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Marriott Bonvoy and Hertz recently re-launched their partnership, providing an opportunity for Marriott Bonvoy elite members to get a status match from Hertz. Many readers likely already have a credit card that provides some level of Hertz elite status, but for those with Marriott Titanium or Ambassador status, maybe this could be handy. Furthermore, Marriott members have the opportunity to earn some bonus points when renting from Hertz through September 30, 2023.
The Deal
- Marriott and Hertz recently re-launched a partnership where by Marriott Bonvoy elite members can match status to a Hertz fast track or elite status.
- Direct link to this deal
- Marriott Bonvoy members can earn 500 bonus points for rentals of one day or 2,000 bonus points for rentals of 2 or more days through September 30, 2023 when they book their Hertz car through Marriott at the link below
- Direct link to Marriott’s car rental reservation page
Key Terms
- See landing page for full terms
Quick Thoughts
As per the table above, you can see that this is only a match for Titanium, which matches to Hertz Five Star, or Ambassador, which matches to Hertz President’s Circle. Those with Marriott’s 50-night Platinum elite status only get a fast track to Hertz Five Star status.
Hertz Five Star status ordinarily requires 10 rentals or $2,000 in spending in a 12-month period. Platinum members get a fast track to earn that status after seven rentals. That’s not much of a fast track in my opinion, but I guess it’s nice if you would have otherwise gotten close to Hertz status but would have fallen short.
For Titanium members who don’t already have Five Star status, it makes sense to grab the easy status here in case it becomes useful. You’ll position yourself for an upgrade, a 25% points bonus, and a wider selection of cars from which to pick when you book a mid-size vehicle.
The same is true at the top tier where if you have Ambassador status and you don’t have Hertz President’s Circle status, it’s nice to pick up the opportunity to match to Hertz’s top tier.
Also worth noting is that Marriott Bonvoy members who book a Hertz car through the Marriott booking engine found at this page can earn 500 bonus points for rentals of a single day or 2,000 bonus points for rentals of 2 days or more through September 30, 2023.
Hertz has made the news in recent years for some crazy stories about customers being mistakenly arrested due to Hertz erroneously reporting cars as stolen even after they were returned. Personally, I’ve rented through Hertz a few times this year and I’ve not yet gotten locked up for it, but the stories are nonetheless disturbing. The good news is that I haven’t heard of a recurrence lately.
Personally, I have Hertz President’s Circle status by virtue of being an authorized her on my wife’s Capital One Venture X card — that card comes with automatic President’s Circle status, even for authorized users. I therefore will not be using my Marriott Platinum status to register for the fast track.
Still, I imagine this will be useful for some members.
H/T: Award Wallet
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In the middle of a Hertz rental now and arrived back at my car (which I had taken to the airport for a quick overnight trip) to find it booted for unpaid parking tickets. What a freaking nightmare. I’ll be going back to National and Avis.
Will the Hertz status hold as long as I have Marriott status?
Any word on matching the other way around: from Hertz to Marriott? That would be quite a bit more useful.
This is my question also!
Definitely not. Nice as that would be, I wouldn’t even remotely expect that to happen.
Marriott offer of 500/2000 bonus pints has been available for years. The problem is that it never posts automatically but only after you contact Marriott. Regarding renting electric cars in Europe, please note that many hotels add heavy charges (I was quoted 80-100 Euros by some luxury hotels) for recharging your vehicle and smaller cities (like around lake Como in Italy) do not have any charging stations at all. Of course, Hertz would tell you that the charging stations are everywhere. Prhaps, this is the case in big cities but you do not need a car there. Also, in Milan Hertz was asking to charge your car by at least 60% when you return to avoid additional (heavy) charges. So my simple advise is not to rent electric in Europe.
I’ve never driven an electric car whether in the US or abroad, so I don’t know the first thing about them, but I read your comment and had to jump in with one fact since you mentioned cities around Lake Como having no charging stations. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is widely true, but the Grand Hotel Victoria (where I stayed at the end of last month in Menaggio on Lake Como) has 10 electric charging stations (Porsche-certified for whatever that is worth). Again, I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t widely available — but I originally reserved a Tesla in Milan because it was the same price and I knew I’d have a charging station at the hotel. That said, I ended up flying into the other Milan airport (which didn’t have Hertz) and renting from another company (not an electric vehicle). I should also note that I didn’t confirm whether there was a charge for charging at that hotel.
Nick, I did stay in the Grand Hotel Victoria and this is where I charged an electric Fiat we rented. The hotel was open just before the pandemic and the owners added new technology at that time. When we stayed this past Spring the hotel folks were unaware of any other charging stations around and we did not see any signs. Also, we have managed to drive to MXP in the early morning and return that car to Hertz with >60% charge without stopping for a recharge. (Just do not run much heat or air conditioning!). If you are going to recharge your car at Grand Hotel Victoria, I suggest emailing hotel about charges. Do not assume that charging electric will be free – this is a subject to hotel policies (at least in Italy).
PlugShare shows quite a number of charging stations around Lake Como.
Does Hertz arrest people in Europe?
Not to my knowledge. I’m pretty sure they usually leave it up to the police.
I’m going on a castle roadtrip in Germany this fall. Do you think Hertz rents Teslas in Europe? That would be a lot of fun. I have the Venture X do you have an article on Presidents Circle status? Or rental strategies? Might be a good links to add to the article. Thanks!
Yes, They rent Teslas in Europe, though I’m sure inventory varies by location. You could just look up what’s available wherever you’re going it hertz.com to know if they have Teslas wherever you’re going.
No, we don’t have a dedicated article for president’s circles status. Honestly, it’s not going to do much for you in Europe. The main benefit is being able to pay for a mid-size vehicle and choose what you want from the presidents circle selection at the airport. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a presidents circle section abroad. And I don’t often get free upgrades when renting overseas with any of the major chains unless they just don’t happen to have the vehicle I’ve reserved available. In the United States, most major airports have a dedicated president circle area. That’s useful to me because it means I can pay for the mid-size and usually count on finding a minivan or SUV large enough for my family in the president circle area (Or at least a large sedan). You also get a bonus on the number of Hertz points you earn (which aren’t worth much) and a free extra driver. If you have venture X card, it makes sense to get your president’s circle status for what it’s worth, but it’s not wildly valuable. If for nothing else, it’s worth having in case someday you need status with another rental car chain and you can match from Hertz.