All content was accurate at the time of publication. Check issuer’s site for most up to date information. 

katiestraveltricks.com has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. katiestraveltricks.com and CardRatings may receive a commission from our partners. American Express is a katiestraveltricks.com advertiser. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

 

Credit Cards With Hertz, Avis & National Elite Status

Categories: Credit Card BenefitsBy Last Updated: July 24, 2026

Holding rental car status can save you a lot of time and money when you need to rent a car. Rental car status gives you access to things like special discounts, additional drivers at no cost, free upgrades, and more. One of the best perks that many companies offer is the ability to skip the line and head straight to the lot to pick up your car.

Earning status the traditional way involves completing a minimum number of rentals or spending a certain amount of money with the same company in a year. But many credit cards offer a shortcut where you can get elite status for free, just by holding the card. Here’s an overview of all the rental companies that offer status through credit cards and how to activate them.

Which Rental Car Status Does Your Credit Card Get You?

Pick the card you hold to see every rental car elite status it grants, how to activate each one, and the extra status you can pick up for free through status matching.

Select every card you hold
No cards selected
Check the cards you hold above to see your best rental status and where it can take you.
Data verified July 2026 against each issuer's and rental company's own pages and the article Credit Cards With Hertz, Avis & National Elite Status. Status match tiers marked “verified” are explicitly published; other match tiers are assigned by the destination program based on your level. Most card benefits require enrollment and are not automatic. Terms, links, and validity windows change — confirm on the enrollment page before relying on them.

How Credit Cards Give You Rental Car Elite Status

There are a couple of different ways your credit card can qualify for rental car status.

Most credit card car rental status benefits require activation. They’re not automatic. You’ll need to sign up with the loyalty program of the car rental company and activate your status before you can start using the benefits.

Information on how to activate your car rental status benefit through different cards is included below. 

Visa Infinite Cards

Visa Infinite cards offer status to a variety of programs through the card network. This is true for any Visa Infinite card; it doesn’t have to be from a particular bank. 

To tell if your card is a Visa Infinite card, look for the word “Infinite” near the Visa logo on the front or back of your card. These are always higher-fee cards.

These cards are all Visa Infinite cards:

From Chase:

From Other Banks:

Additional Partnerships Beyond Visa Infinite

Banks have deals with rental companies that give status to their cardholders for specific cards. For example, American Express offers status on several of their cards for particular rental partners. 

The exact status you get depends on which card(s) you hold. More on this below.

National Car Rental — Emerald Club Status

The loyalty program for National Car Rental is called Emerald Club. Emerald Club includes three different tiers, each one offering different benefits. The tiers are:

  • Emerald Club
  • Executive
  • Executive Elite

Which Cards offer Status with Emerald Club

The level of status you get for free with all of these cards is Executive, which is the middle tier. Here are the cards offering free Executive status:

How to activate:

Hertz — Gold+ Rewards Status

Gold+ Rewards is the loyalty program for Hertz. The program has three different tiers, each with their own benefits and perks. The tiers are:

  • Gold
  • Five Star
  • President’s Circle

Which Cards offer Status with Gold+ Rewards

Several cards offer Hertz status at different tiers.

President’s Circle (Top Tier)

These cards give you President’s Circle status, which is the top tier:

Five Star (Mid Tier)

These cards offer Five Star status, which is the middle tier:

How to activate (both tiers):

The way to activate your status is the same, regardless of which tier of status your card qualifies for.

 

Avis — Preferred Status

The loyalty program for Avis is called Avis Preferred. The program has three tiers:

  • Avis Preferred
  • Avis Preferred Plus
  • Avis President’s Club

Which Cards Offer Status with Avis Preferred

Several different cards offer status with Avis. Depending on which card you have, you can qualify for either President’s Club or Preferred Plus.

Avis President’s Club (Top Tier)

Avis President’s Club is the highest level of status offered by Avis. Only two cards offer this status:

How to activate:

Avis Preferred Plus

Several cards offer Preferred Plus status, which is the middle tier:

How to activate:

SIXT — Status

SIXT ONE is the loyalty program for SIXT. The program offers four different tiers:

  • Silver
  • Gold
  • Platinum
  • Diamond

SIXT Platinum

SIXT Platinum status is offered as a benefit for

  • Visa Infinite cardholders

How to activate: Register at sixt.com/partners/visausa using your Visa Infinite card.

How to Get Even More: Rental Car Status Matching

Many rental car companies are happy to match the status you have in another program. They want to earn your business, and offering you the same status and perks you get with another company is one way they can make their program more enticing.

