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New Hertz promotion lets elite members gift status to a friend or family member

Andrew Kunesh
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Andrew Kunesh is a former senior editor at The Points Guy covering loyalty programs. He's been a miles and points fanatic since 2014 and previously wrote for Upgraded Points and Credit Karma. Outside of the travel world, Andrew is a cyclist, craft coffee aficionado and — despite now living in NYC — a Chicagoan at heart.
Dec. 22, 2020
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3 min read
Yellow Hertz Branded Camero Outside Hertz Building
New Hertz promotion lets elite members gift status to a friend or family member
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This week, Hertz launched a new promotion that lets you give Hertz status to a friend, family member or colleague for a year.

Hertz Gold Rewards elite members can gift their equivalent status to another Hertz member, so President's Circle members can gift President's Circle status for free. The recipient will have complimentary status from Jan. 31, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022.

There is no restriction on which elites can gift status. This leads me to believe that members who have status through an airline partnership or credit card are eligible for status gifting. For reference, Delta and United elites are eligible for Hertz elite status.

Hertz Gold Rewards elites can designate a recipient for this status by entering his/her name, email and state using this form on the Hertz website. The recipient has access to the same benefits that a normal elite member has, including a points bonus, space-available car upgrades and a wider selection of vehicles at the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot.

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Hertz Gold Rewards elite status

President's Circle members have access to a wider selection of cars. (Photo by Scott Mayerowitz/The Points Guy)

As a refresher, Hertz has two status tiers: Five Star and President's Circle.

Top-tier President's Circle status offers a 50% bonus on points and top priority for upgrades. My favorite President's Circle benefit, however, is access to the President's Circle lot at airport locations — this lot generally has the best cars, which is great for long rentals.

Newly minted elites can renew their status for 2022 by meeting the standard elite status requirements:

  • Five Star: 12 rentals or $2,400 in spend
  • President's Circle: 20 rentals or $4,000 in spend

Bear in mind too that Hertz extended all members' statuses through Jan. 31, 2022 — so even if you rented few (or no) cars in 2020, elite members based on 2019 activity should be eligible for this offer.

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Related: Renting a car under 25? Here’s how to save money

Bottom line

It's great to see Hertz launch a lucrative new promotion during the holidays. If you're a Hertz elite, chances are you know a fellow traveler that doesn't have rental car elite status, so this promo lets you brighten their year and make renting a car more rewarding.

For Hertz, this drums up travel demand through word-of-mouth advertising. This is especially important for Hertz in 2021, as the company is still working through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Hopefully this added business helps the company get to a better financial place in the new year.

Hertz isn't the only company that launched elite status gifting. Earlier in 2020, JetBlue offered elite status gifting to Mosaic members. Likewise, Hilton is currently letting select elites gift Gold or Diamond status to a friend or family member.

Feature photo by EQRoy/Shutterstock

Featured image by (Photo by EQRoy/Shutterstock)