I am always telling anyone who will listen that any chance to spend money is an opportunity to earn miles or points, renting cars is no different. I was reading an article from The Points Guy Blog, about a man that earned 1.2 million United miles renting cars, just since April.
This example is extreme, and turns out the guy almost has a full-time job managing his rental cars, but its not a stupid idea!
I am stuck in Houston because of weather in Atlanta, and I have already rented 2 cars, from 2 agencies, to maximize the miles earned. I rented from Alamo last night and earned 700 Delta SkyMiles, and I currently have a Hertz rental , which I will earn 1750, all for a grand total of $75 dollars. Because of being Platinum with Delta, I have Hertz Presidents Circle, and for the price of a tiny car , I was upgraded to a brand new Infinity!
How to Earn
This is very similar to what I have spoke about regarding shopping portals and earning miles for dining. Each airline has a page or portal you go through to book, but in most cases its very simple and easy. Always check and see if you can find a cheaper price elsewhere ,and if ifs slightly cheaper go with the airline and get miles. If, after searching you find a huge price difference, for example going through Delta car rental Site costs $120, yet Travelocity cost $30, its not worth the miles.
You, of course need to be already signed up with the airlines frequent flyer program before you rent the car.
The Airlines
Delta –
I will start with Delta because Delta is MY AIRLINE of choice! Delta has a few good offers , especially with Hertz, which seems to be the car provider of choice for all the airlines.
United –
United is the program that the guy earned over a million miles with. I cant find the promotion that he was enrolled in earning over 5000 miles per rental, but there are still very good promotions available. Hertz seem to come out ahead again on miles with United.’
American Airlines –
2 years ago AA was my program of choice and I earned many miles this way, but things change, and I am a very happy and loyal Delta guy now!
Things to Remember
- Always check around for the best price, sometimes a few hundred miles isn’t worth the time or trouble!
- Use a points or miles earning credit card to get more miles.
- Make sure to sign up for the rental car agency’s frequent renter program so you can earn status with them and get better cars, etc, sort-of like double dipping.
- Make sure to not buy too much insurance but make sure your covered sufficiently!
Wrap-Up
Like I said earlier, and say all the time, if your shopping or traveling or paying bills, ALWAYS try to earn money off the money you spend ! The guy that earned over a million miles actually saves money by doing what he does, but that may not work for everyone. With that said, if your renting a car, you need to be earning points or miles.
I was speaking to a friend earlier tonight that used Uber to get to and from his hotel and spent well over $100, and could have rented a car for less than $30 and earned 700 miles. Uber is fantastic and I use it all over the world, but sometimes renting a car is much cheaper!
This is a very incomplete list of options, but I wanted to give you a general idea of whats possible!
Thanks for reading, and PLEASE, TRAVEL MORE!!
