The Hertz loyalty program fee mostly applies to North American airlines, IIRC, there's a list of which airlines it applies to. When I've claimed EB points via Hertz I've never been charged any additional fee for that. Mind you, I always book at hertz.com since they have better rates than on the SAS website anyway - it's not worth the higher rental cost at the SAS website to get a few extra points.

Also, remember that when booking at the Hertz website you can combine any AWD with any loyalty program. I use different AWDs depending on the location and different loyalty program depending on the length of that rental. E.g. for short rentals SAS EB accrual is good but there's a cap, while for longer rentals e.g. IHG is better since IHG gives 125 per day without maximum limit.