I got a tip off from a reader that Hertz has actually been offering free upgrades to Hertz President’s Circle for World Elite and World Mastercard members all this while.ย I’m not sure how this slipped under the radar for so long, because the promotion period started all the way back on 1 July 2017 (and ends 30 September 2017).
President’s Circle is the highest published tier of Hertz’s loyalty program. Note that I say “published”, because there exists a further invite-only program known as Hertz Platinum that has benefits above and beyond those of President’s Circle.
That said, President’s Circle membership is not insignificant either. It normally requires that either renting 20 times or more or spending US$4,000 with Hertz in a 12 month period. Key benefits of this tier include
- Guaranteed vehicle availability
- Guaranteed one-car-class upgradesย with every rental
- 25% bonus pointsย on all Hertz or Hertz 24/7 rentals
- 900 points after every 10 qualifying rentals, the equivalent of aย Reward Rental Day
If you want to read more about people’s experience renting cars as a Hertz President’s Circle member, check out these threads here and here. As you’d expect, there are great stories and not so great stories- some people get upgraded for free to really, really nice cars and others get nothing more than what they booked. Your experience will definitely vary, depending on which station you rent from, the inventory situation at the time and how nice the guy behind the counter is.
My general experience is that Hertz prices tend to be more expensive than competing car rental companies, but I’m sure that varies depending where you go. It never hurts to have elite status handy, and if nothing else it will allow you to cut the queues at the counter.
Moreover, because most car rentals do not require pre-payment, there’s nothing to stop you from booking a car with Hertz and making a safety booking with another company. If Hertz upgrades you to a super vehicle, just cancel your safety. If Hertz pulls up a 30,000 mile Toyota Corolla, walk away.
Do I have a World Mastercard?
It is ridiculously easy to get a World Mastercard in Singapore, and you don’t need a high income to get one. Here’s a listing of World Mastercards in Singapore and their income requirements
- Citibank Rewards Mastercard ($30K)
- Manhattan World Mastercard ($30K)
- UOB PRVI Miles World Mastercard ($50K- the card doesn’t have World Mastercard printed on it but a check of the BIN confirms it’s a World tier card)
- DBS Woman’s World Mastercard ($80K)
- Maybank World Mastercard ($80K)
- CIMB World Mastercard ($120K)
When you first sign up for this offer, you’ll fill in your personal details and get a standard Hertz base tier membership. As per the T&C, you’ll need to wait 14 days for the upgrade to reflect in your account.
[HT: Ziyang]
Something weird is there. I have been Herz Gold for >15 years, starting in US. I added that CDP and it is shown as ‘FIRST NATIONAL BANK JEFF’ I see that in the T/C it is said that this promo is region restricted: “Complimentary upgrade to President’s Circle applies for Mastercard World Elite cardholders. Upgrade will take place within 14 days after enrolment. President’s Circle status are available for cardholders residing in Singapore, China and South Korea. These benefits are available only to valid Mastercard cardholders who have created a Mastercard benefits-enabled Gold Plus Rewards program profile. ” But I… Read more »
did you try to copy/paste the CDP number? i had the same issue and noticed the last digit of the CDP was cut off in the input field. correct that and you should be good
I’m already a President’s Circle member (probably through this same promo) but haven’t noticed any real difference in treatment. Then again, I’m not really a frequent renter, so am working with a very small sample size.
I also think as SG residents we don’t get any points at all. Unless there’s some sneaky way to activate that (overseas address, perhaps?)…
Yup
I put aus or us address.
Should get you points.
Plus, using hertz.com.sg or hertz.com.au have different prices too.
Thanks. I’ll try this out. I’m already Gold and have a rental pick up at LAX on Oct 6 … hopefully I register just in time to upgrade my status. Frankly, I am not expecting much of a difference but let’s see … nothing to lose. Gold is already good as you they have the car ready for you and you can avoid queues. I never earn Hertz points or looked into it, but I do get to double dip … earn credit card points as well as frequent flyer (great when you need to show some activity every 18… Read more »
Had existing Hertz account with DBS Womens’ Mastercard details inside from before. It was auto-upgraded from Gold to Presidents’ Circle.
Are there any sporty or nice cars in Hertz Singapore to rent?
Hi Aaron,
Thanks for sharing! It seems straightforward for those who are not existing Gold Plus members – just signup and wait for the upgrade.
However, would you have any idea how should existing Gold Plus members register for this upgrade? The online form doesn’t accept an existing email address. Appreciate your advice, pls.
After spending couple of hours chatting with their rep on FB, I figured out on my own how to fix it. You need to add one of these mentioned MasterCard Credit cards in the profile. If it is not there, it won’t work. Then, after adding the card, log out from the site and clear cache. Log on again, go to profile and in the CDP section add the number which in on the page where ‘Join’ button is. After adding the number the MASTERCARD WORLD ELITE will appear in the list. However, it does not show President’s Circle in… Read more »
Just to check, this has no expiry? Once we register, do we get Presidents Circle forever?