The 
Amex Platinum (US) hands you a batch of hotel and car status the moment you enroll, no stay or rental required: 
Hilton Honors Gold, 
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite, and 
Leaders Club (LHW) Sterling on the hotel side, plus 
Hertz President's Circle on the car side — all complimentary for as long as you hold the card.
Hilton Gold doubles as a launchpad for further free matches: 
Choice Privileges will bump it to Platinum, 
Wyndham Rewards to Diamond, and 
National Emerald Club to Executive Elite. The Choice and National matches run in both the US and Canada; Wyndham's runs worldwide. Hilton Gold also opens a cruise route: 
MSC Voyagers Club matches it to Gold globally, and that MSC Gold status matches on into 
Explora Club (Explora Journeys) Gold, with every hop mapped in the reference below.
Hertz President's Circle is the other launchpad, feeding free matches into 
Avis President's Club, 
Enterprise Plus Platinum, and 
Sixt Platinum. None charge a fee, but none are permanent grants: Avis wants proof of your Hertz status and then roughly 20 rentals or $6,000 in US spend a year to keep President's Club; Enterprise's match, available in the US and Canada, asks for 24 rentals or 85 rental days a year to renew Platinum; and Sixt's global match never expires outright but still upgrades after 12 months. The Choice and MSC matches, by contrast, are once-per-lifetime, so there's no redo if you let the window pass.
Miles