AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
This promotion has ended; please review current/active promotions.
Back again for another year, Hertz members can now share their Gold Plus elite status with others via a new promotion running through December 31, 2024. But this time, the offer is even better: Hertz allows you to gift status to two friends or family members.
Here’s everything you need to know to share your Hertz status — if you're a fan of the rental car agency.
How To Share Hertz Gold Plus Elite Status with Others
Hertz makes it easy for members to share their status. Here’s what to do:
- Head to the appropriate gifting form:
- Fill in your Gold Plus Rewards number, email, and details (name, Gold Plus Rewards number, and email) for up to two recipients and submit the form by December 31, 2024.
- If the recipients aren’t Hertz members, they’ll need to create a free Gold Plus Rewards account before receiving the status.
Recipients will receive the same elite status level as you, valid from January 13, 2025, through December 31, 2025. After that, they must qualify organically to maintain elite status — if they don't happen to pick up a credit card that offers complimentary Hertz status in that timeframe.
Key terms
- Members with Five Star or President’s Circle status are eligible to participate.
- Each member can gift their elite status to two individuals by December 31, 2024.
- Recipients receive status starting January 13, 2025, and it ends on December 31, 2025.
- There’s no mention of restrictions for status obtained via credit cards or partnerships.
What Does Hertz Status Get You?
Hertz offers three tiers of Gold Plus membership, but only Five Star and President’s Circle status qualify for this promotion. Here’s a refresher on the perks:
Gold status
Automatically earned when signing up:
- Earn 1 point per $1
- Free additional driver
- Skip the counter at pick up and return
- A basic selection of cars
- No blackout rewards
Five Star status
After 10 rentals or $2,000 in spending, you will move up to Five Star elite status, which comes with the following benefits (in addition to Gold status benefits):
- Upgrades as available
- 25% bonus points
- A wider selection of cars
- Option to transfer points to select travel partners
President's Circle status
After 15 rentals or $3,000 in qualifying spending, you will move up to President's Circle status, which comes with the following benefits (in addition to Five Star and Gold status benefits):
- Guaranteed upgrades (still dependent on availability)
- 50% bonus points
- Widest selection of cars
- A dedicated call center line
Other Ways To Get Hertz Gold Plus Status
If you don't know someone willing to gift you Hertz status, you still have lots of options for earning it. Several credit cards and travel programs make it easy to access Hertz elite status. Some options include:
Capital One Cards
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Grants Five Star status upon enrollment.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Grants President’s Circle status (this benefit was scheduled to end this year but is now permanent).
American Express Cards
- Both The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express provide President’s Circle status upon enrollment.
Related: How Amex Card Members Can Enroll To Get Complimentary Hertz President's Circle Status
Delta Medallion Members
- Silver/Gold Medallion: Eligible for Five Star status.
- Platinum/Diamond Medallion: Eligible for President’s Circle status.
Hertz also offers a status match option if you already hold status with another rental car program — or Marriott Bonvoy. Thus, it's pretty easy to earn Hertz elite status — even if you've never rented from the brand.
Related: How To Get Rental Car Elite Status for Free
Our Take
If you're scrambling for a last-minute gift for a friend or family member, this offer comes at an opportune time. Through December 31, 2024, you can gift your Hertz status to up to two people.
Yes, Hertz has had its share of criticism, but millions of people still rely on its rentals annually. My experiences have been solid — most recently, a flawless week in Argentina. And elite benefits made the experience even better (and more rewarding).
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I am a Hertz elite member and I am so glad to hear this.
After receiving a hate-gram from Hertz telling me that I never returned a car that I never picked up. I have President’s Circle and I switched cars upon my arrival. Got a hate-gram telling me I never returned the original car (that I never rented) and threatened legal action. After reading so many blogs about similar behavior (and some people being arrested in cars reported “stolen”), I think I’ll steer clear.
Sounds like a great opportunity to share my Five Star status with friends during christmas season 🙂
Great I can share my status with my parents who are going to Hawaii soon.
If you believe that this company will survive bankruptcy, then by all means share the status.
Well, even if they fold in May, what do you lose in sharing status? 🙂
Just checked in on them. As of 5 days ago, they continue to suffer large monthly losses and that’s with the potential holiday uptick in car and air travel.
Crazy how high rental car prices are these days. Give it a look- They’re really taking advantage of it!
I’m rather impressed that companies are now giving elite status away … I couldn’t get them to credit missing rentals to earn status but now they’re letting elites give other elites status. What a crazy year it’s been!
a nice christmas gift
Well, it appears I just lost my elite status, which I had a few days ago when I contacted Hertz about my expiring points. And that’s the real problem. Gifting elite status is meaningless compared to my upcoming loss of all my points, which I gather is a problem for many people. We cannot travel due to covid and unlike the airlines and hotels, Hertz offers no way to earn points that keep your existing points from expiring, other than a car rental. No rental offices within 30 minute drive, and even that far away office only had expensive ($70) rental available. I had planned to just transfer my points to an airline but discovered too late that Hertz had eliminated that option. I’ve called and emailed, to no avail. I get that Hertz is in bankruptcy, but this refusal to extent point expiration is a great way to lose your previously loyal customers. Sorry for the rant.
What a pity, car rental companies are so mean in comparison with airlines and hotels in response to this crisis.
Check back with them. They’ve just announced that points will be extended until December 31, 2021. I’m publishing a post about that ASAP. Hopefully they can resolve that for you.
I guess the most valuable benefits are the bonus points and free CLEAR trial? Upgrades are always hit or miss…
tryed it, the website said error?
Make sure you’re logged in. I was getting the same errors when we tested this ahead of publishing. No matter how many times I verified my Hertz Gold number was correct, I would get an error. Then, I logged into my Hertz account and reloaded this page. Worked like a charm.
I have never found much benefit in elite status with rental car companies. I travel with very little luggage so I don’t need a larger car. An upgrade just means more gas consumption and more money to fill the tank at the end. I guess the bonus points gets me free days faster, but I’m not sure it’s worth it.
What an irony indeed. Upgrades in this case actually cost the recipients more money.
I will definitely say NO to the upgrades that will cost me from now on. Thanks. 🙂
I agree completely! Bigger is not usually better with hire cars.
I think the only reason Hertz is feeling especially generous is because they’re fighting bankruptcy…