Frequent Renter Programs: Is There A Winner?

Are you driving in circles with your frequent renter program options but failing to get anywhere?

Loyalty programs are offered by all of Australia’s five major car hire companies, but at a glance it can be hard to determine if any are superior. So we set our research team to work to find you the answer.

What are the programs?

Each car hire company has its own branded frequent driver offer – Avis Preferred, Budget Fastbreak, Europcar Ready Program, Hertz #1 Gold Club and Thrifty Blue Chip.

Unfortunately the name is probably the most individual thing about them.  Each program will provide you with faster reservations, record your preferences and ensure that you have priority over other customers who are not part of their program.  With each, you will receive a card and a membership number.

Effectively by retaining your details on file, it speeds up the transaction time of both parties, thereby reducing administration costs over the long term.

Do they give me a discount for being a member?

The short answer is no.  The programs do not entitle you to a direct discount in their own right.  The best deal you can expect, as a result of being a member of their program is that you will be offered in most cases the best rate of the day. Being a member of the NRMA, an auto club, or Frequent Flyer program however may entitle you to a 5-10% discount depending on the car hire company. However, Avis and Hertz do offer the occasional member-exclusive offers like free days that can be better than the discount coupons available to the general public (Thanks Adam M.)

Most hire companies have a second or third tier of membership to which you cannot join, but must earn.  This is similar to a frequent flyer membership where you can only progress up to the next level by travelling a certain number of times and distances.  If you travel very frequently you may find yourself admitted to this group and therefore may become eligible for a greater level of priority, more upgrades and discounts.

Are there any other benefits of membership?

There are a few additional benefits to some memberships, which separate the quality of the programs.

Priority number
Avis, Hertz and Thrifty offer their frequent or priority members a dedicated phone line. The others direct you through to their standard reservation line which in some instances, particularly Europcar, can leave you waiting 10-15 minutes to be answered.

Priority service
Priority service is offered by all the providers. However in the cases of Avis and Hertz, this means no stopping at the counter at all within the main Australian airports, allowing you to simply proceed to the car.

Other features
Hertz goes one step further than the other car hire companies, in that they have a ‘no additional driver charge’ feature which is applicable on all their cars and provides a discount to gold members on the rental of infant or child seats.  In addition, they offer their own points reward program so you can still achieve points even if you are not part of one of their affiliated frequent flyer programs.

Joining the program

Each programs is free to join, except Hertz, which is only free to Australian residents.  The forms simply need to be downloaded from the website, completed and returned.

Be aware when selecting any preferences on your application form that this information will be automatically used on all your future bookings with that company.  Should you need to change a preference, you will need to contact the company to update your details.

A final word

Because all the providers are similar, the choice of your hire car company is likely to come down to individual cost and features at the time you wish to travel.  The only time this would not be the case is when you travel very frequently, then aiming for one of the memberships such as Hertz which offers an upgrade after 10 hires in one year, may be worthwhile.

There is no reason not to join multiple programs given they are free.  The only investment is your time to complete the information required.

Finally frequent renter programs do not have to mean another five cards in your back pocket.  Each provider confirmed that as long as you have your number available you do not need to physically provide your card. So if you choose to join multiple programs, save your wallet from exploding by creating one card with the names, program numbers and phone numbers on it.

Links

Avis Preferred Service
Budget Fastbreak
Europcar Ready
Hertz #1 Club
Thrifty Blue Chip