Hertz - Pres Circle upgrade issues

So I normally don't worry about my upgrades too much becuase I rent locally from a HLE where the manager knows me. I reserve a midsize and he gets me an Impala or Camery. We have a nice relationship.

Out for work I normally rent with Avis but went with Hertz at SMF this time. I reserve a F class - Impala, for 3 big guys and a 2 week work trip. In my spot is sitting a Nissan Altima - a noticeable downgrade from an Impala and certianly not an upgrade. It's 1am and I talk with the front desk lady and she says that the Altima is an upgrade (W-T-F?) and I say that is no good. She offers a Camery and says it's a upgrade becuase it is an F class with a 6 (F6 class). I feel like a Camery and Altima is smaller than an Impala - how are these upgrades?

I ended up with an "Okay" Saturn Vue (front seat room isn't the best in the passanger seat with someone behind you) with XM and 8K miles. Is this worth a complaint to Hertz. I rented 45 times last year and this is the upgrade that they are giving now a days (downgrade from fullsize Impala to smaller cars)...

Thanks for the imput

Well, I understand your personal preferences but the only thing to complain about is the Altima (Maybe). Most Altimas I saw were standard "F" class vehicles so in that sense, you did not get the upgrade you were entitled to as a PC (However, it may have been a YF so if that was the case then that was an upgrade). A Camry is a F6 and is considered an upgrade from a fullsize reservation.

It usually isn't size that is taken into account when determining upgrade classes as much as it is how nice the car is. I actually think Impalas are very nice and as you pointed out, bigger than Camrys or Altimas. However, there are a lot of people that simply do not like domestic cars and would rather take other cars.

I'm one of them, I'd rather drive a Civic or Corolla then the Impala.

Then again, with my CDP, reserving a Lincoln Town Car (I) is cheaper then reserving an F so I try to parlay that into a pretty cheap upgrade.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8130/4.3.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

But am I not susposed to get a 1 car classupgrade? F to f6 isn't a car class is it? Isn't g the next car glass?

I got several B to YB upgrades recently with YB being Chevy Cobalt, Toyota Yaris and smth else. The irritating part is that the desk is often manned by one person with a long line so I just take whatever is offered. The last two cars had engine service light on.
Tomorrow I am renting from Budget - I see no reason to pay a premium at Hertz anymore.

We have a similar situation in Europe. The range has become so complex that it's too easy for them to create an "artificial" upgrade.

Very popular here at the moment is to swap a saloon (sedan in US terms) for a mini people carrier (e.g. VW Passat to Kia Carens recently from STN - that was a substantial downgrade as far as I was concerned). I assume it's because they have plenty of these kinds of vehicles left on the fleet after the summer (when holiday makers want them). As a lone business traveller, I'm afraid I don't see an extra 2, 3 or 4 seats as any kind of benefit...

The problem, at least partly, is that the definition of "upgrade" depends very much on circumstances. For a family, a mini-people carrier would be great - extra space. For others, like me, I want extra luxury or performance (or both, please...)

In an ideal world, one could arrive and select from a range within the lot - but of course that would then destroy what is, in reality, the most important thing: ready paperwork (even though that is more and more of a problem these days).

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8130/4.3.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

But am I not susposed to get a 1 car classupgrade? F to f6 isn't a car class is it? Isn't g the next car glass?

No, F to F6 is considered a car class upgrade. "F" reservations are when you see the most F to YF or F to F# upgrades. G is usually a Grand Marquis and most people cringe when they see one of those boats in their stall.

No, F to F6 is considered a car class upgrade. "F" reservations are when you see the most F to YF or F to F# upgrades. G is usually a Grand Marquis and most people cringe when they see one of those boats in their stall.

Same way I feel when I get to JFK and...a Lincoln Town Car is waiting for me at my stall. I run back and say "I'll pay the $15 upgrade but get me into something better then that!

I'm one of them, I'd rather drive a Civic or Corolla then the Impala.

Then again, with my CDP, reserving a Lincoln Town Car (I) is cheaper then reserving an F so I try to parlay that into a pretty cheap upgrade.

Care to share your CDP??? :)

the WORST upgrade is from an F to a Ford Escape (dunno the code) I hate the escape and its so small.

Care to share your CDP??? :)

it's job related. don't know if it would be wise to share.

