Status: checked against official sources; automated independent review
GUIDE
How to get car rental elite status from credit cards
Car rental elite status from credit cards is a card benefit that gives a cardholder a tier in a car rental loyalty programme without earning that tier through rentals. On the American Express Platinum Card, the benefit appears as “Car Rental Privileges: Avis, Hertz, National” and is described as complimentary premium status for select car rental programmes, with enrolment completed through the card member’s American Express online account. [1]
Facts checked: 18 October 2026
Key takeaways
- The American Express Platinum Card names Avis, Hertz and National and calls the benefit complimentary premium status for select car rental programmes. [1]
- The page does not name the tier that results in any of the three programmes; it directs card members to view their specific car rental privileges after logging in to their American Express account. [1]
- Enrolment through the American Express online account using the eligible card is a stated requirement, so the benefit is not simply switched on by holding the card. [1]
- Car rental loss and damage insurance sits on the same page as a separate benefit and is not loyalty status. [1]
What the benefit grants
The entry names three rental companies — Avis, Hertz and National — and describes the benefit as complimentary premium status for select car rental programmes. [1] The heading of the benefit uses those three names, while the sentence describing it refers more broadly to “select” programmes. [1]
The public page does not state which tier a card member receives. It says instead that Platinum Card members can view their specific car rental privileges online by logging into their American Express account, and that terms and limitations apply. [1] So the page confirms that a tier exists but keeps the programme-by-programme detail inside the account area rather than on the marketing page. [1]
The page also does not say whether the tier is a programme’s top tier or an entry tier, how long the tier lasts once granted, or whether it is tied to a spending requirement; it describes the status as complimentary and attaches terms and limitations without listing them. [1] Anyone comparing card benefits against status earned by renting should treat those points as unstated rather than assumed. [1]
How enrolment works
The page gives the route in a single step: card members must enrol through their American Express online account using their eligible card. [1] The same section first points members to that account to view the specific privileges attached to their card, which makes the account the natural starting place before any booking. [1]
- Log in to the American Express online account that holds the eligible card. [1]
- View the car rental privileges shown there, since the page says the specific privileges are visible online rather than on the public page. [1]
- Complete enrolment using the eligible card, as the page requires. [1]
Because enrolment is a stated requirement, the status is not presented as something that arrives automatically with a rental. [1] Readers who want background on how the rental schemes themselves are structured can start with the car rental loyalty programmes overview.
Card rental insurance is not status
The same Platinum Card page lists Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance as its own separate benefit, distinct from the car rental privileges entry. [1] Coverage applies when the eligible card is used to reserve and pay for the entire rental and the collision damage waiver is declined at the rental company counter, and it covers damage to or theft of a rental vehicle in a covered territory. [1] It is secondary coverage, it does not include liability coverage, it is not available for vehicles rented in Australia, Italy and New Zealand, and not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. [1]
None of that confers a tier, points or counter privileges in a rental loyalty programme; it is a protection product attached to how the rental is paid for. [1] Mixing the two leads readers to expect a status upgrade from a benefit that only responds to damage or theft claims. [1] For the payment and claim conditions in more detail, see the card travel protection checklist.
Exceptions and limits
- The tier is not published. Which tier a card member receives in Avis, Hertz or National, and whether it differs between the three, is not stated on the card page checked; the page directs members to their own account for the specific privileges. [1]
- Terms and limitations are referenced, not reproduced. The page states that terms and limitations apply without setting them out, so the public page is not a complete statement of the benefit. [1]
- Additional cardholders.
- After the card account closes.
- Cards outside the United States.
- Insurance exclusions still apply. The separate loss and damage benefit excludes vehicles rented in Australia, Italy and New Zealand, excludes some vehicle types and rentals, and provides no liability coverage. [1]
Sources
Sources accessed on 18 October 2026.
- American Express Platinum Card benefits and car rental privileges, checked 18 October 2026