Car Rental & Transit Rewards Programs
Get the details on transportation programs which includes rental cars, rideshares, taxis, limos, and other forms of transit.
Earning rewards towards transportation can be a big money saver. This includes car rentals, rideshares, rail transportation and even fuel rewards for your own automobile. This page covers some of the most popular modes of transportation and the rewards programs you can use to make sure that you're saving money or earning rewards when moving from one spot to another.
Best Credit Cards with Car Rental Insurance
When it comes to looking for the best credit card for car rentals, I recommend looking for credit cards that offers Primary Rental Insurance over looking for one that earns rewards. Primary Car Rental Insurance allows you to decline the costly per-day rate that car rental agencies charge. The savings you can gain from this is significantly higher than any rewards you would typically earn.
Chase credit cards are going to generally be the best option for car rentals since most of their cards offer primary rental insurance. All AMEX credit cards offers secondary insurance by default, but you can pay $12 to $25 (depending on your state) per rental to upgrade it to primary car rental insurance. While it's not free like Chase, it's still a per-rental rate versus a per-day rate meaning you'll still save tons. Plus, AMEX's insurance offers a longer 42-day rental period, higher coverage, and covers special vehicle types such as luxury vehicles, pickup trucks, and more.
Premium/luxury travel card that offers a long list of benefits including a $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass membership, a 50% boost to point value for Chase Travel redemptions, and more. Card earns 3X points on travel and dining purchases.
Great entry-level rewards card. Earns 2X points on travel and dining. Points can be transferred to Chase's hotel or airline partners. Card offers a 25% boost to point value for Chase Travel redemptions.
Earns 5% cash back on office supply store, internet, cable, and phone purchases, 2% back on gas and restaurant purchases, and 1% back on everything else. No annual fee.
Card earns 4X points on U.S. supermarket purchases (up to $25,000 per year) and restaurant purchases worldwide. Benefits include $120 in annual Uber Cash and $120 in annual dining credits, both split into $10 per month.
Earns 3X points on travel, transit, and restaurant purchases. Card offers a $100 annual CLEAR credit and a $100 annual LoungeBuddy credit.
Offers access to over 1,200 lounges worldwide, grants complimentary elite status, and offers many more benefits for you and additional cardholders. Earns 5X points on airfare and pre-paid hotels booked through the AMEX travel portal. Offers a 35% point rebate on airfare which bumps up the value of points.
Car Rental Programs
The Alamo Insiders Rewards program offers discounts and allows you to earn airline miles or hotel rewards points with select programs on your car rental bookings.
Avis has it's own rewards point program called Avis Preferred. Points can be used towards free rentals or accessories with Avis. You can also choose to earn airline miles or hotel rewards points with roughly 90 partners instead of earning Avis Preferred Points.
The Budget Rental Car Rewards Program allows you to earn airline miles and hotel rewards points with your favorite programs when renting cars with Budget. You can also earn Amazon.com gift cards on your rentals thanks to the partnership between Budget and Amazon.
Dollar Rewards Points can be earned renting cars with Dollar and can be redeemed for free rental days or weeks. You can also earn airline miles or hotel rewards points with a handful of programs instead of earning points with Dollar.
Enterprise Points are earned booking rentals with Enterprise and can be redeemed for free rentals with Enterprise. You can also earn Enterprise Points booking with National Car Rental which gives you additional options when booking your rentals.
Hertz Rewards Points can be earned renting cars with Hertz and can be redeemed for free rentals.
Uber
Uber has one co-branded credit card that earns Uber Cash called the Uber Visa Card. It earns a great return on Uber spend and features several bonus categories. The Uber Visa Card has no annual fee, no authorized user fee, and no foreign transaction fee which makes it the best option if you're looking to earn Uber Cash.
If you're looking for additional Uber Cash and benefits or you don't want a whole credit card dedicated to strickly earning Uber Cash, AMEX offers two credit cards that come with monthly Uber Cash credits that also earn Membership Rewards Points which is a great program if you're looking for rewards tied to travel.
Earns 5% cash back on Uber, Uber Eats, and JUMP purchases, 3% back on restaurant, bars, hotels booked direct, and airfare booked direct, and 1% back on everything else. It has no annual fee, no authorized user fee, and no foreign transaction fee.
Card earns 4 points per $1 spent on U.S. supermarket purchases (on up to $25,000 per year) and restaurant purchases. Benefits include $120 in annual Uber Cash and $120 in annual dining credits, both split into $10 per month.
Card earns 5 points per $1 spent on airfare booked directly with airline or booked through amextravel.com and 5 points per $1 on prepaid hotel bookings through amextravel.com. Premium/Luxury card that offers a long list of elite travel benefits which includes $200 Uber Credits split into $15 per month with a bonus $20 in Decemember. Card also grants Uber VIP status.
Lyft
Lyft does not have it's own co-branded credit cards, but they are partnered with Chase Bank until 2022. You can earn 5x-10x Ultimate Rewards Points (equal to an average of 6.25%-15% back) with Chase's Ultimate Rewards credit cards or 5% cash back with Chase's cash back credit cards. While this partnership is active, these are considered to be the best credit cards hands down for those who frequently spend money with Lyft.
Earn cash back with Chase's cash back credit cards. They all earn 5% back on Lyft purchases and have no annual fee.
Earn 5X to 10X points with Chase's Ultimate Rewards credit cards. These will be your best option if you're looking to earn rewards towards travel.
Earns 10X on Lyft purchases during this partnership. That's equal to a minimum of a 10% return but can be worth as high as 15% to 20% depending on how you redeem your rewards.
Other Transit & Gas Programs
*These programs only feature a credit card rewards calculator.
Useful Resources & Links
Remove the guess work and find out which cards have a chance to offer you the best return based on your monthly or yearly spend across up to 20 different categories.
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