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Hertz is one of the world's largest rental car companies, with locations throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, and more. One of the perks of renting through Hertz is that you can earn points and enjoy benefits courtesy of its frequent driver program, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. Even better, you can earn mid-tier Hertz Five Star status for free — no rentals required.
Here's what you need to know about Hertz Five Star status.
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What Is Hertz Five Star Status?
After signing up for the free-to-join Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program, you can earn two tiers of elite status: Five Star and President's Circle. Five Star offers benefits that are a step up from entry-level Gold but less rewarding than President's Circle.
In short, Five Star comes with bonus points per dollar spent on rentals, as-available upgrades, a wider selection of vehicles, and more.
How to qualify for Hertz Five Star status
Unless you leverage a credit card perk, a membership program, or a reciprocal hotel or airline elite status benefit, you can earn Five Star status by renting through Hertz directly. You'll unlock Five Star status after completing 10 rentals or spending $2,000 with Hertz in a calendar year.
Thankfully, there are several ways to earn Five Star that don't require qualifying activities. More on this shortly.
Related: How To Get Rental Car Elite Status for Free
Hertz Five Star status benefits
Once you've been awarded Gold Plus Rewards Five Star status, you'll enjoy a handful of perks. However, the most valuable is easily the bonus points. You can use your points to fund free day rentals, making future rentals cheaper. Benefits include:
- As-available upgrades: Get a one-class upgrade if your Hertz rental location has cars in stock.
- 25% bonus points: Earn 1.25 points per $1 spent on rentals.
- Wider availability: Enjoy a wider selection of cars when renting through a location with an Ultimate Choice lot.
- Tier benefit: Get President's Circle status for a day after completing seven qualifying rentals.
The only guaranteed benefit is the bonus points. All the others can be chalked up as a “maybe.” And as to what your points are worth, daily rentals start at 950 Hertz points. With Five Star status, you can unlock a free day after spending $760 on rentals.
Related: When Do Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Points Expire?
How To Get Hertz Five Star Status For Free
While the perks outfitting Hertz Five Star status aren't overwhelmingly impressive, they're still an upgrade to the general member Gold tier. If you rent through Hertz with any frequency, it's worth earning Five Star status — more so if you can leverage one of the methods to get it for free.
Here are some ways to get Hertz Five Star status for free.
Select Delta credit cards
A duo of Delta co-branded American Express cards offer complimentary Hertz Five Star status after enrollment. You'll retain Five Star status as long as you keep the card in your wallet and pay its annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
Alternatively, you can claim complimentary top-tier President's Circle status with these more-premium Delta cards:
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Reciprocal benefits with another loyalty program
Hertz partners with several hotels and airlines, but a short list of its partners offers complimentary Five Star status as a reciprocal benefit. Thus, if you have one of these elite statuses, you can enroll in Hertz Five Star status for free:
- Delta SkyMiles: Silver and Gold Medallion SkyMiles members can register for complimentary Five Star Status. Platinum and Diamond Medallion members are entitled to free President's Circle status. Click here to enroll.
- IHG One Rewards: If you have top-tier IHG Diamond Elite status, you can enroll to receive free Hertz Five Star status.
Status match and fast track
Several programs offer free status match opportunities to Hertz Gold Plus Rewards:
- Marriott Bonvoy: As a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium, or Ambassador Elite, you can earn Hertz elite status through status match and a fast track.
- Match: Titanium Elite matches to Five Star; Ambassador Elite matches to President's Circle.
- Fast track: Marriott Platinum Elites can enroll in a fast track to Five Star challenge.
- Avis: Preferred Plus members with under 25 rentals can match to Five Star, while those above 25 rentals can match to President's Circle.
- Enterprise Plus: Match Silver and Gold to Five Star, Platinum to President's Circle.
- Europcar: Match Executive status to Five Star, Elite to President's Circle.
- National: Match Executive status to Five Star, Executive Elite to President's Circle.
- Sixt: Match Platinum Card to Five Star.
To initiate a status match from a rental car loyalty program to Hertz, submit your proof of status here.
FoundersCard
FoundersCard is a membership service, not a credit card. In addition to several other perks and benefits, you'll get complimentary Hertz Five Star status and up to 20% off all daily, weekend, weekly, and monthly rates after you pay your annual member dues.
Final Thoughts
Hertz Five Star is the rental car agency's mid-tier elite status; it's available for free through several methods. And while Hertz is a known entity issue-wise, there are still several reasons to pick up Five Star if you still rent through the agency. Simply, you'll earn more points than you otherwise would as a general member.
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