The Ultimate Guide to Thrifty Car Rental [Blue Chip Rewards Loyalty Program]

Thrifty has been around since 1958. Today, it operates over 1,000 locations throughout the world in over 70 countries and territories.

Along with its parent company, Hertz, and sister company, Dollar, Thrifty is part of one of the largest car rental companies in the world, with over 4,000 locations worldwide combined.

We’ll go over how to rent a car with Thrifty and we’ll explore the Blue Chip Rewards loyalty program. Plus, we’ll do some price comparisons to see if you can save money renting with Thrifty.

How to Rent a Car Through Thrifty

Renting a car through Thrifty only requires a few simple steps.

1. Enter your pick-up location as well as pick-up and drop-off dates in the search box on the home page of the Thrifty website. You can also add a different drop-off location, type of car, and any loyalty or discount codes here.

Next, you’ll see a list of search results. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to filter or sort the list. You’ll see 2 prices — one that’s a Pay Now price and one that’s a Pay Later price. The Pay Now price will be cheaper but it usually comes with cancellation fees.

After you select your car, you’ll be able to add extras like insurance, prepaid fuel, car seats, or tolls. Use the Click Here to Display More button to see all of your options.

Next, you’ll fill in your payment information. This is also where you can select a loyalty program to designate what type of points you want to earn — either Blue Chip Rewards, hotel points, or airline miles (scroll down for more information).

Do You Need to Add Extra Insurance?

Whether or not you need to add insurance offered by a car rental company largely depends on what credit cards you have in your wallet.

Many credit cards these days come with CDWs, or Collision Damage Waivers. And some coverage, like the kind that comes with the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® card, is primary rental insurance which means you don’t have to make a claim with your other insurance first.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

60,000 bonus points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,200

Annual Fee

$95

APR

20.99% - 27.99% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.

Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
• 5x points on select Peloton purchases over $150 (through March 31, 2025)
• 5x points on Lyft purchases (through March 31, 2025)

Cons

• $95 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

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Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
• Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.99% - 27.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

For more options, check out the best credit cards for car rental insurance.

Pay Now vs. Pay Later

When you’re looking at your search results, you’ll notice that each car has 2 prices — a Pay Now price and a Pay Later price.

The Pay Now price will always be cheaper. However, it comes with a stricter cancellation policy. If you need to cancel a Pay Now rental, you’ll most likely have to pay a fee.

Thrifty Wild Card

When you’re searching for a rental through Thrifty and are looking for the cheapest option available, look for Wild Card rates.

These types of rates are opaque bookings that means that you won’t know the specific type of car until after your booking is complete. So while you won’t be able to select the exact car type you want, these types of bookings can often save money.

Thrifty Wild Card rates equal the rate you’d pay for a compact car. You’ll either receive a compact car or a free upgrade, but you won’t know until you pick up your car at the lot.

Blue Chip Rewards

Blue Chip Rewards is Thrifty’s loyalty program. This program is free and as a member, you’ll enjoy benefits and perks when renting from Thrifty.

• Skip the counter and go directly to the lot at pick-up
• Add your spouse or domestic partner as an additional driver for free
• Earn free rental days
• Priority counter service
• Drop your keys and go with E-Return

The Blue Chip Rewards program is a little different than other car rental loyalty programs because there aren’t any elite tiers of membership.

Each member earns 10% off the base rate on all rentals, regardless of the rental price.

Bottom Line: Blue Chip Rewards is Thrifty’s loyalty program. This program is free to join and allows you to earn 10% off all bookings. 

Thrifty Partners

Thrifty has select airline, hotel, and specialty partners. Most of these offer a specific number of bonus points for a car rental, plus you’ll sometimes find bonus deals to earn even more.

Thrifty Airline Partners

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: 50 miles per rental day (up to 30 days)
• American Airlines AAdvantage: 50 miles per rental day (up to 28 days)
• Avianca LifeMiles: 50 miles per rental day
• Delta SkyMiles: 500 miles per rental day
• Emirates Skywards:
  • 500 miles per rental day outside the UAE
  • 500 miles for 1-2 day rentals in the UAE
  • 750 miles for 3-4 day rentals in the UAE
  • 1,000 miles for 5+ day rentals in the UAE
• Frontier Airlines Frontier Miles:
  • 50 miles per day for 1-5 day rentals
  • 500 miles per rental for 5+ day rentals
• Gulf Air Falcon Flyer: 200 miles per rental
• Kuwait Airways: 500 miles per rental
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards: 600 points per rental
• Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Miles:
  • 50 miles per day for 1-4 day rentals
  • 500 miles per rental for 5+ day rentals
• United Airlines MileagePlus:
  • 50 miles per day for 1-4 day rentals
  • 500 miles per rental for 5+ day rentals

Bonus miles are awarded on qualifying rentals at participating locations.

When you choose to earn miles with select airlines, you’ll be charged a daily fee by Thrifty.

• $0.75 per day: Frontier, Spirit, United
• $0.95 per day: Alaska Airlines
• $1.50 per day ($8 maximum): Southwest

Thrifty Hotel Partners

Thrifty has 1 hotel partner — IHG. You’ll earn 125 IGH Rewards Club Points for each qualifying rental day.

AAA Partnership

Thrifty is a partner with AAA. As an AAA member, you’re eligible for discounts and perks when you use your AAA Club Discount Code in the CDP# field when scheduling your rental.

You’ll also need to show your AAA membership card at the rental counter.

Thrifty Benefits for AAA Members:

• 8% discount off the base rate of Pay Later base rates at select locations in the U.S. and Canada
• No charge for an additional driver who is also an AAA member
• Free use of a child safety seat with advance reservations, subject to availability
• 10% discount on GPS rental

Specialty Partners

Thrifty has some other partners, but the benefits are not specified.

• Orlando Makes Me Smile
• Park N’ Fly Network
• PlatePass
• Veterans Advantage

Bottom Line: Thrifty has multiple airline, hotel, and specialty partners. You can choose to earn hotel points or airline miles in lieu of Blue Chip Rewards when you rent a car with Thrifty.

Thrifty Connect+

Thrifty Connect+ is a mobile device that you can rent along with your car at select U.S. locations. This device is available in 11 languages and comes with travel benefits including:

Price Comparisons

Let’s see how Thrifty prices compare to other popular car rental agencies like Alamo, Budget, Enterprise, National, and Sixt.

For this comparison, we priced out a few different types of cars at popular car rental agencies. Here’s what we found.

Prices are for a full week rental and include all taxes and fees.

In both of these examples, Thrifty was in the middle of the pack. Sixt offered the lowest price by far and National had the highest prices.

Final Thoughts

There are many car rental companies out there and it can be hard to know which one to choose. While Thrifty may not always have the lowest prices, it’s a widely recognized brand with over 1,000 locations throughout the world.

Plus, with the Blue Chip Rewards program, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for free rental days.

Before you rent a car, it’s always a good idea to check prices on a few different websites to make sure you’re getting the best deal.