Hot wheels: Where to book luxury car rentals
If you want to hit the road in style with sports cars and luxury vehicles, the major car rental companies have your ride. They also have a variety of rewards programs to turn your head.
Here's an inventory of the types of cars you can rent from popular rental companies and the bonuses each rental company offers you for your business.
Read more: 9 rental car rewards programs you need to know about
Hertz
Hertz's Dream, Adrenaline, or Prestige Collections offer high-performance, head-turning cars. Want 750 horsepower of revving thrills? You can reserve the limited-edition 2020 Camaro ZL1, customized by Hendrick Motorsports exclusively for Hertz, at six airports: Charlotte, North Carolina; Fort Myers, Florida; Las Vegas; Miami; Orlando and Phoenix.
Read more: The complete guide to Hertz Gold Rewards
In Hertz's stable, you'll also find sporty cars like the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, Porsche Boxster, Porsche 911, Porsche Cayman, and Porsche Panamera. Keep things interesting and hop into a Nissan GT-R, BMW M4, Mercedes- Benz SLC or Tesla Model S.
With Hertz, you can use rewards for daily, weekly, or one-way rentals. Earn points for every dollar spent, but your earning rate changes in .25 point increments between status levels: gold, five-star, and president's circle. With every level, you can pick your car from the fleet, skip the counter, e-return and exit the gate in 30 seconds or less.
How do you level up from gold to five-star or president's circle? With 12 rentals or $2,400, you gain five-star access to a wider selection of vehicles. You get president's circle status for a day after 20 rentals or $4,000 in spend. President's circle gets you a dedicated Hertz rewards line, the widest car selection, and exclusive benefits and rewards. You can also transfer points to airline and hotel partners.
Read more: Several new car rental Amex Offers now available, including Hertz and Avis
Budget
Some like it fast and over at Team Budget you could drive a Dodge Charger R/T, Dodge Challenger R/T, Infiniti Q60, Nissan 370Z Coupe NISMO, Nissan 370Z, Ford Mustang or GT with a convertible option available, or Chevrolet Camaro or SS, also with a convertible option.
Read more: How to get a free 4-hour grace period on your next car rental
The Budget Business program gives you up to 30% off base rates, while earning you a $3 reward credit for every qualifying rental day. Not only do members get a complimentary Fastbreak membership to skip the counter at pick up, but they also get a dedicated support team and access to a members-only website. There isn't a tiered structure for membership, but you get reward certificates mailed to you quarterly in $15 denominations. You can stack up to seven certificates ($105) toward a rental.
Alamo
Read more: 8 common rental car mistakes — and how to avoid them
As an Alamo Insider, you'll have access to the Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang Convertible, Ford Mustang GT, Porsche 911, Porsche Cayman, Chevrolet Corvette, Infiniti Q60, Maserati Ghibli, and the Aston Martin Vantage.
Alamo Insiders save 5% off their low rates and membership is free. Alamo sends you promotional offers directly instead of a traditional loyalty program with earned points.
Read more: How to never pay full price for a rental car
Avis
The Avis car selection is limited, but the options will start your engine: Chevrolet Corvette Coupe, Chevrolet Camaro Convertible or SS, Ford Mustang or GT Convertible.
Read more: 10 best ways to redeem your points and miles for a car rental
The Avis Preferred program allows members to skip the lines and use the Avis Preferred Select & Go app. The points program is similar to Hertz for rentals -- you earn points for every dollar spent and .25 point increments for each status level up. Preferred Plus members receive this status after 12 rentals or $5,000 spent. The top level, Preferred Plus, is achieved after 25 rentals or $7,000 spent (this must be done in a calendar year to upgrade your status).
Read more: 52 rental car promotions that will save you money this fall
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.