The basics of status matching are simple. You join the loyalty program of the company you want to match to, then upload proof of status with another company. Usually a screenshot of your account where it shows your name and status level is sufficient proof of status.

Here is some information on the status match programs offered by each of the major car rental companies.

SIXT ONE

SIXT offers a status match from several loyalty programs. The level of status you get with SIXT depends on the level of status you hold with your current program. Here’s an example of what status you can match to:

To get SIXT Gold, you can show proof of:

  • Hertz Gold
  • Avis Preferred

To get SIXT Platinum, you can show proof of:

  • Hertz Five Star
  • Hertz President’s Circle
  • Avis President’s Club

It’s also possible to match status from Enterprise, National, Europcar, and Thrifty as well. To start the status match, go to the SIXT status match page, fill out the form, and upload proof of status.

Once approved, your status is good until the end of the following year. If your match is approved in 2026, you would have status through the end of 2027.

Hertz Gold+ Rewards

To match status with Hertz, email digitalmarketing@hertz.com using the email address associated with your Hertz account. Include your name, Hertz loyalty number, and proof of status with another car rental company.

National Emerald Club

National offers one of the most generous status match programs. You can match from over 40 different programs, including car rental companies as well as airlines or hotels where you hold elite status.

To status match with National, go to https://status.emeraldclub.com/, fill out the form, and submit proof of status. 

When your status match is approved, your new status will last until February 28 of the second calendar year after you received it.  If you status match at any time in 2026, your status would not end until February 28, 2028.

Enterprise Plus

Enterprise also has a generous status matching program, which is great because Enterprise doesn’t offer status through any credit cards. When you status match, you can still use your credit card rental car status in another program to get access to elite status with Enterprise.

Like National, Enterprise offers a status match with over 40 different programs. That makes it easy to qualify for status with Enterprise!

To match with Enterprise, go to https://statusmatch.enterpriseplus.com/, fill out the form, and submit proof of status. Once approved, your status is good through February 28 of the second calendar year. This is the same as what National offers.

Avis Preferred

Matching with Avis is a little bit more complicated. You can only do a status match online if you reside in a handful of countries. The U.S. is not included on the list, so if you’re a U.S. resident, you can’t complete a status match online.

Thankfully, there’s a workaround for U.S. and Canadian residents. To match with Avis, email profile.update@avisbudget.com with proof of your status in another car rental company.

The level you qualify for is based on the level of your current status with the other company. Here’s what they offer:

Avis Preferred Plus

  • Europcar Privilege Executive
  • Hertz Five Star
  • Enterprise Silver
  • SIXT Gold
  • National Emerald Club Executive

Avis President’s Club

  • Europcar Privilege Elite and VIP
  • Hertz President’s Circle
  • Enterprise Gold and Platinum
  • SIXT Platinum
  • National Emerald Club Executive Elite

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to enroll to get the status?

Yes. You need to sign up with the loyalty program and activate your benefits in order to get status. Information on how to do that is included above!

How long does credit-card rental status last?

In most cases, your status lasts as long as you hold the credit card and the benefit is offered.

Card benefits do change from time to time, so it’s always possible that car rental status could be removed as a benefit from a particular card. But as long as the benefit is still offered, you will keep the status as a cardholder.

If you get the status through a status match, each program has its own rules for how long that status is good for.

Can I hold status with multiple rental companies at once?

Yes. You can hold status with as many different rental companies as you like. Holding status with multiple companies gives you better options when it comes time to rent a car. 

Is card-granted status the same as “real” elite status?

Yes. There are no separate tiers for people who earn status via a credit card and those who earn it the traditional way (by renting cars). Your level of status is the same.

What happens to my status if I close the card?

If you close the card, your status will revert back to what you would be eligible for without the card.

Thankfully, there are so many cards that offer free status; you probably have another card that qualifies. If so, you can re-enroll for status with a different card to activate your status again.

Final Thoughts

Car rental status is a great perk that can save you time and money when you book a car. Thanks to so many credit cards offering status as a benefit, earning status is easier than you might think!

For tips and tricks on how you can use points to save money on your car rental, check out our post on Booking Car Rentals with Points.

Advertiser Disclosure

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

Related Posts

Paze Promos (10x + $10 off $10+)
Credit or Debit Cards with Free Cell Phone Insurance (With Dynamic Charts)
Capital One Café Map: All 66 Locations + Free Coffee Mondays 2026
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Benefits Activation Guide

Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Leave A Comment