Examined Sep 25, 2026 Driving credit, not cash No link we may carry A Zipcar member's invitation gives you $25 of driving credit, and it expires 30 days after it arrives.
The footnote on Zipcar's refer-a-friend page narrows it: the credit is valid for daily or hourly rates only and has no cash value. No page we read printed Zipcar's membership or application fees, so we cannot net the $25 against them.
What pays what
| You, joining on Zipcar.com through a member's invitation | $25 in driving credit |
|---|---|
| Credit not used within 30 days of the award | Expires |
| Credit on fees, tolls or past reservations | Not allowed |
| Joining in the app, or on a sponsored or discounted account | No credit |
| Application and verification fees, if you are turned down | Not refunded |
| Any one violation of Zipcar Rules | A fee of up to $500, plus Zipcar's costs |
Driving credits will be awarded once the Referee is approved for membership and has paid any applicable membership or annual fees.
The credit is in the currency of the inviting member's home driving city and will not apply in a city that uses a different currency. It cannot be combined with any other coupons or promotions.
Do this, in this order
- Check that you can join at all. Zipcar's Membership Contract, effective July 31, 2026, requires members to be at least 21, or 18 in New York, Michigan or Maryland. The invitation must be used within 30 days, on Zipcar.com rather than the app, for an ordinary account that is not sponsored or discounted.
- Know which fees you cannot get back. Application and verification fees are not refundable, whether or not Zipcar accepts you. If your plan has an annual or monthly fee, the first one is charged within five days of approval, even if you never activate your card, and is refundable only if you end the membership within 30 days of approval.
- Book a drive within 30 days of the award. The credit covers daily or hourly driving charges. A reservation under 8 hours can be cancelled free 3 or more hours before it starts; one of 8 hours or longer needs 24 hours' notice, or you pay up to one daily rate.
- Read the Fee Policy before you drive. “For any violation of Zipcar Rules, Members may be charged a general fee of up to $500 ($500 CAD) per violation.” The examples include returning a car with less than a quarter tank of gas, leaving it needing extra cleaning, or failing to plug in an electric car. Damage costs you up to the first $2,500 per incident unless you buy a Damage Fee Waiver. One slip can cost twenty times the credit ($500 divided by $25).
What the pages leave out, and one page that shows two fee schedules
Two fee schedules on one page. Zipcar's Fee Policy page shows the current schedule, effective March 1, 2025, with the general fee of up to $500. Further down the same page is an older schedule, effective June 1, 2020, with a general fee of up to $150 and a late-return charge of $50 an hour. The Membership Contract dated July 31, 2026 carries the $500 figure. Plan on $500.
What taking the credit lets Zipcar do. The terms say that joining the program or accepting a credit gives Zipcar permission to use your name, city and state and other profile details in its promotion of the program, worldwide and without further payment, where the law allows.
Opting out, cancelling, and the end date. A member who opts out of the program's emails can no longer receive the credit, and one who cancels loses any unused credit. The referral terms carry no date and no end date, and Zipcar may cancel or change the program at any time.
Is it worth your time?
If you live near Zipcar cars and were going to join, a member's invitation is free money of a narrow kind: $25 off driving time, if you drive within a month of approval. It will not cover the joining fees, which the pages we read do not even price, and it is no reason to join by itself.
The larger numbers are in the Fee Policy. Return the car on time, with at least a quarter tank, clean and in its own space, and the credit is a small bonus. Get one of those wrong and a single fee can be many times what the referral paid.
