The oldest of the major worldwide rental brands, Hertz today focuses primarily on the business traveler. Hertz's #1 Club Gold program is designed for maximum efficiency for the customer in a hurry, and to that end, it succeeds.

Hertz's loyalty program actually consists of two separate products: the free Hertz #1 Club and the fee-based membership program Hertz #1 Club Gold. The former allows you to save your information for faster check-out at the rental counter and collect Hertz #1 Awards points, while the latter provides a much more complete express rental experience. It's relatively easy to find ways to join the full Hertz #1 Club Gold product for free, so we'll focus on the full program in this review.

As the leisure brand of the Enterprise/Alamo/National group of rental car agencies, Alamo targets the value-seeking occasional vacationer with low rates and a large variety of affiliation discounts. While you won't get the premium, go-straight-to-your-car experience you do with National, Alamo's cheap wheels usually makes up for the difference. And Alamo's free Insiders program helps to make it as painless as possible.

Automatically Speeding You On Your Way

Alamo is one of the innovators of the rental car industry. At major airport locations, you'll see their trademark self-serve rental kiosks. Even at busy locations, there's rarely a line for the kiosks. To use the kiosk, you need to check-in online prior to picking up the car, which involves filling out your personal information in an online form. Alamo Insiders makes this process much easier; since your information is already stored in their systems, you can go straight to a kiosk, get your rental agreement, and head for your car.

Dollar's express rental and loyalty program is Dollar Express.

Named appropriately for its basic function, Dollar Express serves primarily as an express rental program. You put all your information in your Dollar Express profile. An hour or two before your scheduled arrival, the Dollar location processes your rental agreement. When you show up, all you have to do is sign the already-completed paperwork and go.

At least that's the goal. The experience varies, and it's not uncommon at some locations to find your rental contract not done or even to wait for a car. However, unlike sister company Thrifty's very similar Blue Chip program, there's no official satisfaction guarantee.

Enterprise launched their loyalty program, Enterprise Plus, in 2008 - much later than most other rental agencies. Apparently, they didn't spend much effort copying the other agencies' programs, because it doesn't do much. It's extremely simple: your profile contains your basic details (i.e. driver's license number, address, and phone number). When you make a reservation with your Enterprise Plus number or an Enterprise sales agent pulls up your Enterprise Plus profile, he or she is able to skip the process of typing in those details.

Thrifty's Blue Chip program serves primarily as an express rental program. You put all your information in your Blue Chip profile. An hour or two before your scheduled arrival, the Thrifty location processes your rental agreement. When you show up, all you have to do is sign the already-completed paperwork and go - Thrifty promises to get you on your way in under 60 seconds.

At least that's the goal. The experience varies, and it's not uncommon at some locations to find your rental contract not done or even to wait for a car. Fortunately, Blue Chip comes with a satisfaction guarantee: if you're not completely satisfied - for any reason, including delays when picking up, a dirty car, or rude staff - you'll get a free day, no questions asked. (It's not always advertised well, so you'll have to ask the staff for the "Satisfaction Guarantee" form.)