Update: Since we originally published this at the end of last year, the enrollment link has been frustrating, working on and off or blanking out. Skye at Award Wallet found a redirect that appears to work much better, so we’re replacing it here. It goes to the same landing page, but it actually loads the page correctly (and consistently). Original post follows.
American Express has announced an improvement to the Platinum card’s benefits with Hertz car rentals. Evidently, starting in September, Amex Platinum, Corporate Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders all became eligible for Hertz President’s Circle Status.
This was a silent-ish improvement that most folks were unaware of, as there wasn’t much fanfare made about the change when it originally happened. I found out via an e-mail yesterday, notifying me that I had been upgraded to Hertz President’s Circle.
The Deal
- American Express Platinum, Corporate Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders now get access to Hertz President’s Circle status as a perk of card membership
- Registration required via the link below.
- It’s also possible to email hertzstatusmatch@hertz.com to request the status
Hertz President’s Circle Benefits
- Guaranteed car upgrades, minimum of one-class
- Choose any vehicle in the President’s Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot
- 50% bonus on Gold Plus Rewards points for qualifying rentals
- Complimentary use of Hertz Valet, a terminal drive-back service at participating locations, up to four times per year (for an accurate-ish list of airports, see here)
- No need to stop at rental counter in many airports
- Expedited vehicle pick-up
- No additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner in the United States (available to all Gold Rewards members)
- A dedicated President’s Circle call center line
Quick Thoughts
I’ve gotten quite a bit of value through the Amex Platinum’s Hertz benefit over the years. Using the Amex CDP already gave cardholders preferential rates and an additional 4 hours grace period at the end of a rental, something I’ve used countless times.
I’ve also already had President’s Circle, thanks to the Capital One Venture X card. The biggest perk, in my opinion, is the ability to use the Hertz Valet four times a year. This allows you to pull into the rental car lot and have a Hertz employee drive you directly to the terminal from the lot. They then drive the car back and process the return. There’s been a couple of times where I was running late that this service saved my bacon. Other times, it’s just a nice, time-saving perk.
It’s also worth noting that Hertz has been the subject of significant controversy due to repeatedly losing track of cars and then sending the police after folks (and in some cases, arresting them). While the issue causing this appears to have been rectified, the company’s response to the problem and to those customers affected has been lackluster, to say the least. Many folks have decided to stop doing business with Hertz as a result of this poor response. At the very least, it’s worth being aware of.
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does this mean i can book a compact car and choose standard size SUV? this has huge cost savings
anyone??
My corporate code gets me a great discount and Hertz Gold. I have the Platinum card. Can I upgrade to President’s Circle and and still rent using my corporate CDP instead of the Amex CDP?
I believe you can
Rented at Hertz ABQ a couple months back, returned the car in the dropoff lane as usual. Week later, got a letter from Hertz saying the car wasn’t returned. Also, lots and lots of random (as in every day, different amounts) charges from that location started popping up on the Ink Preferred. Long story short, Chase replaced the card due to it being “compromised”, and as far as I know Hertz thinks I’m in Mexico.
“Hertz will pay $168 million to settle 364 claims related to the company falsely reporting rental cars as stolen. These cases sometimes resulted in people being arrested and even imprisoned.”
$461,000 per person. 1/3 to attorneys? $300,000+ or so we’ll say. Just cross your fingers you don’t go to jail for 40 days like 1 woman reported. Keep it to a day or two and your return / day can be pretty good. And try not to let it get to the point of cops pointing guns as you. Itchy trigger fingers from m/w brain damage.
You won’t panic….because if you’re expecting it – you’re emotionally ready!
Cha-ching!
If you cancel your amex plat, does your presidential membership terminates also?
I don’t have any evidence that Hertz ever revoked a status. I certainly wouldn’t expect any integration between Amex and Hertz that triggers a revocation.
No because you see the Amex Plat CDP# and save it to your profile
Thank you for posting this. I was unaware of the upgrade. It took about 30 seconds to change.
Can someone please share the Amex CDP code? I had not been aware that they give a 4 hour grace period. That could come in handy for me.
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/misc/index.jsp?targetPage=AMEXPlatinum.jsp
Thanks!
Anyone know if this is through end of 2023 or just 2022? There’s not much left of 2022, but that’s all my app is showing right now. I can’t even find the expiration on the website at all. Hertz IT I guess…
It should go into next year as well. We haven’t heard anything about the benefit going away.
which card is better to use for my car rental – venture X or biz platinum?
any of the above 2 offer primary insurance coverage?
Venture X offers primary, biz platinum you have to pay a fee for each rental.
The link in this article did not work for me, but if I used the link on the “Benefits” tab of my Amex Platinum, then click on car rental status upgrades, then on Hertz upgrade, it was a redirect with a special code that ended up at the URL listed on this page (probably to verify my Amex card membership). It then worked without an issue within a few minutes.
Anyone able to get the link to work? Tried it on 3 different browsers, and the page won’t load. Tried it both by clicking the link while logged into Amex account, as well as from this + other travel blog sites. I guess its still better than being jailed!
The link has been down, unfortunately. Did you try the e-mail?
yeah, noticed you mentioned the non-working link after posting, thanks. Emailed them a screenshot of the benefit while logged into my Amex account; awaiting reply/confirmation.
I’ll consider renting from Hertz after they’ve passed the “1,500 Consecutive Days Without Arresting a Paying Customer” mark.
Why are you beating around the bush just say that you won’t
but see if u get arrested, you can sue then. Some folks won some $$…wonder what the payout is. At the mugshot – smile — you’ve just won the lottery!
Don’t think of it as being arrested. Think of it as free room and board, as well as a chance to meet new friends whom you would have otherwise never met.
All-inclusive too
“3 cars, 3 convictions” challenge
Any real world Data Points as to whether the arrest fiasco is over?
Just curious as to when was the most recent event.
It is not over, and it is still happening. Easy to find with a Google news search; here are a few articles since July:
https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/hertz-lawsuit-customers-false-arrest-delaware-superior-court.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/15/business/hertz-rental-arrests
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hertz-customers-allege-false-arrest-problem-continues-after-bankruptcy-11663689278
Thank you! I had seen the articles 4 months ago. But the actual timing of the arrests are unclear.
Now you can be arrested in an electric vehicle, therefore, Hertz is a good company.
If you’ve never been arrested, this is a great chance to experience the process!
good point. If I’m going to the big house I may as well be in a Cadillac!
You will not be arrested in possession of the rental car, it will be years later, after many people have deleted their evidence of returning their rental car. The lesson is never ever delete the videos of returning rental cars from your phone…seriously
Many of these people remained jailed even when evidence was brought forward – mainly because Hertz hid evidence in its possession that the cars were returned. The real lesson, in my opinion, is to not do business with a company that has this much contempt for its customers.
Instead, check out National if you aren’t familiar with them. I’ve had nothing but excellent experiences with them and their Executive Elite program is outstanding.