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Car Rental Credit Cards – Credit Cards with Cheap Car Rental Deals
Credit cards can cater to those who rent cars in a range of ways. Find out how you can benefit.
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Rewards credit cards offer rewards applicable to the vast majority of spenders out there—there's usually something for everyone.
A rewards credit card can benefit those who regularly rent vehicles in the following ways:
You can use rewards points to pay for car rental
You can earn bonus points when using car rental partners
Some cards have complimentary rental vehicle excess insurance
Read on to learn more about how each of these benefits works and how you can compare the cards which offer them.
Car rental credit card comparison
You can use rewards points to pay for car rental
Most of the frequent flyer and rewards programs in the market today allow you to use your points to pay for car rental services. There's a couple things you should know about this.
Unlike using points to claim with hotels, most programs have only one car hire partner.
| Rewards program | Car hire partners |
|---|---|
| Qantas Frequent Flyer and American Express | AVIS |
| Virgin Velocity Frequent Flyer Program | Europcar (with Hertz and Thrifty supposedly on their way)t |
| Westpac Altitude | Hertz |
If you regularly use the services of one car hire company in particular you'll want to see if they're a partner with any frequent flyer programs.
Different rewards programs allow you to use your points in different ways.
This will also have an impact on how you use your points towards renting a car. Some frequent flyer programs like Qantas', American Express' and Westpac Altitude only allow you to redeem your points for car hire vouchers. Others like Virgin Velocity allow you to directly redeem points for car hire.
You can earn bonus points when using car rental partners
Most frequent flyer and rewards programs also allow you to earn bonus points when using car rental services. If we take some of the above examples we can see the extra points able to be earned when hiring a vehicle.
Qantas Frequent Flyer Program
You can earn bonus points for the following car hire partners.
| Car hire partners | In Australia | Outside of Australia |
|---|---|---|
| AVIS | 3 points per dollar spent | 700 points per rental |
| Budget | 3 points per dollar spent | 700 points per rental |
Virgin Velocity Frequent Flyer Program
| Car hire partners | In Australia and New Zealand | Outside Australia and New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Hertz | 3 points per dollar spent | 800 points per rental |
| Thrifty | 3 points per dollar spent | 800 points per rental |
| Europcar | 3 points per dollar spent | 800 points per rental |
There are also bonuses to this rate depending on what Velocity membership level you have.
| Membership level | Bonus points rate |
|---|---|
| Silver | 50% bonus points |
| Gold | 75% bonus points |
| Platinum | 100% bonus points |
Westpac Altitude Program
The Altitude Program also gives cardholders the ability to earn bonus points when hiring a vehicle from Hertz.
| Card used | Bonus points earned |
|---|---|
| Altitude Business cards | 1 per dollar spent |
| Altitude Black, Altitude Business Gold, Altitude Platinum | 3 per dollar spent |
Complimentary rental vehicle excess insurance
As part of the benefits of many gold and platinum credit cards card providers will give cardholders free insurance policies.
These policies can include complimentary travel insurance and of particular relevance to this article, insurance which covers your excess in the event you have an accident in your rental vehicle and it suffers damage.
Compare the market today
As you've probably noticed, there are quite a few cards out there which offer the benefits listed above, so you'll want to compare rewards cards out there to find the right one for your use.
The information about earning bonus points and redeeming points with car hire partners can be found easily on the rewards page of the card you're looking for.
If you want to compare car rental excess you can read about the limits and exclusions on one of our complimentary insurance pages or in the terms and conditions on the card provider's website.
Pictures: Shutterstock
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Ask an Expert
I am looking at HSBC Platinum Credit Card. Does this card provide complimentary Rental Vehicle Excess Insurance for car being rented in Australia or it only covers international car rentals?
Hi Tony,
Thank you for your comment.
Provided that you meet the eligibility criteria and the conditions, yes, you are covered for vehicle rental within Australia. To know more about the details, please check the HSBC Complimentary Insurance Terms and Conditions booklet found on their website. You may also contact Allianz Global Assistance as they own the policy.
Should you wish to have real-time answers to your questions, try our chat box on the lower right corner of our page.
Regards,
Jhezelyn
My wife and have HSBC MasterCards and premier cards. We want to rent a car in Europe this summer and would like to know what the car insurance covers while using our HSBC MasterCard. Are there any restrictions and do we have to decline the rental company’s collision insurance? How much are we covered for and there restrictions as to the number of days we are covered? If we rent for six weeks will we be covered? Thank you!
Hi Evan, thanks for your inquiry!
Please refer to the details I have sent to your email outlining all the information to your questions.
Cheers,
Jonathan