I use Autoslash. Instead of being handed keys to a rough-riding, sluggish Chrysler 200, you head out to the aisle marked Full-size and pick anything you want. ONT is okay (booked Standard, got Mustang convertible, ideal for a PSP getaway). The cars are almost always a yawn, but often there is one mustang GT or a BMW X1 which you can nab if you run in front of everyone else off the bus. Sign up for the free Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program, 2. There might be a Ford Fusion with Sync sitting there. I mean the clear and obvious best choice is whatever vehicle has the highest MPG rating. Ben is unlikely to ever use Hertz at MIA but the location is among the worst primarily due to ex US visitors that seem to have real difficulty returning their car at the right time (day). You can exchange your assigned mid-size car for a limited selection of other mid-size cars. There sure was quite a selection of cars, primarily compact SUVs and minivans. Hertzs two main competitors in the premium rental market are Avis and National. I don't know about "most" personal insurance covering peer-to-peer car rentals, but each renter should check with their insurer and not assume they are covered. With my most recent experience in Tampa last month I even asked a Hertz employee who was directing people who entered the garage and after identifying myself as a President's Circle member she told me to go to line for the Gold counter anyway. They had a mad rush of President Circle members arrive at the same time and Ive been Presidents Circle for years now. Well, my experience with Hertz Presidents Circle status is largely the same, at least based on my first rental. I have NEVER received "Hertz valet" nor have I ever received "expedited vehicle pick-up." I often do, when I find flaws, or just don't like it. I have had the same issue. Its been around for years. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. after a week of my status not updating I reached out to hertz directly and they updating my status. Circle and dont see a car in the Presidents isle that you like you can pick a car from ANY of the Gold Isles also? You can see it at the top of the windshield in the center in a sort of triangle shape facing the front of the car. Time to switch to someone else. This Hertz location is notorious for charging for fuel even when you decline and return the car full. Its really hit or miss. Anecdotally, though, National has become a little stingier lately with the vehicles in the Executive Selection, and National also tends to be a bit more expensive than Hertzthough AutoSlash often finds that coupons and discounts can change that. Hertz Presidents Circle Status: My First Experience, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, How to earn Hertz Presidents Circle status, Hertz Presidents Circle rental experience, My take on Hertz Presidents Circle status, Hertz Elite Members Can Gift Status For Free, Wow: Hertz Will Add 100K Teslas To Rental Fleet, Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners. Delta Platinum & Diamond Medallion members receive the status for free; Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador members receive the status for free; Guaranteed car upgrades, a minimum of one-class, at participating locations, Freedom to choose any vehicle in the Presidents Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot on the spot at no extra charge, No additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner in the United States, 50% bonus on Gold Plus Rewards points on all qualified rentals, Expedited vehicle pick-up at over 1,000 locations worldwide, No stopping at the counter at over 50 airports, eReturn, whereby you dont have to wait when returning your car, Hertz Valet, whereby you can take advantage of a terminal drive-back service at participating locations up to four times per year, A dedicated Presidents Circle call center line. Lesson..get a printed receipt when you drop off your car. I'm Hertz Gold and rent only a couple of times a year. Just five rentals in a calendar year earns you Hertz Five Star status. Also, even if you are covered for your 12 year old Corolla (for example), the coverage limit won't cover you when you total a Tesla (for example). Other times it isn't included. Seems like its never a factor for you. PC was pretty good pre-pandemic, better selection of cars. 5. I'm Hertz Gold and rent only a couple of times a year. Expect anything from Cadillacs and Camaros to Suburbans and Siennas. Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ). The whole experience reminded me a lot of renting with National, which is a good thing. choice hertz award So you used to get into the rental area, find your name on the board, and found out where you needed to go to pick up your car. For a 'free' status (I had it via United 1K) it is pretty good but nothing to write home about. Those two things make a big difference. "No additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner in the United Statues". 2.) God help you if you decide to rent at LAX. There werent any options that stood out as being particularly exciting. I ended up deciding on a Chevrolet SUV. js.src = "//player.ex.co/player/23271d62-c1c8-4817-9fa4-8afdbda97892"; I have selected full size new extended cab pickups, high end SUVs, sports cars, etc. However, there are a variety of other ways to earn Hertz Presidents Circle status as well: Getting Hertz Presidents Circle status through the Capital One Venture X is probably the easiest pathway to this tier, given that the card is such a good value even without this perk (the card has a $395 annual fee, but offers a $300 annual travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, which alone more than justify the annual fee). I shared my experience in this post: It worked well for me but my expectations are relative low. Given the Amex Platinum benefit, I'll try it next time and see what happens.. Ive actually