Dear ABC News Fixer: Enterprise's Elusive Free Rental

Sept. 17, 2013 — -- Dear ABC News Fixer: Enterprise Rent-A-Car has a membership program called Enterprise Plus, through which you can earn points and get free car for a day.

I got an email from them saying I had 430 points, which was almost enough for one day's free rental (starting at 450 points).

I rented a car again, which brought my new total to over 450, but when I tried to get the free rental, they said I needed 550 points. So I rented again. After that, I got an e mail from Enterprise saying I had about 580 points. So I tried again to get the free rental. But now I needed 600 points. Later, I looked again and the website said I needed 650 points (by then I had 636).

Every time I get more points, they keep upping the requirement. I called the program office and they said they had no control over the point system -- that rates change depending on where one rents a car. Now it seems I need 750 points to get the smallest car, when all I needed at first was 550 points to get a bigger car. I think Enterprise is doing me wrong. What say you?

- Miguel Espinoza, Los Angeles, Calif.

Dear Miguel: Your letter got the ABC News Fixer wondering if someone at Enterprise Rent-A-Car had it in for you. The good news is this was apparently all a coincidence: they are not intentionally making it impossible for you to get that free day's rental.

In fact, as we were working on this problem, you checked again and this time you were able to get the free car rental.We asked Enterprise Holdings spokeswoman Laura Bryant what gives, and here's what she said:

Points in the program may be redeemed for up to seven free rental days. The amount of points required for each free rental varies, depending on the pickup location, class of car and time period.

To find the best deal, you may have to enter a few different rental dates, times, locations and car types and compare the number of points required.

- The ABC News Fixer

Got a consumer problem? The ABC News Fixer may be able to help. Click here to submit your problem online. Letters are edited for length and clarity.