I m currently an Avis CHM and Hertz Platinum. Avis CHM is definitely above and beyond anything else

I thought I d take a moment to compare top rental car elite statuses from the three big players in the field; Avis, National, arthur frommers budget travel magazine and Hertz.  I was formerly a Hertz Platinum member and am currently an Avis Chairman s Club member, and I continue to hold National Executive arthur frommers budget travel magazine Elite status.  Sadly, I m not a National Executive VIP holder, but I hear they only have 31 such members in their system.  Allegedly, Executive VIP members can pay for any class car at just $30/day.
Hertz Platinum status s biggest advantage is its 4-hour grace period on vehicle returns.  This is akin to receiving a free rental day.  However, this perk is not limited to Hertz Platinum members.  American Express Platinum card holders also receive this benefit.  Hertz Platinum also offers complimentary car service back to the terminal, but since I m a local renter, this benefit was of limited arthur frommers budget travel magazine value.
Although Hertz Platinum arthur frommers budget travel magazine promises a guaranteed vehicle upgrade, and it should be a guaranteed two car class upgrade similar to President s Circle members, I found this was rarely the case in practice.  On my first rental at DCA as a Hertz Platinum, I booked a full size vehicle and was assigned a . Toyota Camry!  So much for my guaranteed arthur frommers budget travel magazine upgrade.  Upon complaining, I was informed by a staff member that this was an upgrade and that they couldn t let people book vehicles at cheap rates only to get upgraded to expensive premium vehicles.  I tried a few additional rentals with Hertz as a Platinum but was disappointed with their service.  It s possible that other locations are better, but customer service at the particular DCA location left much to be desired.
Avis has fortunately been better to me than Hertz.  As a Chairman s Club member, I can reserve an intermediate level car or higher and receive a complimentary upgrade to the best car available.  The best car is up to the station manager s discretion, but usually goes up to luxury class only (Lincoln MKS/MKX, Cadillac CTS/SRX, Infiniti G37X/M37X, Hyundai Genesis, etc..) although sometimes I have received Cool Cars (BMW X3s, Chevy Camaro SS, Toyota Prius) as complimentary upgrades on occasion.  Cool Cars are not guaranteed upgrades!  The vehicle is hand-detailed to the station manager s inspection, so that upon pickup, my rental car will be the polished one sitting in the corner arthur frommers budget travel magazine on reserve.
The 25-mile radius complimentary delivery is one of the best features of the Chairman s Club program.  Need a car but can t get to the station to pick it up?  Schedule a complimentary delivery, provided the delivery point is within 25 miles of the delivering station, and a two vehicle Avis caravan will drop off your car. I believe this feature also works for vehicle pickups as well and is not limited arthur frommers budget travel magazine to only deliveries.
Like Hertz, Avis CC also offers arthur frommers budget travel magazine personal return valet service back to the airport terminal. arthur frommers budget travel magazine The Chairman s Club 24/7 telephone support line is excellent; I ve never had to wait for more than 10 seconds to reach a representative.
The Avis vehicles that I ve rented have had lower mileage than Hertz s cars, but still higher than National s.  Avis also periodically offers very lucrative frequent flier benefits for car rentals (e.g. Carlson or AAdvantage or US AIrways points).
Incrementally, National Executive Elite only adds a few benefits over the medium tier Executive level.  These few benefits include earning banked free days with just five rental credits (instead of six rental credits) and vehicle delivery to private arthur frommers budget travel magazine airport locations (not very useful for me).
With National, you can earn free rental days out the wazoo, either with banked free days per five rental credits (which can then be redeemed on ANY vehicle classification) or double dipping with their One-Two-Free promotions.  These free days can then be used on one-way rentals, which ordinarily run ~ $200 each way, leaving you to only pay taxes, a paltry few dollars.  With Avis CC, I cannot earn free days from regular rentals and with Hertz, free days are earned after approximately 15 rentals I think.
I have also consistently had nearly brand new or almost new cars with National.  Just look at our review list over the past year.  2013 Ford Fusion, 2013 Ford Escape, 2013 Ford Mustang, 2013 Lincoln MKS, 2013 Cadillac ATS, 2013 Cadillac XTS, to name a few, all brand new.  I ve driven Infiniti JX35s, Mercedes C250s, Infiniti FX37s some of which Avis and Hertz have yet to acquire.  Many of these aforementioned vehicles are ones that would be classified as a Cool Car by Avis and therefore unavailable for a complimentary upgrade, even to a Chairman s Club member.  Not so for National.
National s greatest selling point is its Executive/Emerald Club Aisle.  As long as you book a midsize rate as an Executive or Executive Elite, whatever car is on that aisle is yours for the taking at the midsize rate.  Absolutely no upsell-charge.  Premium vehicles and SUVs frequently populate the Executive Selection aisle. arthur frommers budget travel magazine Luxury cars are also not uncommon.  It must be working well because both Hertz and Avis have taken note and attempted their own implementations.  Comparatively, Hertz s Gold Choice lot has a more limited selection and they typically try to encourage you to pay-to-upgrade arthur frommers budget travel magazine to a higher classification vehicle.  Avis s new Select and Go might be slightly better than Hertz, but neither is as extensive as National s offerings.
So my overall winner is National Executive Elite .  Out of the three elite statuses, it can be earned in just 25 rentals arthur frommers budget travel magazine or 40 paid rental days.  It s no wonder that Enterprise Holdings (Enterprise, Alamo, National) recently swept the top three spots in J.D. Power Associates recent customer satisfaction survey:
I m currently an Avis CHM and Hertz Platinum. Avis CHM is definitely above and beyond anything else in the industry. Every now and then it will appear on a charity arthur frommers budget travel magazine auction or other one time only offer. Grab it if you can.
Thanks for visiting! arthur frommers budget travel magazine I am also Avis CHM, but I have received better vehicles upgrades as a National EE than as CHM. As I mentioned in the comparison, CHM does come with thoughtful personalized perks, i.e. hand-detailing of car, manager meet greet, 25-mile car delivery, but at the end of the day, the vehicle upgrades are more important to me.