I hate those upgrades too. Just because it's higher off the ground doesn't make it better. A civic with a 10 inch ground clearance (CR-V) is NOT better then a Altima/Camry.

I'm glad to see this thread. I rarely make it onto the Hertz Forum, but have been peeved lately at the PC service I have been receiving. It seems like there are a lot of gripes here about PC service, so I must be in the right place. :)

Is there anything you all do about this? For example, what happens when you don't get your "guaranteed" upgrade? Can you call into Hertz CSR and b!tch and moan and get a Customer Service voucher or something like that?

It seems like several times lately I have not gotton my guaranteed upgrade. A lot of times I rent Prestige Collection anyways so am not entitled to upgrades, but I've had a couple recent F rentals where I got exactly what I rented (ie, booked F/Impala and got F/Impala), not even the token upgrade to YF or F6 that I see mentioned here.

Then my rental last week really got my juices boiling. I booked an F at HR YVR. Arrived, was ready to go to the Gold board to see what stall my car was in. Nothing on the Gold board, turns out everybody now has to go inside here and go through the shpeal (NO I DON'T WANT THE GAS OPTION OR YOUR RIP-OFF ADDITIONAL INSURANCE). Anyways, she tells me they are short on cars and all they have for me is a 15-person van. You could fit a college volleyball team in one of those things. I said "No way I'm driving that thing around, find me something else". She came back with an offer for a Compact car. I declined that as well. She finally got some guy outside to see if any new cars were ready, and it turns out an F car was available. I took it gladly, just relieved I didn't have to drive around in that 15-person van and worry I'd get pulled over for not having a Commercial Drivers License or something. :(

But I obviously got no upgrade her, got exactly what I booked, as in fact it too was an Impala again. So does them trying to put me into a freaking 15-person van constitute them giving me an upgrade? That is just absurd!!! Especially cuz the guy next to me was also trying to be put in a 15-person van even though he has reserved a Compact. :td:. What the hell is wrong with Hertz? I won't requalify for PC after this year (just 5*), but I really don't think I'll be missing anything.

So opinions on what all you PCs do when you get shafted out of your "guaranteed" upgrades? Do you just bend over and take it or do you do something about it? Why make the guarantee claim if they aren't gonna follow through with it? At least have something backing the guarantee like "if no guaranteed upgrade is available, we will give you 500 Hertz pts as compensation". Otherwise it is just the laughingstock of all guarantees. :td:

I used the chat funtion on the website to see what the compensation was for not providing this "guarantee" and the lady said she didn't know but gave me a number to call and ask CS. I haven't gotten around to asking as I have been too busy with work.

But after experiences with Hertz and Avis I will just switch all my business to Avis even if they are generally 20-30% more expensive in cities I travel to. There goes thousands of dollars of rentals for hertz to avis becuase they are too stingy to offer me a real upgrade from a full size.

It would be great if you were able to list out what you feel is an "upgrade" on Hertz.com. Either by actual car class/model or by attribute (e.g. prefer a better car of the same size vs. a larger car; SUVs preferable to sedans; etc.). Given Hertz's systems and processes, I know this is unrealistic any time soon, but one can dream...

Do we have an recourse when we reserve a mid-size and get stuck with a Grand Marquis? I most certainly do not consider it an upgrade, personally. I have run into the situation where they do not have anything smaller than the Grand Marquis and refuse to switch me to something else...

I just can't wait till the Grand Marquis is out of production, so sick of being offered that. But yes, Hertz YVR is not very good for selection. I rented from them a lot and started to get upgrades from F-class to Lincoln MKZs, Mustang V8s, and Chrysler 300 Hemi's... usually with Sirius.

I used the chat funtion on the website to see what the compensation was for not providing this "guarantee" and the lady said she didn't know but gave me a number to call and ask CS. I haven't gotten around to asking as I have been too busy with work.

But after experiences with Hertz and Avis I will just switch all my business to Avis even if they are generally 20-30% more expensive in cities I travel to. There goes thousands of dollars of rentals for hertz to avis becuase they are too stingy to offer me a real upgrade from a full size.

If you paid Hertz 20-30% more then you would probably get a nicer upgrade.

If you paid Hertz 20-30% more then you would probably get a nicer upgrade.

I just got to Hertz.com and book a Full size and then got to avis.com and book a fullsize. Avis is generally more, but not always. Perhaps if Hertz would charge a reasonable rate they would give me an upgrade and get my service from here on out.

