How does the Hertz car rental benefit for Amex Gold cardholders work?

American Express and Hertz have a long standing partnership that gets American Express Preferred Rewards Gold cardholders extra benefits when renting a car.

We cover the car hire element of The Platinum Card quite often on Head for Points, because the benefits are strong. Platinum comes with free car hire insurance, Hertz Plus Gold Rewards Five Star status and an intriguing Hertz deal where you last rental day counts as 28 hours long.

We have never looked at the Hertz benefit for Amex Gold cardholders in detail, however.

What are the benefits of the Hertz / Amex Gold partnership?

The Hertz / Amex Gold landing page on the American Express website is here.

These are benefits on offer:

• 10% off best available rates at participating locations worldwide
• One car class upgrade for rentals of 5 days or more, subject to availability
• Additional driver fee waived

Car rentals in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Taiwan are excluded from the offer. Rentals within Japan are eligible for a reduced discount of 5%, a complimentary additional driver but no vehicle upgrade.

How to save 10% on Hertz car rentals with Amex

To make use of the discount you must enrol in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards via the American Express portal here.

If you are already enrolled in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards you must add the CDP code #705500 to your profile.

To complete the offer you must also register a valid Amex Gold card as the form of payment in your Hertz Gold Plus Reward membership profile.

Once registered you can book car rentals on the Hertz website or on the phone to receive your discount and benefits.

Existing bookings are not eligible for the offer but if you haven’t pre-paid it is worth checking whether cancelling and re-booking will save you any money.

The additional driver benefit may be more valuable

In truth, there are plenty of Hertz discount codes available via various travel partners. We have always liked the Virgin Atlantic deal because you receive 1,000 Virgin Points however short your rental.

The ‘additional driver’ benefit DOES offer real value for a couple. It is harder to get this for free and it can be laughably expensive.

I always fail to see the justification for charging for this at all, since alternating long drives across two people should be safer and something to be encouraged.

The upgrade benefit has no real value

Different people treat car rental upgrades in different ways. If you need a certain size car because of your luggage requirements, you need to book it in advance. You can’t rely on an ‘if available’ upgrade.

Some people are also unhappy driving larger cars than they are used to, especially when it comes to parking. An upgrade can be a problem at times.

In any event, irrespective of how your booked or your status with the car rental company, you are far more likely to be get an upgrade when renting compared to flying or checking into a hotel.

Conclusion

The Hertz benefit is a relatively low-key part of the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold package.

The 10% discount is nice to have if you can’t find a better deal – although you probably can – but the real value seems to be in the ‘free additional driver’ benefit.

PS. Remember that Avis offers a ‘free additional driver’ to anyone who books via the British Airways portal here.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review