Hertz discount codes and coupon codes in November 2026

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards is free to join. Join before you book so the rental is linked to your membership number, then earn points on qualifying rental charges and redeem them for free rental days or vehicle upgrades.

• Each rental earns either Gold+ points or frequent flyer points, never both.

• Your whole balance is forfeited after 12 months without a completed rental, and each point also expires five years after it's earned.

• Only one reward can be used per rental.

Because airline miles and Gold+ points can't stack on one booking, decide before each rental which balance you're building. If you only rent a few times a year, keeping everything in one balance usually reaches a free day faster. A single short hire inside each 12 month window keeps the points you've been saving alive.

Log in to your Gold Plus Rewards account and start an online booking. Select "Add a Discount Code", tick "Use my Hertz Gold Rewards points" and choose your car. Then pick your reward with "Select to Redeem Free Day" under Payment Information on the Review & Book page. Rewards start from 950 points, and the Gold Plus Rewards team can also redeem by phone during business hours.

The reward covers the base rate only, so taxes, fees and extras are still charged, and a free day on a peak date may need extra points under the program's peak date calendar. Points go furthest when the cash base rate is high but your dates sit outside the peak calendar. In peak periods, paying with a Hertz discount code and saving your balance is often the better deal.

Some American Express cards issued in Australia, such as the Gold Card, add Hertz benefits once you enrol in Gold Plus Rewards. Amex lists 10% off standard rates at participating locations, a one car class upgrade on standard cars for rentals of 5 consecutive days or more (subject to availability) and a waived additional driver fee.

Register the eligible Amex as the payment card in your Gold+ profile and add your membership number before booking. The benefits apply to new reservations only, and the additional driver must be requested at the counter. The 10% applies to publicly available retail rates and excludes Special Offers, so compare a special offer's price with your card discount before assuming the card wins.

Hertz partners with Virgin Australia's Velocity Frequent Flyer program. Select Velocity as your frequent traveller program when you book and add your membership number. Points are earned on the time and kilometre (base daily rate) spend only, so fees, extras and fuel earn nothing.

That makes Velocity better value on longer, pricier hires. If you already hold a healthy Velocity balance and rarely rent, crediting each hire to Velocity instead of Gold+ is often more useful, since a small Gold+ balance can take years to reach a free day.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer members earn a flat 500 miles per qualifying leisure rental outside Asia, which covers Australian hires. Commercial and government contract rentals earn 250 miles, and Tour, Prepaid, Staff and Travel Industry rates earn nothing.

A flat reward favours short, cheap rentals. On a one day hire, 500 miles is a strong return, while on a three week road trip a per dollar program usually earns more.

Motoring club members, for example with RACV or RACQ, get up to 15% off the base rate on Hertz rentals in Australia and New Zealand, and up to 20% overseas. Enter your member number when booking and carry your card, as RACQ asks to see it at pickup. Drivers aged 21 to 24 may still qualify, with an age charge added.

• The discount applies to the base daily rate only, not to airport fees, location surcharges or administration fees.

• Pay Now rates and contract, tour, government and insurance replacement rentals don't qualify.

• The club rate can't be combined with a Hertz coupon code or any other promotion.

On an example $400 base rate the club rate saves $60, so if a code would take more than that off the same booking, use the code and leave the club number out.

Many businesses hold a Hertz Corporate Discount Program (CDP) number that gives access to a negotiated rate or extra benefits. Some agreements only cover work travel, so ask your employer before using it on a personal trip. The rental terms also allow details of a rental booked with a company CDP number to be shared with that company.

Based on our research, employer rates often beat public promotions, so a CDP number is the Hertz code worth trying first for work travel. On a personal trip, weigh it against your motoring club rate.

Pay Now rates are discounted for prepaying at selected Australian locations, including major airports such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. In return you give up flexibility. Hertz's terms allow a cancellation fee if you prepay and then cancel before pickup, and a prepaid booking rules out motoring club discounts and KrisFlyer miles.

With Pay Later, you can hold the booking, check the price again closer to your trip and rebook if the rate drops or a better Hertz discount code appears. Pay Now makes most sense when your dates are fixed and you have no club, corporate or points discount to lose.

Under Hertz's Australian terms, an immediate family member who lives permanently with you, or an employer, employee or colleague on a business rental, can drive without being added, as long as they meet the age and licence rules. Anyone else must be added at the counter with their licence, at $6.50 per day capped at 5 days in any 30 day rental. In Tasmania the exemption doesn't apply, so every other driver must be added.

The cap makes sharing the driving cheap on a long trip. On an example 14 day hire with a friend added, the fee is $32.50 rather than $91.

There are three fuel options. You can prepay a full tank with the Fuel Purchase Option, prepay a half tank at selected locations, or return the car full. Neither prepaid option refunds unused fuel, so only prepay if you expect to use most of the tank. If you refuel yourself, do it within 15 km of the return location, because the gauge can read full many kilometres after a fill.

Tolls are charged back to you plus a $38.50 Toll Administration Processing Fee unless you buy Hertz Toll Service, which covers tolls for a service fee. A Hertz promo code won't offset either charge, so if your route uses toll roads, compare the Toll Service price with the processing fee at the counter.

Hertz charges in 24 hour periods from the pickup time on your rental agreement. Returning up to 59 minutes late costs nothing extra, 60 to 119 minutes late costs half a day, and anything longer is a full extra day at the current rate.

A car collected at 9am on Friday and returned at 10.30am on Sunday costs half a day more than one returned at 9am, which can cancel out what a Hertz discount code saved. Set your return time to match your pickup time or slightly earlier.

For trips of a month or longer, Hertz offers multi month rentals through its Australian site. Standard hires also get cheaper per day as they lengthen, because several extras stop charging after a set number of days in each 30 day rental.

• Baby seats cost $22 per day, capped at 4 days.

• A Neverlost GPS unit costs $20.90 per day, capped at 10 days.

• The additional driver fee and the young driver surcharge are capped as well.

On an example 21 day hire, a baby seat costs $88 rather than $462. Compare a multi month quote with a standard one, as the cheaper option depends on your dates and car.

Collision damage waiver is included in Hertz rates, but it only limits what you owe for damage to the Loss Damage Liability amount on your rental agreement. Based on our research, that amount often runs into thousands of dollars. Optional SuperCover or MAX protection lowers it for a daily fee.

If your travel insurance or credit card already includes rental vehicle excess cover, declining the counter product can save more than most codes. Without that cover, a cheap base rate with a large excess is the riskier deal.

Hertz records existing damage on a Vehicle Condition Report and emails you access to its My Journey Portal, which shows recent photos of your car. You can add your own time stamped photos of any damage before leaving, or within 60 minutes if the weather or light is poor.

If damage you didn't cause is billed to you, a $60.50 claims management fee and a $60.50 external damage assessment fee can sit on top of the repair. Two minutes of dated photos is the fastest way to dispute them.

Many Hertz rentals include the distance you need, but depending on the vehicle and pickup location a daily kilometre allowance can apply, with every extra kilometre charged. The allowance shows on your quote before you book and on your rental agreement.

On long regional road trips, a cheap daily rate can turn expensive once extra kilometres are added, and a Hertz promo code that trims the base rate won't help. Compare car groups with a larger allowance first.

Hertz rates don't include electricity for an EV. Returning the car with less charge than you received it with adds a recharging service fee, returning it at 15% or lower adds a low battery fee, and third party charging bills linked to the car can be passed on to you.

Plan a charging stop near the return location on the last leg, just as you would a fuel stop, to keep both fees off your bill.