The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has so many awesome perks, including a huge welcome bonus, a $300 annual travel credit, 10K bonus anniversary miles, a Priority Pass™ membership, access to Capital One Lounges, access to Plaza Premium Lounges, cell phone protection, and awesome authorized user perks. I applied for the card the day it launched, and was instantly approved.
One of the benefits of the Capital One Venture X that some people aren’t familiar with is the excellent rental car status it offers. Not only does the card offer Hertz President’s Circle elite status (which isn’t available with other premium credit cards), but it also offers other rental car perks on account of being a Visa Infinite. Let’s go over the details of how this works.
Link: Learn more about the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
What rental car status does the Capital One Venture X offer?
The Capital One Venture X offers the most comprehensive rental car perks of any premium credit card, in my opinion, as the card offers elite status or perks with Hertz, Avis, National, and Silvercar. Let’s go over the basics.
Hertz President’s Circle elite status
The Capital One Venture X offers Hertz President’s Circle elite status:
- Cardmembers must register for this benefit, either enrolling directly in the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program, or simply requesting an upgrade to Hertz President’s Circle status — below I’ll outline the process of registering
- This benefit is available not only to the primary cardmember, but also to authorized users (this is awesome, since you can add up to four authorized users to the card at no extra cost)
- After successful registration, Hertz will process the request within 24-72 hours, at which point the status will be valid
- Upon enrollment, eligible cardholders will remain at that status level through December 31, 2024, at which point they will be reverted to the level that corresponds with their rental activity; it’s pretty awesome that this status is valid for this long right off the bat
- There’s no need to actually book your rental through Capital One Travel, or use your Capital One Venture X for the rental, to receive these perks; your status will be upgraded on Hertz’s end, regardless of how you choose to book and pay going forward
While you don’t have to book your car rental using the Capital One Venture X, it could make sense to do so — this way you get primary auto rental collision damage waiver (CDW) coverage. On top of that, if you book through Capital One Travel, you’ll receive 10x miles for the purchase.
Avis, National, and Silvercar perks & elite status
In addition to Hertz President’s Circle elite status, the Capital One Venture X also offers rental car perks on account of being a Visa Infinite Card. Specifically, the card offers:
- Complimentary National Emerald Club Executive membership, which is National’s awesome elite status; registration is required
- Savings of up to 30% (with a guaranteed minimum discount of 10%) on rentals with Silvercar, when paying with your card; redeem the offer through this link
- Complimentary Avis Preferred Plus enrollment, with savings of up to 30% off base rates; registration is required
How do you enroll in Hertz President’s Circle status?
The process of registering for Hertz President’s Circle status couldn’t be much easier:
- If you already have a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards account, register at this link; you’ll just have to provide your name, email address, and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards number
- If you don’t have a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards account, register at this link; you’ll have to share a variety of personal details, including your address, driver’s license, and more
Upon successfully completing these steps, your status should be updated within 24-72 hours (in my case, my status was updated within roughly one day).
It’s interesting that you don’t even have to provide your card number, or anything along those lines. I’m not sure what kind of verification happens on the back-end, but I did receive an email shortly after registering claiming that my “account has been verified.”
Like I said, you can just do the process as outlined above, though if you want to get to the page with that link on your own, just log into your Capital One account, and click on the “Redeem” button at the top left of the page.
That will bring you to the main travel page, and on that page you’ll want to click “Discover Travel.”
When you scroll to the very bottom of the page, you should see the link for “Hertz President’s Circle Status” (which should lead to the same link I have above).
What are the benefits of Hertz President’s Circle status?
President’s Circle is Hertz’s top-tier status, so it’s pretty cool to get that just for having the Capital One Venture X. This status ordinarily requires 15 rentals per year or $3,000 in rental car spending, so this is most definitely an easier pathway to that tier.
What are the perks of Hertz President’s Circle status?
- Guaranteed car upgrades, a minimum of one-class, at participating locations
- Freedom to choose any vehicle in the President’s Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot on the spot at no extra charge
- No additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner in the United States
- 50% bonus on Gold Plus Rewards points on all qualified rentals
- Expedited vehicle pick-up at over 1,000 locations worldwide
- No stopping at the counter at over 50 airports
- eReturn, whereby you don’t have to wait when returning your car
- Hertz Valet, whereby you can take advantage of a terminal drive-back service at participating locations up to four times per year
- A dedicated President’s Circle call center line
Here’s a chart comparing the different Hertz elite status tiers:
Why I value having elite status with Hertz
While I love most things about the travel experience, rental cars have historically been the exception. I’ve found so many aspects of the rental car experience to be frustrating, and I’ve historically taken a defeatist attitude when it comes to renting cars.
Fortunately, that changed for me last year, thanks to the great advice of OMAAT readers. Elite status with a rental car company really makes a huge difference, especially when it allows you to skip the counter and pick your car from a portion of the lot.
I first discovered the beauty of this with National Emerald Aisle, as I’ve consistently had great experiences with National. National status is offered with several premium credit cards, so the status is easy to get, and the perks are good.
But National isn’t competitively priced in all markets, so having status with Hertz has proven incredibly valuable as well. I’ve used Hertz a lot more since picking up the Venture X, and I’ve found the experience to be nearly comparable to what I’ve had with National, which is great.
Being able to skip the rental counter and instead pick out my car sure makes life easier. I now rent from either Hertz or National, whichever is cheaper.
Bottom line
The Capital One Venture X offers Hertz President’s Circle elite status as a perk for both the primary cardmember and authorized users. It’s awesome to see Capital One offering a rental car elite status that you won’t get with the premium cards of Amex or Chase.
President’s Circle is top-tier status elite status with Hertz, and offers a guaranteed upgrade, the ability to select a car from the President’s Circle section, bonus points, and a lot more.
On top of that, the card is also a Visa Infinite, and therefore offers perks and/or elite status with Avis, National, and Silvercar.
If you’re a Capital One Venture X cardmember, have you used the Hertz President’s Circle status? What was your experience like?
Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through the duration of the offer. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
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.
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