Hertz Levels of Membership: How the Gold Plus Rewards Program Works

If you rent cars with any regularity, Hertz's loyalty program is worth understanding. Like most major rental company programs, it's structured in tiers — each one unlocking a different set of perks based on how often you rent. Here's how the levels work, what separates them, and what actually changes as you move up.

What Is the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Program?

Gold Plus Rewards is Hertz's free loyalty program. Enrollment is open to anyone — you don't need to rent a minimum number of times to join. Once you're a member, every qualifying rental earns points, and those points accumulate toward free rental days. Beyond points, the program is also the gateway to tier-based benefits like expedited pickup, vehicle upgrades, and dedicated service.

The program uses a tiered structure built around how many rentals or rental days you complete within a calendar year.

The Four Membership Tiers 🏅

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards has four main levels:

These thresholds have shifted modestly over time, so it's always worth confirming current qualification requirements directly with Hertz, as program terms can change.

Gold (Base Level)

This is where everyone starts. Gold members get access to expedited pickup at many locations — you can skip the counter and go directly to your vehicle if your rental is prepaid and profile is complete. You earn points on qualifying charges and can redeem them for free rental days. It's a meaningful step up from renting without a membership, mostly for the time savings at pickup.

Five Star

Five Star is the first earned tier, typically requiring around 12 rentals or 20 rental days in a calendar year. The step up here involves bonus point multipliers, which make free days accumulate faster, and a guaranteed car class — meaning if you book a midsize, you'll get at least a midsize, even if inventory is tight. Some locations also provide access to a dedicated service area. For moderate business travelers or frequent leisure renters, this is often the first tier where the program starts feeling meaningfully different.

President's Circle

President's Circle is Hertz's top publicly achievable tier, typically requiring around 20 rentals or 30 rental days in a year. Members at this level receive the highest standard upgrade priority — when premium vehicles are available, PC members are first in line. At qualifying locations, they also get access to dedicated pickup lanes and a higher level of customer service routing. Point earning rates are also enhanced.

For people who rent this frequently — road warriors, long-term project travelers, or employees with high travel demands — the upgrade benefits alone can represent a significant change in the day-to-day rental experience.

Hertz Ultimate Choice ✨

Hertz Ultimate Choice is an invitation-only tier, extended to Hertz's highest-volume renters. The defining feature is the ability to walk into a designated lot and choose your specific vehicle — not just a car class, but an actual car. This is unusual in the rental industry and functions more like a concierge-level benefit than a standard tier perk.

Qualification criteria for this tier aren't publicly published in the same way the other tiers are, and availability varies by location.

How Points Work Across Tiers

Points are earned on qualifying charges — typically base rental fees. Extras like insurance add-ons, taxes, and fees generally don't earn points. The earn rate per dollar increases with tier level, so a President's Circle member earns more points per rental than a Gold member spending the same amount.

Redemption values are relatively consistent across tiers — points are redeemed for free rental days, with the number of points required depending on the car class and location. Points don't typically roll over indefinitely; there are expiration rules tied to account activity.

What Changes — and What Doesn't — Between Tiers

It helps to be clear about what the tier system actually controls:

• Upgrade priority: Higher tiers get preference when vehicles above your booked class are available. This isn't guaranteed — it depends on what's on the lot.
• Pickup speed: All Gold members get some form of expedited pickup; upper tiers get dedicated lanes at more locations.
• Points rate: Tiers affect how fast you accumulate, not what you can redeem for.
• Car class guarantee: Five Star and above protects your booked class from being downgraded.

What tiers don't change: base rental rates, fuel policies, age surcharges, geographic restrictions, or whether certain vehicle types are available at a given location. Those factors are set by location, vehicle category, and Hertz's standard pricing structure — not loyalty status.

Variables That Shape How Useful Each Tier Actually Is

The same tier can deliver meaningfully different value depending on several factors:

• Which locations you rent from: Expedited pickup and dedicated service lanes exist at major airports and high-volume locations, but aren't universal at smaller or off-airport sites.
• How often you rent and in what pattern: Someone doing 12 short weekend rentals per year reaches Five Star differently than someone doing two long monthly rentals.
• Whether you're renting for business or leisure: Business accounts sometimes operate under corporate rate agreements that interact with — or sometimes override — individual Gold Plus Rewards benefits.
• What car classes you typically book: Upgrade perks matter more if you're booking economy or midsize and want access to larger or premium vehicles.

The value of moving from one tier to the next is real for some renters and largely invisible for others. That depends on your rental frequency, which airports or locations you use, what you typically book, and whether upgrades and faster pickup align with what you actually care about.