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UPDATE: As several readers pointed out, the original post was incorrect. Originally I wrote that you could get Hertz President’s Circle status using the methods described below. In reality, you will get Hertz Five Star status which is a level below President’s Circle…
First United partnered up with Hertz, and now Delta has done the same. Both programs offer a way for elites to get elite status (Five Star or President’s Circle) with Hertz, for free.
To qualify for President’s Circle with United status (starting Jan 1), you must have United Platinum status (or higher), or be a primary cardholder of either: MileagePlus Club or Presidential Plus Card. To qualify for Hertz Five Star status with, you must have United Silver or Gold status.
To qualify for President’s Circle with Delta status (starting Jan 1), you must have Delta Platinum or Diamond status. To qualify for Hertz Five Star status you must have Delta Gold status.
An easy path for everyone else
If you don’t have high enough status with United or Delta to qualify for Hertz President’s Circle Five Star status, here’s a simple alternative:
1. Sign up for free elite status with Avis and/or National
All you need is a World Elite MasterCard (like the BarclayCard Arrival Plus). Then, click the following links and sign up (hat tip: View from the Wing):
By signing up through the Avis link you will get a coupon for a free two day rental!
2. Status match to Hertz President’s Circle Five Star
Send an email requesting a status match to hertzstatusmatch@hertz.com. Include a scanned picture of your elite card with Avis or National, or simply take a screenshot of your Avis or National account. There are many recent examples on StatusMatcher.com showing that this works.
Five Star Benefits
Personally, I’m a big fan of National Executive status (see why, here), but if you’re going to rent from Hertz, you might as well have status. Here’s what Hertz says about Five Star status:
- One-car-class upgrades (subject to availability)
- 10% bonus on Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® Points
- 675 Rewards Points after every 15 qualifying rentals
- Plus, all Gold member benefits
And a comparison of the different levels of status can be found here.
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[…] get complimentary Hertz Gold Plus status. Hertz is good about status matching as well – see this Frequent Miler post, so once you have your Avis or National top status, you can status match into Hertz Five Star […]
I followed your Avis link and only got an Avis Preferred instead of First. And of course, Hertz would not match Five Star to Preferred.
Received preferred avis status not first. I think post should be updated to reflect this unless anyone has been able to get first status. Anyone tried this and gotten first status instead of preferred?
Sorry, but isn’t that exactly what it says in this post? The link to Avis says “Avis Preferred Status”
No worries… PC isn’t that great anyhow LOL
Sorry everyone. Clearly I messed up. I’ve updated this post to indicate that you can use these methods to get Five Star status, not President Circle.
I regret I am unable to meet your request for an Upgrade to President Circle status. Per the status match program, Avis First service is comparable to the Hertz Five Star status. Hertz President Circle can only be matched when a customer is an Avis President or National Executive Elite member.
I had a feeling this wasn’t going to work… Anyone who had Avis First (or National Executive) was only reporting matches to Five Star.
Thanks for the tip! I already had National Executive, so I sent a screen shot to Hertz where I was already a #1 Gold, and voila! 5 star is what Hertz is matching, but that’s ok. I can’t get the Avis status, so I’m happy. 5 star is better than nothing.
Thanks man. Just signed up via the Avis link using the VS WEMC, the new account says Avis Preferred but no mention of First. Is that normal? It does say WEMC.
It should say Avis First somewhere
Looks like my comment is being filtered due to having URLs. I will repost without the links in hopes of getting past the filter.
I think matches from Avis First or National Executive are unlikely to happen, and the reports on statusmatcher.com seem to indicate the same. There is one match from 12/02 of 2014 where the *table* says an Avis First member was matched to Hertz President’s Circle, but if you read the text, it says “from President’s Club to President’s circle”. The other matches show National Executive and Avis First members being matched to Hertz Five Star.
As far as I can tell the only people reporting matches to President’s Circle are the higher-tier Executive Elites and President’s Club members.
I thought I posted this before but apparently it didn’t go through… I think matches from Avis First or National Executive are unlikely to happen, and the reports on statusmatcher.com seem to indicate the same.
There is one match from 12/02 of 2014 where the *table* says an Avis First member was matched to Hertz President’s Circle, but if you read the text, it says “from President’s Club to President’s circle”: http://statusmatcher.com/report/51418
The other matches on statusmatcher.com show National Executive and Avis First members being matched to Hertz Five Star:
– 11/11/14: National Executive to Five Star: http://statusmatcher.com/report/51326
– 02/25/14: National Executive to Five Star: http://statusmatcher.com/report/29337
– 09/10/13: Avis First to Five Star: http://statusmatcher.com/report/28111
– 08/06/13: Avis First to Five Star: http://statusmatcher.com/report/28110
– 08/06/13: Emerald Club to Five Star: http://statusmatcher.com/report/28113
As far as I can tell the only people reporting matches to President’s Circle are the higher-tier Executive Elites and President’s Club members.
Whoops… “awaiting moderation” … Please ignore dupe!
Been There, Done That! from a previous blog like this. thanks! BTW Got the National Status thru MilePoint 🙂
A bit off topic – but I can never find rental prices cheaper than what’s on Costco when searching on the rental car companies websites. What am I doing wrong? Thanks for any tips.
Nothing wrong. Costco does often have the best prices.
How/when do you get the 2 day rental coupon from Avis?
It should come via email in a day or two
FYI-the national link appears to no longer work.
It still appears to work for me. What happens when you try it?
National EE will give you Hertz PC, National Executive only gives you Hertz five star