How to rent a car with points and miles

By Stephanie Zito, Bankrate

Travelers are more eager than ever to hit the road and travel since restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have ended. But since the very onset of the pandemic, renting a car has come with its own particularly frustrating baggage.

As travel dropped in 2020, rental car companies were undoubtedly hit hard. Companies like Hertz were forced to file for bankruptcy (having since bounced back) and others had to sell off thousands of cars from their fleets. Unfortunately for travelers, this has often meant higher car rental prices and lower availability.

Usually, I almost never recommend using rewards for rental car bookings since you can almost always find a rental car deal through AutoSlash, Hotwire, Kayak or Priceline if you don’t care what company you’re renting from. When these kinds of deals don’t exist, however, here’s what you need to know about booking a car rental with miles or points.

Using miles or points to book a car

Airline miles and points

Nearly every airline has a frequent flyer program that has the option to redeem your points or miles for rental car bookings. The exchange value of airline miles for rental cars typically isn’t as good as using miles for booking flights, but it is an option. It might be worthwhile if you’re earning more miles than you can spend on flights through a co-branded airline credit card.

Flexible credit card rewards

If you have a card that is part of a flexible credit card rewards program, like American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can book a rental car through the travel portal just like you would for booking a flight or hotel. Redemptions are still tied to the cost of the rental but will vary based on the rewards redemption value of your particular card.

Car rental loyalty programs

If you frequently rent cars through any of the major car rental companies like Hertz, Avis or National, you should be earning rewards in the rental company’s own loyalty program. Just like airline or hotel loyalty programs, these programs are free to join.

For example, if you join the Avis Preferred program, you’ll earn 1X points per dollar spent on rentals (a minimum of 100 points per booking), and you can redeem your points for free rental days starting at 700 points.

If you happen to have a stash of car rental rewards, what better time to use them than the present? Likewise, if you don’t have a car rental loyalty account, it’s a good time to join since you’ll be earning lots of rewards if you wind up paying for a car rental.

When should you rent a car with points or miles?

If you’re the kind of rewards collector who likes to maximize the cents per mile you get when redeeming rewards, car rental redemptions might not be for you. Rental redemptions are almost always linked to rental prices, so if prices are high, you’ll have to pay a lot of rewards.

Value, however, isn’t always only about the numbers. If you really need a car rental and can’t afford to pay a higher rental rate, using points or miles for a car rental may still be a good value to you.

Tips for booking a car rental with points and miles

If you’re looking to book a car for upcoming travel, my top tip is to make your plans sooner rather than later. If you decide to pay for a car rental, most companies don’t require a deposit and have very liberal cancellation rules.