gotten the valet once at MCO. I still like the convenience of the program and that alone makes it worthwhile. Agreed about the board kind of being a relic. They're usually more car than I need, and burn more gas than I'd prefer. It gets even better once you have a few rentals under your belt. 4. The point of the Board is to clarify who has a car. Eek. A lot of times Presidents Circle cars are not that much better compared to the regular cars. I almost always book a full-size sedan, although sometimes a higher class or speciality class of rental car is cheaper. Apparently it happens although it was before Covid. You have to worry about whether your reservation will be honored, you sometimes have to wait for a long time at a rental car counter, you end up with a terrible car, there are endless upsells, and just everything about the situation is horrible. In that circumstance, I'll book the premium option. I would say that Hertz doesn't do a good job differentiating President's Circle from lower Gold elite statuses. Looking for fuel economy? Im grateful to have easy access to the choose your own car aisles with two rental car companies now. In the end, the choice likely comes down to whichever brand offers the best deal for your particular rental. In this contactless pick - drive - return - walk away system Hertz charged me over $850 on a $165 reservation. You can see it at the top of the windshield in the center in a sort of triangle shape facing the front of the car. Ever. Absolutely not in the US and definitely not with Hertz. I've done that at the airports in Fort Myers and St. Louis. The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered. Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Being a Presidents Circle member does not mean you will always have immediate access to a car. They always treated me well. These are the best publicly available offers (terms apply) that we have found for each product or service. Reserve at least a mid-size car (you can reserve a larger one, but unless you need a specific car size, theres no point in paying more than you have to. The whole concept also seems kind of unnecessary, because if you know your elite status, theres no need for this board; all this does is show your status, in order to remind you from which area you can select a car. Youll still be able to use Ultimate Choice. I'm not even sure what "expedited vehicle pick-up" is exactly. Heading into the mountains? js = d.createElement(s); Even All went well with pick up and drop off until a week afterwards I got not one but two calls from Hertz Vehicle Control. To take advantage of Ultimate Choice, youll need to sign up for Hertzs free Gold Plus Rewards program. And they were charging my credit card additional days!!! So I'm having trouble seeing what the additional benefits of being PC. My biggest issue with Hertz is the high percentage of cloth vs leatherette seating in vehicles. Then, when you book an intermediate (mid-size) car or higher at an Ultimate Choice location, not only do you get to skip the long line at the rental counter, you also get to pick from a special section of vehicles just for Gold members. Never received "Hertz valet" nor have I ever received "expedited vehicle pick-up" either so not sure if its even available or how it works. 3.) Stay connected with the latest travel, aviation, and credit card news. No option to get off and wait for the next one, just started driving. I can't stand cloth seats given the smells they retain and how dirty they get. In the Five Star aisle, youll probably see full-size vehicles and maybe even some small SUVs. On the most basic level, Hertz Presidents Circle status ordinarily requires $4,000 worth of qualifying spending or 20 rentals annually. Most Airport sites don't allow you too rent right now online within 24 hours you have to call. I wanted to try Turo for my previous rental and even had a car picked out. But at least with Ultimate Choice, now there is a real competitive choice. Agreed about the board kind of being a relic. The closest service is Avis Preferred Select & Go, which works more like Hertzs older Gold Choice program. Hertz reserved cars (not Ultimate Choice lot). However, the board originally was to show what spot your car was in. When making your reservation, be sure to include your Gold member number. That said *most* of the time at airport locations they tend to be newer with less miles at least in PC aisles. Please check out, Review: Air Serbia Premium Lounge Belgrade (BEG), My Frustrating Air Serbia Transfer Desk Experience. My challenge is that I'm afraid to just pick a car and go. Presidents Circle status takes the pain out of the rental car experience, so Im grateful to have access to this. Have been driven back to the airport many times by Hertz rapid return agent. I BEEN A HERTZ PRESIDENT CIRCLE MEMBER FOR ALMOST A YEAR NOW, AS LOCAL LOYAL WEEKEND RENTER IN MY HOMETOWN AIRPORT. durango dodge hertz lease uae But, in my experience, I have found that I always have a car as a President's Circle customer even at branches out of cars from everyone else. Here are the published perks of Hertz Presidents Circle status: If you ask me, the single best benefit here is access to the Presidents Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot, available at participating locations. The best benefit of Hertz Presidents Circle status is the ability to pick your own car in the Presidents Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot. All my PC experiences have been train wrecks, varying from my name not being on the board, or on the board with a "go to the counter" message, to not having the car class I reserved available. During our recent trip to Southern California (where we stayed at Alila Marea Encinitas), I took advantage of my new Hertz Presidents Circle status for the first time, which I got through the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card(review). Increasingly, rental car branches don't have sedans because Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler basically stopped making sedans in 2020 and 2021. 