Budget Rent-a-Car UAE launches its own branded ‘Gateway' loyalty card

Card holders to benefit from value-added rewards 

Budget Car & Van Rental, UAE, a franchise of Budget Rent A Car International, has launched its own branded ‘Gateway Car Rental Rewards’ card as it revs up to grab a larger share of the car rental business through further expansion of branches and introduction of high-end vehicles based on customer preferences.

The Budget UAE Gateway Loyalty Card program will award points (1 point for every dirham spent), and the earned points can be redeemed against rental charges within the UAE, including vehicle upgrades, GPS rental, baby seat rental, collision damage waiver (CDW) and personal accident insurance (PAI). All customers of Budget UAE are eligible to get the Gateway loyalty card.

“Budget Rent a Car UAE has moved into top gear since the opening of our extensive and modern facility in Dubai Investments Park. We felt the need to offer value-added rewards to our regular customers. Therefore, after several months of meticulous planning, we decided to introduce the Gateway loyalty card program which offers attractive rewards to our regular customers through a generous points system,” said Salim Damji, Senior General Manager of Budget UAE.

Speaking about growth plans, Damji said: “The UAE has been a vibrant destination in the global car rental industry. Winning the Expo 2020 bid has made Dubai an even more dynamic location. Budget UAE is excited about the prospects offered by Dubai’s push toward doubling the annual tourist numbers to 20 million by 2020.  We have therefore developed a major expansion plan to boost our presence across the UAE.”

Budget Rent a car, a member company of the UAE-based Liberty Group, recently opened a new location on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, and more branches are scheduled to be opened during the year in Dubai, Al Ain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.

To get the Gateway loyalty card, customers can collect a Gateway application from any Budget Rent a Car location in the UAE, fill it out and hand over to a staff member. A temporary Gateway card will be issued immediately and they can start enjoying the benefits of the Gateway Loyalty program straight away. Customers can also join the Gateway rewards program by visiting the website: www.budget-uae.com/gateway. Once the application is submitted and the required documents uploaded, the new Gateway card will be sent to customers by courier. Gateway members must have a minimum of 5,000 points (AED 50 in redemption value) to start enjoying benefits.

In response to changing customer preferences, Budget UAE has added new vehicles to its fleet, including the new Chevrolet Trax. In addition, the company has introduced the high-end Chevrolet Corvette and the Chevrolet Impala in its fleet from this year.

“As the demand is shifting toward high-end cars, we are adding more Opel and Cadillac vehicles into our fleet. We expect this move will help us tap into a new customer segment and thus give further boost to our vehicle rental business,” said Damji.

Budget UAE, which has 22 outlets across the country, was voted ‘UAE’s Leading Car Rental Company’ at the World Travel Awards in Dubai recently. It is an ISO 9001 company, among the few in the industry to hold such certification, which covers service standards as well as Budget’s own vehicle maintenance facility, to ensure swift and efficient maintenance of the large fleet.