Hertz - Need Opinion

Good afternoon kind folks at FT,

I need some opinions. I am planning to take a week long rental starting next Thursday (July 12th) and I was wondering what would the best rental option for me to take. I will be picking the car up and returning it to the DSM location. I am a legitimate USAA cardholder and have less than 1000 Gold Plus points.

I was thinking of making a reservation for a compact using the USAA CDP and PC#166401 (for $5 off a day) and using 500 GPP for a double upgrade, which should put me in a standard 2 door. Having rented in the DSM location a couple of times before, I have yet to see any of the cars stated in the 'Hertz US Fleet' thread. This made me wonder if they did not have any standard 2 doors, would they upgrade me to a full size i.e. Camry?

Or would it be safer to rent an intermediate and get a more 'solid' assurance that I would get a full size (at the expense of paying more for the intermediate as compared to a compact)?

I would very kindly appreciate any feedback, suggests and/or comments! :)

Thank you and best regards. ^

Jeremy

You would only be able to use the upgarde points or the $5 off, as the upgrade points uses a PC code. As far as which car to use, I would book what I need and don't count on an upgrade. For a one week rental, there is not usually a big price difference between the cars, so I would book the standard and use the $5 off coupon.

I would rent a compact and use 500 point double upgrade. DSM does not really have and standard cars. More then likely you will get a fullsize.

You may look and see if there are any HLE's in Des Moines. Airport Fees on a weekly rental at airport is about $50. Where a HLE would be sales tax only.

You would only be able to use the upgarde points or the $5 off, as the upgrade points uses a PC code. As far as which car to use, I would book what I need and don't count on an upgrade. For a one week rental, there is not usually a big price difference between the cars, so I would book the standard and use the $5 off coupon.
Oh.. I didn't realize that. So upgrade points acts like a PC code? :(

I would rent a compact and use 500 point double upgrade. DSM does not really have and standard cars. More then likely you will get a fullsize.

You may look and see if there are any HLE's in Des Moines. Airport Fees on a weekly rental at airport is about $50. Where a HLE would be sales tax only.
I agree about the car availability in DSM. If any cars in the reserved class is unavailable, Hertz will offer a free upgrade to whatever car class they have (closest to the booked car class), am I right? :)