How to get a one-way Hertz UK car rental for just £1
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We have covered Europcar’s £1 car rentals a few times on Head for Points, and they have proved very popular with readers.
Hertz One also offers one-way UK car rentals for a flat fee from £1, including basic insurance.
The offer comes and goes but, at the monent it is back and active.
This is an interesting way for Hertz to save money when re-allocating vehicles across sites. The idea is that you rent a car for £1 and take it back to its original depot, presumably after someone else paid a hefty one-way rental surcharge in the other direction.
The Hertz One rental page is here.
Your best chance of finding a deal is if you want to travel TO one of London’s airports. If I look at Plymouth to Heathrow, for example, there is a £1 car available for booking between 24th February and 1st March.
Included in the price are
- Collision Damage Waiver (excess applies)
- Theft Protection (excess applies)
- Location service charge
- Vehicle Licence Fee
- Tax
Not included are:
- Super Cover
- Personal insurance
- Premium Emergency
- Roadside Service
- Fuel
- Additional Driver Fee
You need to complete the journey within 24-48 hours of when you collect the car, depending on route. If it is a two day trip, your fee doubles to £2!
It also looks like Hertz One is currently only available:
from Newcastle, Plymouth, Exeter, Aberdeen, Inverness and Cadiff ….
…. travelling to a selection from London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted), Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester
You will not earn Gold Plus Rewards points on Hertz One bookings and I am guessing that the chance of getting the standard 1,000 Virgin Flying Club miles for a Hertz booking is roughly nil.
That said, there might be occasions when this could work out nicely.
You can find out more on the Hertz UK site here. If none of the Hertz pick up points work for you, check out the Europcar £1 options here.
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How to get FREE car rental status and other benefits via UK credit cards (April 2025)
If you hire a car in the UK, you can get special benefits (discounts, upgrades, free additional drivers etc) if you have elite status with a car rental programme. You can get elite status for free via certain American Express cards.
The Platinum Card and American Express Business Platinum
The Platinum Card from American Express and American Express Business Platinum come with two free car hire status cards. Your supplementary Platinum cardholder can also receive status in their own right.
From Avis, you receive President’s Club status in Avis Preferred. This gets you up to 25% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a guaranteed one class upgrade. For weekend rentals you will receive a two class upgrade, subject to availability.
From Hertz, you receive ‘Five Star’ status in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. This gets you up to 15% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a one class upgrade, subject to availability.
Hertz also offers Platinum cardholders a 4 hour grace period on rentals. Your final day is treated as 28 hours, so a 1pm pick up with a 5pm return the following day is only charged as one day, not two days. We wrote about the Hertz / Platinum 4 hour grace period here.
The Platinum Card also comes with full car hire insurance with no obligation to pay for the rental via American Express. You can refuse any attempts to sell you additional insurance at pick up. This benefit has substantial value if you rent on a regular basis.
You can find more details on the two Platinum cards, and apply, in our full reviews linked below. You can apply here for the personal card and here for the business card.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is an excellent card in its own right. You receive 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up (convert to 20,000 Avios amongst other things), four airport lounge passes and £120 of Deliveroo credit. Even better, your first year is free.
There are two car rental benefits:
- you receive Preferred Plus status in Avis Preferred
- you receive a special package with Hertz – 10% off best available rates at participating locations, a one class upgrade for rentals of 5 days or more, subject to availability, and no additional driver fees
Find out more about the benefits of American Express Preferred Rewards Gold in our review. You can apply here.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
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