How to get car rental upgrades: elite, paid and space-available

Elite upgrades by tier

Avis Preferred. The Avis Preferred benefits table carries an "Upgrades" row reading free upgrades when reserving a midsize or above, marked subject to availability and excluding large SUVs and Signature Fleet [5]. The same table separates the tiers: Avis Preferred Plus is listed with a free one car class upgrade and is described as earned after 10 rentals or $4,000 spent, while Avis President's Club is listed with free two car class upgrades and is earned after 20 rentals or $6,000 spent [5]. The stated condition is a reservation of midsize or above, so a booking below midsize is not described as qualifying [5]. Because the size of an upgrade is expressed in car classes, it helps to know how those classes are ordered; see car rental vehicle classes explained.

Enterprise Plus. The Enterprise Plus page sets out four tiers: Plus, for 0–5 qualifying rentals, with free membership; Silver, for 6–11 rentals, with 10% bonus points and one free car upgrade per programme year; Gold, for 12 rentals or 40 days, with 15% bonus points and two free car upgrades per programme year; and Platinum, for 24 rentals or 85 days, with 20% bonus points and four free car upgrades per programme year [7]. The page gives a count of upgrades but does not say how many car classes an upgrade covers, which vehicles are excluded, or how a missing class is handled; it directs readers to the full Enterprise Plus terms and conditions for the complete rules [7].

Space-available choice and availability conditions

The Emerald Club page checked does not describe a complimentary upgrade [6]. What it describes is Emerald Aisle access: choosing any car of midsize or above on the Emerald Aisle and paying only the midsize rate, in the US and Canada [6]. The same page presents Emerald Checkout at Emerald Aisle locations as a way to complete a rental in three steps, and lists a free rental day earned with seven rental credits, redeemable for a vehicle up to midsize [6]. Since no guaranteed class or upgrade count appears in that wording, the aisle benefit reads as vehicle choice rather than a promised class [6]. The step-by-step mechanics are set out in the National Emerald Club guide.

Availability conditions are written differently across the pages. Avis is the one of the three that ties its upgrade language to availability, stating that free upgrades are subject to availability [5]. The Enterprise page attaches "subject to availability" to free rental day redemptions, but the upgrade benefit is stated as a count per programme year without an availability condition in the wording shown [7]. A condition written into one programme's page does not carry over to the others [5] [7].

Paid upgrades: what the pages do not say

For Avis, a Preferred member gets a minimum of 100 points every rental, points earned per qualifying dollar, and points redeemed for rental day rewards starting at 700 points with no blackout dates, plus accessories at 250 points each per day [5]. Those are points redemptions, not paid upgrades [5]. Enterprise free rental days are redeemable on any available car on any day with no blackout dates, covering the base rate only and excluding taxes, fees, surcharges and optional products [7].

Exceptions and limits

• The Avis upgrade wording applies to reservations of midsize or above, excludes large SUVs and Signature Fleet, and is subject to availability [5].
• Avis lists a vehicle guarantee as a separate benefit row — a guaranteed car up to a full size with a confirmed 24-hour advanced reservation — and does not describe it as an upgrade [5].
• Enterprise Plus states its free car upgrades per programme year and does not describe an upgrade on every rental [7].
• The Emerald Aisle wording about paying the midsize rate for a midsize-or-above car is limited to the US and Canada on the page checked [6].
• The programmes are separate. The Enterprise page notes that Enterprise Plus members earn points and elite status worldwide through its partner National Car Rental [7], but neither page checked describes one programme honouring the other's upgrades [6] [7].
• Reaching a tier is itself conditional: Avis Preferred Plus after 10 rentals or $4,000 spent and President's Club after 20 rentals or $6,000 spent [5]; Enterprise Plus tiers at 0–5, 6–11, 12 (or 40 days) and 24 (or 85 days) qualifying rentals [7].

Related pages

Car rental vehicle classes explained · National Emerald Club guide · Glossary of frequent flyer terms.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. Other rental loyalty programmes, including Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and Budget Fastbreak, are not covered here.

1. Avis Preferred programme benefits and tiers, checked 18 October 2026
2. National Car Rental Emerald Club programme page, checked 18 October 2026
3. Enterprise Plus programme benefits and reward tiers, checked 18 October 2026