We can argue this back and forth all day, but the important thing is that I am not the only one that has noticed this and get frustrated by it.

I do have a question for you. For 500 ZE1 pts I can get a double upgrade. If I booked a D what should I be expecting? Based on your previous responses anything but a basic cloth D class car would be an upgrade but even with a double upgrade I should have no expectation of a F class.

You would probably get a YF unless you wanted a Grand Marquis. There aren't many Buick Lucernes. They are expensive cars that do not retain their value very well. Cars that have high depreciation are awful rental candidates.

.. I booked an F at HR YVR. Arrived, was ready to go to the Gold board to see what stall my car was in. Nothing on the Gold board, turns out everybody now has to go inside here and go through the shpeal (NO I DON'T WANT THE GAS OPTION OR YOUR RIP-OFF ADDITIONAL INSURANCE). Anyways, she tells me they are short on cars and all they have for me is a 15-person van. You could fit a college volleyball team in one of those things. I said "No way I'm driving that thing around, find me something else". She came back with an offer for a Compact car. I declined that as well. She finally got some guy outside to see if any new cars were ready, and it turns out an F car was available. ..

YVR is very poorly managed. Last time they gave me a car covered in bird droppings and when I came back to switch I ended up waiting for 15 min or so as they only had one person at the desk. SEA is a wonderful station when compared to YVR. I am losing PC after this year and I don't really care.

@spades097: Are you an official Hertz rep here? Do you even currently work for Hertz. This would be useful to know so that we all can gauge the quality of your posts.

Thanks.

I'm PC, and my company's policy is mid sized car--I usually use our 'local' Hertz in Stamford CT, where I'm generally in a rush, and take whatever they have avialble-- this ranges from Yaris to lots of Corolla's to Impalas and even a couple of C90 Volvo's (the worst was last Xmas where they only had one Ford Expedition, that I had to take--oh, and the other worst was a tiny compact with manual windows and 36,000 miles). I would have thought that PC gets you good cars/upgrades--but I've found it doesn't mean much. That said, this past Sept in LAS on a very cheap AAA rate, we did score with a new Volvo convertible!!

@spades097: Are you an official Hertz rep here? Do you even currently work for Hertz. This would be useful to know so that we all can gauge the quality of your posts.

Thanks.

I'm not an official rep. I was a branch manager. I quit earlier this year.

PC & Hertz are a joke. I cut-up my PC card and sent it back to them last week.

Not sure who will get my business now - Sixt are good for Germany (and seem OK in Denmark as well) but hopeless in the UK (off airport locations are the main problem). Europcar are efficient online and I would get Bmi points.

We'll see - but it won't be Hertz!

When I was 5* I rented from ATL for about 5 months for 20 days a month. I always booked fullsize and almost always recieved either a Mercury Mariner, Ford Escape or a Nissan Xterra. Now I'm PC, and for the past 3 months, out of COS or DEN, I never get an upgrade. My latest rental they had an Impala in my stall, I went back in to ask for any upgrade and I saw the desk agent grab a class clarification sheet. I saw that it had all car classes on it and I can only assume an upgrade or whatnot on it. She said there is nothng she can do and I was stuck with the Impala. My job consists of my using a ladder so of course, even a small SUV, always helps. I just find it odd that with a lesser level, 5*, I got better cars than now with PC level.

PHL .....

That's ironic. I actually love when I have to go Denver. I ALWAYS get an Infiniti, either a G35 or FX35. If you can, try to arrive later in the evening. The Gold Counter has this BEAUTIFUL girl working who is one of the nicest and most competent Hertz employees I have ever met. I'm female so I am not interested. She's not just pretty or what guys would consider 'hot', she is beautiful. Don't know why she is working there, but I am not complaining.

PHL .....
most competent Hertz employees I have ever met...Don't know why she is working there

The most competent employees wonder why too...everyday.

It would be great if you were able to list out what you feel is an "upgrade" on Hertz.com. Either by actual car class/model or by attribute (e.g. prefer a better car of the same size vs. a larger car; SUVs preferable to sedans; etc.). Given Hertz's systems and processes, I know this is unrealistic any time soon, but one can dream...

...

Actually, you can, kind of. You can call customer service and they can put a veryshort note in your file, e.g. no SUV.