis, Budget

AA only partners with these two companies, so it’s usually only worth it when there’s a promo bonus

Southwest car rentals with 6 companies

From an earnings perspective, WN is best for rentals of up to about one week. The longer you rent, the more points you earn. When Dollar and Thrifty are much cheaper, I usually book those two through WN. Earning up to 1200 miles is pretty decent too.

You’ll need to check the special offer page for the promotion shown below

Marriott car rentals with Hertz

Rent for 2 days or more and you can earn 2000 points

Hilton car rentals with Alamo, Enterprise, National

You can earn up to 5000 points

IHG car rentals with Hertz

You can earn 1500+500*X points

Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR)

If you have a Chase credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards, you can use UR points/cash to book rental cars through Chase’s Travel Portal. The backend is actually Expedia now.

UR points are worth 1:1 if you hold a Freedom-family card, 1:1.25 with Sapphire Preferred/ Ink Preferred, and 1:1.5 with Sapphire Reserve.

Features:

  • You’re not limited to just one or two companies, so you can broaden your search across a wide range of rental car providers
  • It’s very easy to compare each company’s public rates
  • Free cancellation is available up until pickup time
  • You can redeem UR points at a relatively high value
  • Watch out for the sometimes ridiculous one-way rental fee!

Citi ThankYou Points (TYP)

If you have a Citibank credit card that earns ThankYou Points, you can use TYP points/cash to book rental cars through Citi’s Travel Portal. The backend is Connexions Loyalty, Inc.

TYP points are worth 1:1.25 if you hold ThankYou Premier, and only 1:1 with other cards.

Features:

  • You’re not limited to just one or two companies, so you can broaden your search across a wide range of rental car providers
  • It’s very easy to compare prices across companies
  • If you hold Premier, you can redeem TYP points at a relatively high value
  • Sometimes you can find excellent prices that aren’t available elsewhere (this year I found a great Citi rate in ANC that was $100 cheaper than elsewhere for a week)
  • Free cancellation is allowed up to 2 days before pickup; within 2 days, one day’s rental charge applies, and there are no refunds after the rental begins
  • Watch out for the sometimes ridiculous one-way rental fee!

Car Sharing

The main option here is TURO. Overall reviews are pretty solid. Since you’re renting directly from the car owner, the exact make and model are already clear at the time of booking. There’s a wide variety of cars, including some models you won’t find at traditional rental car companies.

Its Cancellation Policy is a bit more complicated:

Strategy tips

  1. As soon as you have your trip planned out, start checking rental car prices and compare your options to make the best choice for your situation.
  2. Take full advantage of each company’s promotions when booking.
  3. Make full use of your credit card’s built-in rental car coverage!
  4. After booking, check from time to time to see whether the current price has changed. If it drops, you can cancel and rebook.
  5. Only book Express Deal and Prepay Rate when your itinerary is fixed and the price difference is substantial.
  6. When the price difference is not very large, try to choose larger or more upscale rental car companies.
    • Airport locations may have shorter lines, which saves time
    • You can take advantage of elite benefits, such as faster pickup and better cars
    • Vehicle condition may be better, there may be more model choices, and there are relatively more new cars

Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable trip!