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As far as status matching roulette goes, car rental status matching is one of the easiest in the business. It’s something I’ve been doing for the past 5+ years and really does pay dividends — picking a car off the lot and driving straight to the exit gates without waiting in a line of 10+ other people is an amazing thing.
The major car rental programs include Hertz, National, and Avis. Technically, there’s also Enterprise (which owns National), but the play here is to use your National Elite status to accrue National rentals instead of Enterprise points (more on this later).
National Executive Elite
National Emerald Club Executive Elite is my favourite car rental elite status for two reasons:
- Emerald/Executive Aisle: pick a car from the aisle and go, bypassing the counter
- Executive Elites get to pick from Executive aisle, which is full-size cars and above
- As long as booking is for mid-size and up
- Not every location has an Aisle, mostly airports do
- 5 rentals = 1 free day
- Guaranteed vehicle with 24-hour notice
- Executive Elites get to pick from Executive aisle, which is full-size cars and above
I’m a big fan of National’s elite status system, where Executive Elites get 1 free day for every 5 rentals completed (1 rental = 1 credit). If your rental is 8+ days, you get 2 credits.
As most of my rentals are 1 day, this is a fantastic return on spend per rental. The free day applies to any car class (for Executive Elite members) and also works for one-way bookings, making it easy to extract outsized value.
Earn free days with National Car Rental
Enterprise rentals also qualify as long as you attach your National number when making the reservation.
Lucky for us, National elite status is the easiest to earn and you can match any other car rental, hotel, or airline status. A few examples to match to National Executive Elite:
- Hertz President’s Circle
- Hilton Gold and Diamond
- Marriott Gold and above
The website StatusMatcher includes user-submitted data points on which matches have worked and which haven’t, making it a handy resource.
Getting Hilton and Marriott Gold Elite status is super easy as a benefit on the Amex Platinum and/or Amex Business Platinum.
Head to National’s dedicated status matching webpage, upload a screenshot of your eligible status, and you should see your National status updated shortly thereafter.
Status match to National Executive Elite
Hertz & Avis
Getting Hertz and Avis status is very easy with Aeroplan.
You’re eligible for Avis Preferred Plus (mid-tier) status as Aeroplan 25K, 35K, and 50K Elite or if you hold a core Aeroplan co-branded credit card. If you are Aeroplan 75K, Super Elite, or hold a premium co-branded credit card, you are eligible for Avis President’s Club. To apply, head to Air Canada’s dedicated Avis page.
Match Aeroplan status to Avis
You can also status match your National Executive Elite status with Avis, but only to Preferred Plus, not President’s Club. Send an email with a screenshot of your National status to profile.update@avisbudget.com.
It’s a similar story with Hertz, where Aeroplan 50K and below or core Aeroplan co-branded credit cardholders get mid-tier Hertz Five Star status and Aeroplan 75K and above and Aeroplan premium co-branded credit cardholders get top-tier Hertz President’s Circle.
Hertz Ultimate Choice also allows you to pick up a car from the Ultimate Choice lot, bypassing the counter. I personally prefer National for its more Aisle locations (than Ultimate Choice) and the ability to accumulate free days.
If you’re not eligible for Hertz President’s Circle with Aeroplan, you can status match using your National Executive Elite status. Hertz also has a dedicated website to request your status match and make sure to upload a screenshot of your National status.
Match National status to Hertz
Takeaway
Essentially, the play is to match hotel status to National first, then use National to match into other rental programs. Or, if you’re eligible for Avis or Hertz status with Aeroplan status or a co-branded credit card, use that to match with National and continue from there.
Status matching car rental status is low-hanging fruit and one of those things that feels like it doesn’t matter until you’re standing in a 30-minute line just to pick up your rental car.
Happy matching, and feel free to drop your data points in the comments!
Featured Image Credit: National Car Rental
