Hertz celebrates anniversary by surprising rental customers with elite car upgrades.
LONDON – The Hertz Corporation is celebrating the three-year anniversary of its award-winning loyalty programme by surprising customers with luxury car upgrades and giving away thousands of points.
Members renting in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Paris and Rome have unexpectedly been handed the keys to some of Hertz’s elite cars, including the Jaguar F-TYPE Coupe, Range Rover Vogue and Nissan GTR as part of the initiatives to mark the milestone for Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. Additionally, ninety members received tickets for Disneyland Paris for them and their family or friends.
This month, continuing the anniversary celebrations, a prize of 3,000 extra points will be given to five lucky winners while those members residing in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK will be able to earn double points on rentals.
The milestone for the programme in Europe, the Middle East and Africa caps an impressive 12 months for Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, having won several coveted awards, including Best Rewards Programme and Best Overall Benefits from FlyerTalk.com. The programme also received the 2013 COLLOQUY Loyalty Award, which recognizes groundbreaking innovations in loyalty marketing.
In total, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards has awarded more than 400 million points to its members in 2014, of which 36 million have been redeemed for 60 thousand reward days.
Michel Taride, Group President Hertz International, said: “We have endeavoured to make our customer loyalty programme the best in the industry to give people something back each time they rent a car with us.
“The numerous accolades in the past year reflect our commitment to creating the most innovative system to reward our members and show our gratitude to them.
“What better way to toast the programme’s third birthday than to offer our customers the chance to experience the cream of our fleet by taking some of the most beautiful cars on the road for a spin.”
The vehicles used for the complimentary car rental upgrades Hertz gave away are part of its unique Dream and Prestige Collections. The two high-end vehicle ranges include some of the finest cars in the world, such as the Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Maserati, Mercedes AMG and Porsche.
The anniversary also sees a raft of enhancements to the programme, including making it easier for Gold members to move up in status and enjoy additional benefits.
Customers can now attain the scheme’s Five Star® rating after seven rentals instead of 10, while the threshold for qualifying for the President’s Circle® is now 20 rentals – down from 30 previously.
Hertz has also introduced the following additional changes to the Gold Plus Rewards programme:
- Quicker Enrolment: customers can now enrol in Gold Plus Rewards right at the rental counter and at the call centre.
- Hertz Gold Choice: provides renters with the peace of mind, knowing their car will be ready and waiting for them, and the freedom to choose something different on the spot.
- Mobile Gold Alerts (Carfirmation): Gold members can receive email messages sent to their phone with up-to-the-minute information telling them which car they will be driving and where their vehicle is parked.
- Faster Rentals: allows Gold members to skip the counter at over 50 airports around the world. And at over 4,000 locations worldwide renters can simply show their driver’s license and pick up their keys.
- More Ways to Earn Points: in addition to earning points on rental charges, Gold members earn with services like Hertz NeverLost, Fuel Purchase, insurance coverage options and more.
- Enhanced Rewards: improved technology makes it easier for members to view their real-time point balance, check their e-statements with up to 24 months of activity, and even redeem rewards during reservations.
- New Reward Destinations: Hertz has added new destinations to its expanding global network, where members can redeem points for rewards days, including Ireland and Brazil.
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards is one of the few free loyalty programmes in the industry. To become a member, customers can enrol online at Hertz.co.uk or at a Hertz rental counter.
Once enrolled, members can earn points against money spent on all qualifying rentals and have the flexibility to use their points when it is convenient for them as points do not automatically expire.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
