Some people are threatening to take their business elsewhere to other rental car companies since Hertz implemented changes to its Gold Plus Rewards frequent renter loyalty program — including but not limited to redemption rates for rewards increased by as high as 81.82 percent; a new point usage cancellation policy; and other changes which became effective as of Monday, January 7, 2019 — but to which rental car companies should they consider patronizing?
From What Company are You Really Renting Your Car?
Defecting to Thrifty Car Rental, Dollar Rent A Car or Firefly Car Rental for their rental car needs may prove little more than worthless, as those companies are part of Hertz Global Holdings, Incorporated.
What you may not know is that the rental car industry in the United States is mostly dominated by only three major companies — chiefly from a series of mergers and acquisitions over the years:
- Enterprise Holdings consists of:
- Avis Budget Group consists of:
- Avis Car Rental
- Budget Car Rental
- Budget Truck Rental
- Payless Car Rental
- Apex Car Rentals
- Maggiore Group
- Zipcar
- Hertz Global Holdings consists of:
- The Hertz Corporation
- Thrifty Car Rental
- Dollar Rent A Car
- Firefly Car Rental
Other Rental Car Companies Operating in the United States
Rental car companies which operate in the United States and are independent of the aforementioned three major rental car corporations include:
- Fox Rent A Car — Privately held
- ACE Rent a Car — Privately held
- Advantage Rent a Car — Owned by Catalyst Capital Group Incorporated
- EZ Rent a Car — A division of Advantage Rent a Car
- Silvercar — Owned by Audi
- Economy Rent a Car — Headquartered in Costa Rica
- Sixt — Headquartered in Germany
- U-Save Car & Truck Rental — A subsidiary of Franchise Services of North America, Incorporated
Summary
Smaller rental car companies may be an alternative for your dollars; but keep in mind that even though they may offer discounted rental car rates which potentially can undercut the competition, they:
- Will not have as many locations or as large of a fleet as the major rental car companies
- May have a limited discount program or frequent rental loyalty program — or, perhaps, no program at all
- May have significantly more restrictive policies when renting their vehicles
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
