Best path to free car rental?
 

As a DL GM, the practically only thing I can do with my miles is tickets and/or upgrades. My problem with using FF miles for tix is that once you reach your "free" destination, they actually want money for things like car rentals, hotels, etc. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Aside from changing primary FF loyalty (not easy to do for an ATL based traveler), what hotel/car rental loyalty programs give the best car rental awards?

I already do 90% of my car rentals with Hertz, and 40-50% of my hotel stays under the Hilton HHonors program. But I'll switch for a better deal.

Whenever you issue an UA awards (using UA miles), they send you 2 hotel and car certificates. Each car certificate is good for 1/2 day rental and you may combine 6 certs for 3 full days of rental.

There are some restrictions like it must be over a weekend, but the restrictions are different for each rental company.

Budget has a great loyalty program. Check out their website. The high points:

Besides the merchandise (which I don't want), you get 1 point for every dollar you spend, including taxes, fees, gas, insurance, etc. If you book online, you get double points, and if you redeem an award online, you get a 20% point rebate.

With double points and the 20% rebate, you get a free day for spending about $240 (a typical weekly rental), and a free week for spending about $600. Not too shabby.

On top of that, you can also save up for vacation packages, which include 2 or 3 nights at 5 tiers of hotels. They range from $1,200 to $8,000 spent (the high end being Ritz-Carltons).

40,000 Hilton HHonors points may be redeemed for a week of free car rental in the US with National, Thrifty or Alamo

50,000 Hilton HHonors points may be redeemed for a free week in Hawaii with National or a free week in Europe with Alamo.

I have used the 50K award in Europe twice without any hassles.

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