5.) I've had a variety of very nice cars from Hertz over the years, though I do find the selection at my new airport a little SUV heavy. As you approach the Hertz parking lotor if theres a shuttle bus, when you disembarklook for signs directing Gold members to the parking lot. Proceed to your designated membership levels areaGold, Five Star, or Presidents Circle. I chose Avis instead. THERE'S TIMES I WOULD HAVE TO GIVE FEEDBACK TO THE EXECUTIVE CARE DEPT, ABOUT VERY LIMITED ULTIMATE CHOICE SELECTION THAT DON'T SATIFIED ME SOMETIMES, CAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF CARS THAT HERTZ HAD TO SELL OFF DURING THE SO-CALLED PANDEMIC, THAT CAUSE HERTZ TO BUY HIGH MILEAGE & OLDER CARS & SUV'S @ THE PUBLIC CAR AUCTIONS TO REPLACE IN THEIR FLEETS. After that, go for the least scuffed (look at the rims, front/rear bumper), best-equipped, highest brand. Have been driven back to the airport many times by Hertz rapid return agent. How long does it take to get Hertz President associated with one's account? I have filed a complaint with the California Attorney Generals office, which Im sure landed on deaf ears. Never rent w them. I have to remember to take a photo of the dashboard and scan in my gas receipt, then email Hertz to have the charge removed. See more about our ethics policies here. hertz upgradedpoints The wait to exit the facility once you've selected your car often exceeds 30 minutes. So I'm having trouble seeing what the additional benefits of being PC. I got tired of the indifferent to horrible customer service. I don't see what the deal with President's Circle status. In recent years I've been able to select my own car and once at PHL I was "chauffeured" to the terminal. I could skip the rental car counter, I could choose my car, and I could leave with a single human interaction that lasted less than a minute (at the booth while exiting the lot), with no waiting anywhere. With a dedicated Presidents Circle selection, a mid-size reservation can net some nice catches. 1. Hertz offers Ultimate Choice at most of the countrys top airports. A mid-size reservation at an Ultimate Choice location as a Five Star customer will give you access to an even more special Five Star vehicle selection. Looks like your Chevy Ben, if this matters to you at all, try to choose a car next time that has the radar at the top of the rear view mirror. One thing they would do for me is to waive the drop fee if I was picking up downtown and dropping at the airport, or vice versa. Saved a couple minutes. You can also get the President Status by being a 1k on United. I quickly noticed that almost all seals were broken, though I still didnt do a mileage comparison of all the cars. Hmm. When we first tried Ultimate Choice in December of 2016, Hertz had just rolled it out to its first location at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Seems like its never a factor for you. In that circumstance, I'll book the premium option. It was fixed within 48 hours. This was before you had the ability to pick whatever was in the President's area or the Gold area or whatever. If you havent yet signed up for Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, then at this point you need to wait in line at the rental counter. the explorer looked nice. This is not a rare occurrence. They had the attitude of debt collectors with the assumption I was the guilty party. I BEEN A HERTZ PRESIDENT CIRCLE MEMBER FOR ALMOST A YEAR NOW, AS LOCAL LOYAL WEEKEND RENTER IN MY HOMETOWN AIRPORT. Whatever happened to your carbon offset initiative btw? "Am I the only one who struggles with picking cars in this situation? Just make sure to check your card for the actual charges compared to your reservation. Been PC for about three years, status matched over and have since earned the hard way. I recently rented with Hertz at San Diego Airport (SAN). Chase Sapphire doesn't cover Turo person-to-person rentals either. A drop fee would have occasionally changed that. In theory Id go based off which car is newest and has the fewest miles, but I also saw in the welcome email that cars were sealed due to enhanced cleaning protocols: Rent confidently knowing every car undergoes an enhanced cleaning process before we seal it so youre the first inside after a thorough sanitization. National pioneere the choose-your-own-car service in 1988 with the introduction of the Emerald Aisle for Emerald Club members, and the company has put a lot of effort into a smooth operation and feature-rich mobile app. Last week in TPA was an Infiniti qx50 (I think, it's their smaller SUV). I explicitly decline fuel verbally to the agent at the exit, but of course Hertz doesnt document this choice anywhere. Here's my story as reported by CBSMornings https://twitter.com/CBSMornings/status/1456258931190222853?s=20. Am I the only one who finds it a bit odd how they display the full name of all elite members renting? Worst major car rental agency especially given all the police reports for people that rent their cars which are ALL due to Hertz IT issues. A shuttle driver picked me and a few others up at Terminal 7 and then announced he had to go around again because some passengers didn't hear him announce terminals. The one other perk that might stand out is the Hertz Valet concept, though Ive heard mixed reports of that actually being honored, so I wouldnt count on that. It had about 15,000 miles, so was fairly new. Dog hair, kids messes, foodI doubt they even do a basic wipe down inside nowadays. My biggest complaint about Hertz besides worthless points and HORRIBLE customer service -- when I have a major issue I typically just email the CEO of Hertz and I get a telephone call from a regional VP or operations director within a day -- is SiriusXM satellite. Given up and using National or Avis Preferred. Long