Renting a car has long been one of the few travel categories where Aeroplan members couldn’t earn points directly. That gap is now closed. Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty rentals booked through aircanada.com earn Aeroplan points and Status Qualifying Credits (SQCs) worldwide, plus a complimentary Hertz Gold+ Rewards status grant for Elite members and select credit cardholders.
Aeroplan Adds Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty as Earning Partners
Until now, Aeroplan-cobranded credit cards were the main way to earn points on a paid rental. Members can now earn directly on the booking itself, regardless of which card they pay with.
The booking experience is integrated into aircanada.com, so flights, hotels, and cars all land in the same itinerary. The rental also shows up in your Hertz Gold+ profile, provided your loyalty number is attached.
Earning Aeroplan Points on Car Rentals
Hertz rentals follow a tiered earning structure that scales with Aeroplan Elite status, while Dollar and Thrifty stay flat for everyone.
For everyday Aeroplan members, the base rate is 2 points per dollar on any of the three brands. The bigger number sits at the top of the Elite ladder, where Super Elite members earn 5 points per dollar on Hertz, with 75K members at 4 points and 25K through 50K members at 3 points.
Aeroplan also stacks an extra 2 points per dollar for booking online through aircanada.com, on top of the tier rate. So a 25K Elite booking online actually earns 5 points per dollar in total, a 75K member earns 6, and a Super Elite earns 7. Base members booking online land at 4 points per dollar.
Earning Lands on the Base Rate, Not the All-In Total
Aeroplan’s terms suggest that fees and surcharges count toward earning, but a real test booking shows the practical answer is simpler. Points land on the base time-and-mileage rate, not the all-in total.
The price details break the booking down clearly. The $379.05 (CAD) total includes $43.61 in taxes and $51.97 in other fees, leaving a base rate of $283.47 (CAD). For a 25K Elite booking online (3 points per dollar at the tier rate plus the 2 points per dollar online bonus), that works out to 1,417 points at 5 points per dollar, which is exactly what the booking page reports.
Worth flagging if you’re sizing up the value of a rental. A booking that looks like a $400 (CAD) trip on the search page might earn closer to 1,400 points after stripping out tax and fees, not 2,000. The points are still real, just smaller than the sticker total suggests.
Status Qualifying Credits on Every Rental
This is the piece that makes the partnership especially relevant under the new revenue-based Aeroplan Elite Status program. For every 5 Aeroplan points earned on a Hertz, Dollar, or Thrifty rental, members earn 1 Status Qualifying Credit (SQC).
That keeps the SQC earn rate roughly on par with what an everyday Aeroplan credit card delivers on regular spend. A Super Elite member booking online and putting $1,000 (CAD) in base spend on a Hertz rental walks away with 7,000 points and 1,400 SQCs from a single booking, which is real progress toward maintaining or upgrading status.
Non-status members get something out of this too. Casual rentals didn’t count for anything beyond points before, and under the new structure, the same booking now nudges you toward your first Elite tier as a side effect.
Complimentary Hertz Gold+ Status for Aeroplan Elites and Co-Branded Cardholders
The other half of the partnership is a status grant into Hertz’s Gold+ Rewards program. Two tiers are on offer, and eligibility flows from either Aeroplan Elite status or holding an eligible Aeroplan-branded credit card.
Hertz Gold+ President’s Circle
President’s Circle, the top tier in Hertz Gold+, is available to Aeroplan 75K and Super Elite members, as well as cardholders of any premium Aeroplan credit card:
Hertz Gold+ Five Star
Five Star, the mid-tier in Hertz Gold+, is available to Aeroplan 25K, 35K, and 50K Elite members, as well as cardholders of any core Aeroplan credit card:
Status is granted on request through the Aeroplan dashboard. It can take up to seven business days to appear on your Hertz Gold+ profile, and once granted, it’s valid for 12 months. After that, you have to re-request it, provided you remain eligible. Status matching across rental brands is its own rabbit hole, but this partnership at least makes one of those status grants automatic.
The Trade-Off When Booking Through Air Canada
Booking through aircanada.com routes the reservation onto Hertz’s side using an Aeroplan-specific corporate code (CDP). Hertz tags the rate as a 10% rate adjustment from their published rate, which is how Hertz labels CDP codes generally. As with any CDP framing, that’s a comparison against Hertz’s own retail rate, not a guarantee that the booking comes in cheaper than another rental brand on the same dates.
The same booking shows up on Hertz’s side, tagged with an Aeroplan CDP code and a 10% rate adjustment line.
That CDP code is the catch. Hertz rentals carry only one CDP at a time, so booking on aircanada.com locks out the other corporate codes you might otherwise apply to the rental. If you hold the American Express Platinum Card with its dedicated Hertz partnership, that means giving up the Platinum CDP and the perks tied to it like the 4-hour grace period on returns.
The right call leans either way depending on your situation. The Aeroplan CDP path delivers the points earning and SQCs, while the Amex Platinum CDP path keeps Platinum-tier pricing plus the grace period and a different Hertz Gold+ tier match. Both codes are tagged as discounts on Hertz’s side, so the real comparison is whichever produces the lower total at checkout. Run the numbers on a sample booking before locking in.
What I’d Do with This
For me, the easy first step is the status grant. Pop into the Aeroplan dashboard, request the Hertz Gold+ tier you’re entitled to, and the perks like skip-the-line pickup and vehicle upgrades show up at no extra cost.
The booking decision is more situational. If I’m a Super Elite or hold a premium Aeroplan card, the aircanada.com flow stacks the tier earning rate and the 2 points per dollar online booking bonus, plus 1 SQC for every 5 points earned. For a Super Elite that lands at an effective 7 points per dollar on Hertz, which adds up quickly on any rental over a few hundred dollars. If I’m an Amex Platinum holder who relies on the 4-hour grace period or has been getting consistently good Platinum CDP rates, I’d compare the two before defaulting to the Aeroplan path.
Hertz also isn’t always the cheapest brand at the airport. When their rate sits well above the competition on the same dates, no amount of CDP tagging or 7 points per dollar earning can close the gap. The reward stack is for breaking ties, not for paying more.
Conclusion
If you’re an Aeroplan Elite or hold any Aeroplan credit card, the Hertz Gold+ status grant is the no-brainer. It’s free, takes minutes, and the perks slot in even if you only rent a few times a year.
The booking choice is where the trade-offs show up. Going through aircanada.com unlocks the points earning, SQCs, and the Aeroplan CDP code, but it locks out other CDP codes that might otherwise serve you better, including the Amex Platinum Card’s Hertz partnership. Run the comparison rather than defaulting either way.
And if you’re a casual renter without status or an Aeroplan card, treat Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty as default options to compare against, not automatic picks. The 2-points-per-dollar baseline is a fine return when the cash rate is competitive, but it’s not strong enough on its own to override a clearly cheaper rental from another brand.
This story originally appeared on princeoftravel
