Anyway to 'earn' car rentals?

[la79al]

I know people use credit cards to earn free flights. Is there any way to do something similar with car rentals? Preferably not with more credit cards.

 

[AgentMama]

Most major rental car companies have a rewards program where you earn free days after so many paid days.

 

[RamblingMad]

I think, another alternative is to prepay. I see significant savings this way.

 

[StarCruiser]

Hotel and airline rewards programs will often have a way to book car rentals with their points. However, it's usually poor value for the points. You're typically better off using them for something else.

 

[EACarlson]

What cards do you have? I know you can use Chase UR and AMEX MR for car rentals. National ran a deal last year where all AMEX cardholders could get their top tier status and earn a free day with only one day's rental.

 

[Psychodisney]

I use my Capital One Venture card to erase car rentals. You could do the same with the Barclay card I think.
National has some promos with rent so many days, get one free. Unfortunately, I find their rates to be higher than others most times. I like to finger my best rate (typically at Costco) and use Capital One points to erase the charge.

 

[Marionnette]

I know people use credit cards to earn free flights. Is there any way to do something similar with car rentals? Preferably not with more credit cards.

Most car rental frequent customer programs are targeted toward the business traveler. It takes a lot of rentals to earn a free day and a ton of rentals to earn a weeklong rental.

The easiest way for the average traveler to get a free rental is by using credit card rewards. A good travel credit card will coverage your CDW on a rental and will allow you to use accumulated points to pay for your rental in full or in part. The Chase Sapphire Reserve also has a travel portal where you can book your rental at a reduced rate and then apply your points towards it at a rate of 1.25 X compared to using the points as a purchase eraser for the rental.