So i rarely rent cars, maybe 3-5 times a year, max. But i have the gold from my credit card and have 4 reservations so far this year. while ball parking prices for the idea of renting a SUV for a day to help some friends move, i saw the lowest end cars are about $20 a day. Would it be worth it to do a few random rentals before the years out to get up to the 5 star level? id be spending ~$120 +tax or so to get there, is it worth it? I realize this is a somewhat subjective question, but if you had the choice of gold or $120 for 5*, do you think it would pay off?

I have been a Pres Circle for 10 years, I do not own a car..I have a Hertz Monthly rental in LA and rent as I travel from them around the world. In general I find the Hertz program the best one out there.


-The points are very easy to use and the automatic upgrade is huge for me.
- 5* gets a free upgrade and that alone would make it worth it to me. I tend to rent the lowest level for the $$ savings but having that free upgrade allows me to drive a pretty nice car for the lowest possible price.
-5* gets front row access on pick up. That is a nice-to-have at big rental centers like LA/PHX/etc.
-5* gets a 10% point bonus. Given you do not rent much it means less to you but as I said; Hertz points are the easiest to use and the rates are very reasonable. You can go in today and cash in 500 points for a one day rental tomorrow....very easy and efficient.

So 3-5 rentals that get a free UG = avg $20 per rental = $60-$100. You do not say how long your rentals are but the 10% bonus could easily mean a free day rental in points over a year. = $30-$50


I think you would get your $120 back pretty easily...+ you get the front row when you arrive to get your car. I would do it but that's me

thanks for the reply, my rentals are really random, we did a week in st thomas, a day in LA, a day in NYC, and a random rental in town while my car was in the shop for 3 days. so it varies, i think ill give it a shot, given the relatively low price, and the likelihood ill be renting more, why not

Thanks!

+ it is another piece of wallet "flare" for your collection

Lol well that too now i just need to work on hotel status get my airline+car+hotel trio going!

I'm embarking on a similar quest as you this month, but in my case I'm only trying to get Hertz status to status match over to National.

quick follow up question on the status, is it 10 rentals per calendar year? or just in a rolling 12 month period?

Calender year. BTW, I just looked up the $$ qualification (vs rentals) and it is $5000-$7000 in spend to qualify for 5*. All the more reason to get it if you can cheap. Sounds like $120 is a great deal and if you do not re-qual...oh well.

I would actually vote for not doing it. I made 5* last year and can honestly say the difference it has made for me is negligible. Let's review the benefits:

- 1-car class upgrade: Don't fall for this! This is bait-and-switch at its finest. Hertz wants you to think that this means you will get the next booking class (economy -> compact, or standard -> full size). In practice, Hertz has subdivided each available booking class into "normal" and "upgraded" sub-classes. So when you reserve a compact (B class), your upgrade is not to an intermediate (C class) car, but rather to an "upgraded compact" (YB class). This means it's still a compact car, but with something slightly nicer inside like upgraded trim, a sunroof, or better upholstery. Since these upgraded subclasses of cars are not bookable, I consider this outright false advertising. Don't go for 5* thinking it will get you a bigger or noticeably nicer car; it won't.
- Points bonus: A paltry 10% points bonus isn't worth it. Let's put it this way: $500 of Hertz spend gets you 500 points and a free weekend day. If you're 5*, that $500 spend will net you 550 points. You'll have to be a 5* for the next $5,000 you spend at Hertz for the extra 10% in points to net you an extra 500 points for a free weekend day. Weekend days are the cheapest at Hertz, often pricing out in single digits or even free after readily-available coupons. I can't imagine spending $100 or more just to earn a free weekend day after $5K spend.
- Closer pickup spots: I've never really noticed anything different between Gold and 5*. You're already walking thousands of feet to and from the gate at the airport. I doubt an extra row is going to make a meaningful difference in your life.
- 600 bonus points after 15 rentals. This is the only benefit really worth considering. Good for a one-day rental. Pick the most expensive single-day rental you've had in the last year. Did you pay more or less than $120 for it? If less, rental-running to 5* is probably not worth it for you.

If you rarely rent cars, the situation is even worse, because you won't probably won't rent enough to land a lucky upgrade that might make it all worthwhile. My advice? Save your money and use it to pay for an upgraded car when you actually need it. 5* is not a tier with meaningful benefits, especially for an infrequent renter.

I also feel that it is not worth renting cars just to become a 5*, especially now that the upgrade will usually be whatever they have in the swap aisle at Gold Choice locations. If most of your rentals are at one of these locations, 5* won't get you anything else that's worth $120 plus your time renting out the cars.

Unless the card has some incendiary properties, it's "flair."

Just wanted to point this out again!

I would tend to agree this isn't worth it at all. Look around at all the threads about "is President's Circle Worth It?"

I think about 10% of the time I'm happy with my rental as a PC member, so 5*? It's pretty unlucky you're going to get a car that is interesting.

I've found that your best bet for upgrades is just going in and asking how much it would cost to upgrade to X, and have them give you some options and then haggle on the one you want.

Yep exactly!

Given that Hertz now has "Gold Choice" they are actively trying to get people to pay for an upsell car.....

Noted