Summary
- Earn points or miles from various sources besides flying, like credit cards and travel spending.
- Boost earnings by utilizing partnerships with hotels and car rental companies.
- Maximize earning potential by checking rates and promotions, booking directly, and using credit cards.
It is common these days to earn points or miles in airline loyalty programs from several sources. Flying, of course, is the primary source for most people, but earning from credit cards, travel spending, and online shopping are often possible.
Boosting earnings through other travel spending makes sense. Many programs have partnerships with the main hotel companies and car rental providers to earn points or miles alongside stays or rentals. Earnings here are not massive, but when combined with other earnings, they will quickly add up.
Earning miles or points with car rental
Most major airline loyalty programs offer many ways to earn points or miles besides just flying. Car rental is a well established way to earn, with most major loyalty programs having partnerships with the main global car rental companies. Some airlines also have local or regional partnerships in place, but we are focussing here on international chains allowing earnings in the US and elsewhere.
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Earning with car rental companies is straightforward.
- You usually need to have a loyalty program account set up in advance with both the airline and the car rental company (such as Avis Preferred, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, and Enterprise Plus).
- Frequent flyer details are usually provided through the rental company loyalty account and selected as an earning method.
- Book rentals as usual through the company and double-check earnings are set to the right airline loyalty program.
- Discount or partner rate codes can also be used. These may offer a better price (depending on what other rates you have access to) but do not require you to earn points or miles.
- When opting to earn points or miles, a Frequent Traveler Program Surcharge may be applied for rentals in the US or Canada. Make sure this represents value compared to the potential earnings.
We examine each of the major car rental providers and provide some details (current as of September 2024) on earning with major airline loyalty programs. Of course, there are other car rental companies and airline loyalty programs. Feel free to discuss earnings with your favorite ones in the comments section.
Note the following about earning rates:
- Not all airline loyalty programs offer earnings will all the main car rental companies. Some do so, but others have partnerships only with preferred providers. For example, American Airlines AAdvanatge and United Mileage Plus focus on partnerships with Avis and Budget.
- Some programs offer bonuses for airline elite members. These are shown below. There may also be offers for free elite status (and benefits) with the rental loyalty program on offer.
- Earnings by rate usually exclude taxes and fees.
Photo: JW_PNW | Shutterstock
Earning with Hertz
The table below shows summary points and miles earning rates for Hertz – for select large airline loyalty programs:
Earning with Avis
The table below shows summary points and miles earning rates for Avis – for select large airline loyalty programs:
|
Airline Loyalty Program |
Standard points/miles earning rate |
Additional earnings for elite members |
|---|---|---|
|
American Airlines AAdvantage |
2 miles per dollar spent (3 for co-branded card holders) |
AAdvantage Gold and Platinum: 4 miles per dollar spent AAdvantage Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum: 5 miles per dollar spent |
|
United MileagePlus |
500 miles per rental (750 miles for Chase card members) |
Premier Silver and Premier Gold: 1,000 miles per rental Premier Platinum and Premier 1K: 1,250 miles per rental |
|
Delta SkyMiles |
No |
No |
|
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards |
600 Rapid Rewards Points per rental |
No |
|
JetBlue True Blue |
100 points per rental day (up to five days) |
Mosaic members: 200 points per day (up to five days) |
|
Spirit Airlines FREE SPIRIT |
50 miles per day on rentals 4 days 500 miles on rentals over 5 days |
No |
|
British Airways Executive Club |
5 Avios per £1 spent |
No |
Earning with Budget
The table below shows summary points and miles earning rates for Budget – for select large airline loyalty programs:
|
Airline Loyalty Program |
Standard points/miles earning rate |
Additional earnings for elite members |
|---|---|---|
|
American Airlines AAdvantage |
2 miles per dollar spent (3 for co-branded card holders) |
AAdvantage Gold and Platinum: 4 miles per dollar spent AAdvantage Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum: 5 miles per dollar spent |
|
United MileagePlus |
500 miles per rental (750 miles for Chase card members) |
Premier Silver and Premier Gold: 1,000 miles per rental Premier Platinum and Premier 1K: 1,250 miles per rental |
|
Delta SkyMiles |
No |
No |
|
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards |
600 Rapid Rewards Points per rental |
No |
|
JetBlue True Blue |
100 points per rental day (up to five days) |
Mosaic members: 200 points per day (up to five days) |
|
Spirit Airlines FREE SPIRIT |
50 points per day for 1 to 4 day rentals 500 points per rental for 5+ day rental |
No |
|
British Airways Executive Club |
2 Avios per £1 spent |
No |
Earning with Enterprise
The table below shows summary points and miles earning rates for Enterprise – for select large airline loyalty programs:
|
Airline Loyalty Program |
Standard points/miles earning rate |
Additional earnings for elite members |
|---|---|---|
|
American Airlines AAdvantage |
No |
No |
|
United MileagePlus |
No |
No |
|
Delta SkyMiles |
No |
No |
|
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards |
No |
No |
|
JetBlue True Blue |
No |
No |
|
Spirit Airlines FREE SPIRIT |
No |
No |
|
British Airways Executive Club |
No |
No |
|
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
100 Points per rental day |
No |
|
Air France / KLM Flying Blue |
4 miles per Euro spent |
No |
Earning with National
The table below shows summary points and miles earning rates for National – for select large airline loyalty programs:
|
Airline Loyalty Program |
Standard points/miles earning rate |
Additional earnings for elite members |
|---|---|---|
|
American Airlines AAdvantage |
1 mile per $1 spent |
No |
|
United MileagePlus |
No |
No |
|
Delta SkyMiles |
2 miles per $1 spent |
No |
|
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards |
600 Rapid Rewards Points per rental |
No |
|
JetBlue True Blue |
No |
No |
|
Spirit Airlines FREE SPIRIT |
No |
No |
|
British Airways Executive Club |
No |
No |
Maximizing points or miles earning
There are several things to keep in mind that can help boost points or miles earning:
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- Check the different earning rates. If you earn with several airline loyalty programs you may want to choose the most rewarding.
- Book directly with the car rental company. You will often not earn points or miles if booking through a third party.
- Check for promotions or codes. Bonus offers to earn additional points or miles are often available. These could be promoted by car rental companies or airlines.
- Earn through credit cards as well. There are good earning opportunities with credit cards, and some offer bonus earning with car rental (and other travel spending).
- Spit up rentals. There can be some instances where it makes sense to make longer rentals as separate, shorter bookings. This could apply if maximum earnings are capped or if promotions offer bonuses per rental.