Capital One Venture X losing Hertz President’s Circle status

When we talk about the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, we tend to focus on its reasonable $395 annual fee (see rates and fees) that still unlocks valuable perks — including a $300 annual travel credit through Capital One Travel, extensive airport lounge access and the option to add up to four authorized users without any additional fees (see rates and fees).

On top of these major perks, cardholders currently receive rental car benefits through complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status.* However, this perk will soon end.

The Venture X’s fine print indicates that the Hertz President’s Circle status is now only available through Dec. 31, 2024. A Capital One representative has confirmed that this is the end date for the benefit, as first reported by Thrifty Traveler.

President’s Circle status conferred some solid perks for Hertz renters, including bonus Gold Rewards points on rentals, upgrades (subject to availability) and a wider selection of vehicles to select from the Ultimate Choice lot. Our tests even found that you’d still enjoy these benefits when booking through Capital One Travel to earn 10 miles per dollar spent.

Unfortunately, this will no longer be available in 2025.

This benefit cut is consistent with a pattern we’ve seen from Capital One recently. The issuer removed Priority Pass restaurant access in late 2022 and announced last month that holders of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Spark Miles for Business will lose their two annual airport lounge passes beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

While seeing a card lose a benefit without a replacement is always disappointing, this removal will not likely be a deal breaker for most cardholders. The lounge access, annual $300 travel credit, and a solid earning rate of two Capital One miles per dollar spent provide enough value for most cardholders to easily justify the $395 annual fee. The issuer even opened two new lounges in 2023 — at Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Denver International Airport (DEN).

However, if car rental status is an important perk to you, consider switching to The Platinum Card® from American Express when this Venture X benefit goes away. With the Amex Platinum, you’ll get rental car benefits from complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status plus status with Avis and National. Many other cards offer rental car status, and some of them also include primary car rental coverage.

Alternatively, you can snag automatic Hertz elite status as a Delta Medallion member. In fact, both Platinum and Diamond Medallions are eligible for complimentary President’s Circle status.

* Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through Dec. 31, 2024. Please note that enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g., at hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program, and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.