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If you have Hertz points, or think you do: It’s time to login to your Hertz Gold Plus Rewards account to see if you’re affected by Hertz’ no-notice expiration policy change.
Of the bad things that can happen with loyalty programs, changing terms with no notice is among the most disappointing. Program members come to depend on their points being available to redeem, and it undermines customer trust when expectations are broken.
Of course, loyalty programs have the right to change the terms whenever they wish—even with no notice. It’s right there in black and white. While that’s true, no-notice devaluations or program changes are considered a breach of trust. That’s why most programs give members a long lead-in to changes: to preserve goodwill.
This week, one of our own Forbes Advisor team members found Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points mysteriously missing. Instead of an expiration period of 18 months with no activity, the official policy is now that points expire after 12 months of no activity.
Hertz gave no notice to its program members—and the new policy is already in effect. As of publishing, Hertz still has the 18-month expiration policy on at least one page of their official website.
Official Hertz Expiration Policy Is Now 12 Months
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points used to expire with 24 months of no activity—with activity defined as earning or redeeming a Gold Plus Rewards points for a completed rental. Then 18 months became the standard.
As of earlier this month, the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards website stated that points expired after 18 months without activity. In the interim, the Hertz FAQ page was updated to say that points now expire after 12 months with no activity.
But it wasn’t updated sitewide. There’s at least one page with the 18-month policy intact, which is confusing for program members.
The rules change depending on which page you’re looking at.
A Hertz Employee Adds to the Confusion
When our managing editor went to redeem points for a rental, there were no points in her account. After reaching out to Hertz via X (formerly known as Twitter), a Hertz employee said the new 12-month expiration policy went into effect on September 30, 2023, even for points earned under the previous 18-month policy.
But according to a screenshot of the Hertz website on October 1, 2023, the 18-month language was still there. Our editor pointed out that the website still says 18 months is the expiration period on certain pages.
The Hertz employee encouraged her to stay up-to-date on the program’s terms and conditions, which change without notice and are enforced immediately, adding that Hertz values transparency. Then the employee went on to explain that because of those terms and conditions, Hertz has the “flexibility to make changes without prior notice.”
No-Notice Loyalty Program Changes Aren’t Member-Friendly
There’s no question that Hertz was within its rights to change its program terms, even without notice. But just because a company has the right to do something doesn’t mean it should.
Loyalty program members give their business to companies in exchange for rewards or whatever else the program offers. After repeated business, they begin to plan for their car rental discount, award night or free flight. After you spend months or even years accruing points, it’s frustrating to learn that your points have expired without your knowledge and there’s nothing you can do about it due to a program change that was made without notice and never communicated.
With proper notice, members can strategize about how to spend their rewards or keep them active in accordance with updated terms. In this case, Hertz didn’t provide that opportunity. No-notice changes eat away at the concept of loyalty.
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Bottom Line
According to Hertz, a new 12-month expiration policy went into place on September 30, 2023. Loyalty members were not notified, however. And while much of the Hertz website seems to have been quietly updated sometime in October 2023, inconsistencies still exist.
These types of sneaky devaluations damage customer loyalty. Plenty of advance notice when terms change is the best demonstration of good faith so members can make a plan to use their rewards or find a new loyalty program that works better for them—or both.
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