Enterprise Plus

Enterprise Plus keeps its math simple: one point for every qualifying rental dollar at participating Enterprise locations worldwide. Fuel, taxes, surcharges and rentals that do not qualify earn nothing. Points go toward free rental days, starting at 400 points, on any available car with no blackout dates. The points needed rise with the details of the rental, and a free day covers the base rate only, so the renter still pays taxes, fees and extras.

Points last as long as the member stays active. They expire 36 months after the last qualifying rental or points activity, three times the 12-month inactivity limit that Avis and Hertz apply. Members can also move points between accounts, limited to one transfer out and one transfer in each calendar year.

Status grows with the number of rentals. Every member starts at Plus. Six rentals in a calendar year earns Silver, which adds 10% bonus points and one free upgrade a year. Gold takes 12 rentals or 40 rental days and adds 15% bonus points and two upgrades. Platinum takes 24 rentals or 85 days and adds 20% bonus points and four upgrades. The rental-day path counts long rentals, so a member who keeps one car for weeks still moves up. Members also get their own check-in line at participating branches and a dedicated phone number.

Status lasts longer than a calendar year. A tier earned in one year holds through February of the next year, plus 12 more months. Enterprise's own example is a member who reaches Gold on October 1 and keeps it for 17 months. Tiers update during the year as rentals post, so a member does not wait until January to move up.

Enterprise Plus shares a parent, Enterprise Holdings, with National Car Rental. A National rental in the US or Canada counts toward Enterprise Plus. To link them, the member picks Enterprise Plus as the reward choice in the Emerald Club profile.

Each of the program's rules is easy to plan around. Points track dollars, tiers track rentals or days, and points keep for three years of quiet. A member who rents twice a year for a week at a time and a member who rents every month both have a path to something. The upgrade counts are small and fixed, one to four a year, which keeps the cost of status easy to forecast.