Air Canada Aeroplan Members Now Earn More Points With Hertz Than On Flights

Air Canada has a new deal with Hertz to offer car rental elite status and more points for rentals. That’s smart because rental cars are mostly a commodity purchase and loyalty program tie-ins create brand preference – but most of those tie-ins are too weak to matter.

Points-Earning With Aeroplan

Hertz rentals will earn:

• General member: 2 points per every $1 Canadian spent
  
• Elite 25K, 35K and 50K: 3 points per every $1 Canadian spent
  
• Elite 75K: 4 points per every $1 Canadian spent
  
• Super Elite: 5 points per every $1 Canadian spent

Hertz owns Thrifty and Dollar. Those rentals earn just 2 points per Canadian dollar, regardless of status.

What seems awkward to me is that for genreal members are 25K elites, spending with Hertz earns more Aeroplan points than flying Air Canada.

Earning Aeroplan Status With Hertz

For every 5 Aeroplan points earned, members receive one Status Qualifying Credit toward Aeroplan status. That means Super Elite members renting from Hertz earn a status credit per Canadian dollar spent.

Hertz Status For Aeroplan Members

Hertz Presidents Club status is afforded to Aeroplan 75K and Super Elite members and premium co-brand cardmembers with:

• American Express®* Aeroplan® Reserve Card
  
• TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card
  
• CIBC Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card
  
• American Express®* Aeroplan® Business Reserve Card
  
• American Express®* Aeroplan® Corporate Reserve Card

Hertz Five Star status is offered to 25K, 35K and 50K status members, as well as cobrand cardmmebers with:

• TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card
  
• American Express®* Aeroplan® Card
  
• CIBC Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card
  
• TD® Aeroplan® Visa* Business Card
  
• CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Business Plus Card
  
• CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Business Card
  
• American Express®* Aeroplan® Corporate Card
  
• Chase Aeroplan® Card

But Isn’t This An Odd Duo?

In 2018 Hertz became the ‘first non-airline to join the SkyTeam alliance. But that went nowhere. And in 2024, Eurostar was announced as SkyTeam’s first non-air partner. Hertz was memory-holed.

That was probably for the best, since Hertz started reporting rented cars stolen and having their customers arrested. Former Delta COO Gil West is now their CEO, the rental giant brought on Palentir to help track their fleet of cars, and we don’t hear about arrests so much as a live issue anymore.

Hertz was once the rental company for business travelers. In this extended montage from Up in the Air when George Clooney is grounded in Omaha he wants to buy a Chrysler Sebring from Hertz.

In the movie, Ryan Bingham flew American Airlines. In the book, it was Great West (and he was on a quest for just one million miles, rather than ten million). But rideshare didn’t exist then, the rental car business is tough, and Hertz needs any advantage they can get.