story short: Hertz no longer has its act together. Has anyone figured out how to successfully opt-in to President's Circle via their Delta Medallion Status? FYI you dont need Presidents status to skip the counter. Hertz is SUV heavy in North America because US carmakers are no longer making sedans. This was before you had the ability to pick whatever was in the President's area or the Gold area or whatever. Yeah, Hertz doesn't do a good job differentiating President's Circle from lower Gold elite statuses. Far fewer frequency of shuttles to the facility Ask AutoSlash for a Quote on a Cheap Car Rental. I almost always book a full-size sedan, although sometimes a higher class or speciality class of rental car is cheaper. Been this level of Hertz or higher for 25 years. Sometimes it is included free of charge on premium, luxury or speciality cars. The choice of cars can sometime be blah, but it depends on the airport and the time. Choose any car from that area. ExactlyI have called to extend rentals and told everything was ok only to receive threatening phone calls and letters from Loss Control. And how can you get the most bang for your buck? Name not appearing on the board Okay, a couple of thoughts: I had checked Hertzs availability the day of our rental and saw there were no more cars available for rent, so I was fully expecting to show up and have no choice of cars. At least you haven't been arrested, thanks to Hertz filing false police reports. In my previous employment I had a Hertz outlet just around the corner from my office and used them regularly. I rent quite often at LAX for business trips. I never ever had a clean car with Hertz. It used to be that you'd get a response in 24 hours. I know rental companies do this all the time, but man, its really bad at Hertz LAX. Then Hertz went bankrupt and sold off a huge chunk of their fleet AND they merged with Thrifty/Dollar. And cleaning of interiors with any of the companies is a complete joke. Then I discovered National Emerald Aisle (I know Im late to the game), and everything changed there was no hassle to the rental experience, and you had a good selection of cars. It is not a status trip. (function (d, s, n) { Being a Presidents Circle member does not mean you will always have immediate access to a car. 6. When asked about this multiple times Hertz says "read the rental terms". Also in terms of car selection, I want a smaller car with higher gas mileage and easier to park. @ CK -- Thanks for the support! Not worth anything at airports with attached car rental facilities. Then the rental companies sell the car back to the manufacturer or do so themselves. Ive written in the past about how I find the process of renting cars to be incredibly frustrating. Not a big deal, but it was cool. Ben, I'd like to hear more regarding "Im starting to hate renting cars less than I used to". Did you book through the portal (earning 10X) or directly with Hertz? So if you get Hertz Presidents Circle with VentureX or Delta status, you should be able to then use that to gain elite status at Avis, Enterprise, etc. How to Get the Most from the Hertz Rent a Car App, Resolve Car Rental Damage Claims on the Spot with Hertz. They always treated me well. Rather than the rental agent assigning you a specific vehicle in a specific parking stall, you get to choose your car from an entire row of vehicles. hertz It's actually gotten worse since Covid and verging on disgusting. I don't like getting Chevrolet or other General Motors cars because they typically don't have Apple CarPlay installed and there's no other navigation option. The two programs are essentially the same otherwise. If your name is not on the Board, to the office for you. Less useful these days, but people are used to the board being there, so I guess it stays. Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. I'm happy with a Corrola or a Camry and don't want to be upgraded to some larger sedan/SUV. I like the accounts, but it never shows that I'm President's Circle. On the other hand, I try to avoid Hertz (I think National is much better) so perhaps it's just as well. Anyone have experience with Hertz PC in Europe? Did you know if your Presidents Any tips of things that I missed? Looks like your Chevy had none of those, but lots of the other options did! I guess the upgrade is nice. Then I had a thought, does my personal car insurance protect me for this? fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); I have found President's Circle incredibly useful. Much like with National Emerald Aisle, the idea is that you can skip the counter altogether and pick your car, as this takes the hassle out of the rental car experience. I found this out in PDX once. It costs nothing and takes only a couple minutes to fill out the form on Hertzs website. View from the Wing has the latest. But how does this service stack up against Nationals Emerald Aisle? Anyway sorry to rant, but Hertz is a pretty mediocre to poor rental car company, and Presidents circle is barely worth choosing them over Avis Wizard or National Emerald. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; Really depends more on whether other people actually return their car on time than anything Hertz controls. In Germany, around 20k km is the cap. I do like the select your own car and once it really helped me save a lot of money but this was before covid (played the game and reserved only a regular car but wanted a Suburban). On the minus side, I find Hertz's app buggy and the website occasionally has problems. Pick the Camry off the line. I always fill up and show the receipt when I can but more than half the time I find a $20 charge for 1-2 gallons of gas when I get home. Agent said if your Presidents Circle you can wait for us to bring up more cars or just grab one from the other Gold isles. The upshot was that it was almost always substantially cheaper to rent a car to get to the airport than to take a cab.