Hertz - ?Hertz cuts grace period to 29min.

As reported in TRIPSO, today:

+ Hertz cuts grace period on rentals
The Hertz Corporation, which last month withdrew a planned $2.50 booking fee after customers protested, has quietly embarked on another revenue-raising experiment by slashing its grace period for late vehicles in Europe and other international locations to 29 minutes from 59 minutes. Hertz, a unit of the Ford Motor Company, has also made formal a new currency exchange fee for certain overseas customers.

IMHO, If this is accurate, it is ridiculous and insulting. International rentals should have longer grace periods, not shorter. In any event, a call to Hertz Intl. Desk and conversation with agent and her supervisor yielded no information, but they will call me back after further investigations. I don't think it's a smart idea to "nickel dime" your customers. Being flexible and generous with late returns (circumstances will, of course, affect this) makes good sense from a customer relations standpoint.

I hope this isn't the case - if it is, this is a big :td:!

Nickel & diming - whatever happened to providing the customer with a good car at a good rate & keeping them happy?? The extra hour charges are often as much as a 1/2 day if booked in advance at some locations! Hertz - don't go out of your way to screw your customers!! The Amex Plat benefit of the extended grace period is gone & if this is true too, then this will be one more thing that doesn't set them apart from the other companies.

FWIW, the grace period for Avis at LHR is zero minutes. So Hertz is still 29 minutes ahead of them. I had assumed that zero minutes was the standard in Europe because of that experience.

My 72 hour, 14 minute rental was charged three days at the booked rate, plus one full day at an obscene extra-day rate. (Not even an obscene extra-hour rate - a full extra day!) The location was insistent that those were the rules and wouldn't change it. They were rather nasty about it, in fact. I protested the charge after I got back home, and the both Diner's Club and the stateside Avis folks eventually agreed with me that the charge should be reversed. But I had to make the effort & phone calls to get it taken care of.

That's one reason I've rented with Hertz all these years. They've always been reasonable on grace periods. They've stated 59 minutes, but they've given me more than that on several occasions. So yeah, it sucks that they've gone to 29 instead of 59, but at least they usually seem to play fair with it.

I was contacted by Chris Elliott of the New York Times for an article he is writing on these new policies, so at least for the moment, Hertz is planning on instituting them.

And I don't know the specifics of the currency exchange fee beyond it being 2.5%, but Mr. Elliott noted it would be optional, so I guess if you do it, Hertz International would bill your credit card in USD, otherwise you'd get hit with the card issuer's currency exchange fee, as well.

I received the info in the mail from Hertz about this. The grace period is going from 59 to 29 minutes overseas and Hertz will do the conversion (plus 2.5%) instead of your bankcard unless you specifically request otherwise. The latter is only for certain overseas locations as I recall.

Is 2.5% about in line with what credit cards charge?

Is 2.5% about in line with what credit cards charge?

Perhaps check the MC/Visa forum: I think most international travelers carry a CC that charges less than 2.5%

(I hear MBNA mentioned as a bank that provides a good international CC...maybe it charges nothing, or 1%?)

More importantly than the 2.5%, what rate would Hertz use? The interbank rate that the big CC's use? Some other rate of their choosing?

I was contacted by Chris Elliott of the New York Times for an article he is writing on these new policies, so at least for the moment, Hertz is planning on instituting them.


Just so you know (if you didn't), Christopher Elliott and TRIPSO are one and the same...

And 2.5%, if they use the interbank rate, is not bad -- some credit cards are better, some worse. One of mine told me that from April 1 they'll be adding their own 3% on top of the 1% Visa/MC charge (and calling it a finance charge!) I'll be sticking to the one from my credit union that doesn't surcharge, thank you very much...

I think it's safe to assume that this new policy will soon be implemented for rentals in the U.S.

One of mine told me that from April 1 they'll be adding their own 3% on top of the 1% Visa/MC charge (and calling it a finance charge!) I'll be sticking to the one from my credit union that doesn't surcharge, thank you very much...

No, no. Many people are confused by this but your overall currency conversion rate with that card will still remain at 3%. Starting April 1, Visa and MasterCard will no longer be charging their 1% fee. Instead of V/MC assessing 1% and your bank assessing 2%, your bank will be charging 3% and marking it as a "finance charge."

Sticking with a credit union card will be your best move, as its currency conversion rate will effectively go down to 0% once Visa and MC stop the 1% charge.

No, no. Many people are confused by this but your overall currency conversion rate with that card will still remain at 3%. Starting April 1, Visa and MasterCard will no longer be charging their 1% fee. Instead of V/MC assessing 1% and your bank assessing 2%, your bank will be charging 3% and marking it as a "finance charge."

Sticking with a credit union card will be your best move, as its currency conversion rate will effectively go down to 0% once Visa and MC stop the 1% charge.

What would be an example of a "credit union card"?

A credit card issued by your local credit union. Some credit unions require you to be a member of a certain profession, but many cities offer credit unions to all local residents (for example, where I live in Charlottesville, Virginia, the University of Virginia credit union opens membership to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Charlottesville or the surrounding counties).

If by some chance you don't qualify for membership in a local credit union, you can try Patelco (www.patelco.org) or Digital Credit Union (www.dcu.org). Anyone can join Patelco, but DCU requires membership in the American Association of Disabled People (AAPD) for a one-time fee of $15.00. Both offer credit cards with no currency conversion fee.

Incidentally, Patelco and DCU often provide some very low rates on mortgages and car loans.

(sorry for the off-topic post :) )

A credit card issued by your local credit union. Some credit unions require you to be a member of a certain profession, but many cities offer credit unions to all local residents (for example, where I live in Charlottesville, Virginia, the University of Virginia credit union opens membership to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Charlottesville or the surrounding counties).

If by some chance you don't qualify for membership in a local credit union, you can try Patelco (www.patelco.org) or Digital Credit Union (www.dcu.org). Anyone can join Patelco, but DCU requires membership in the American Association of Disabled People (AAPD) for a one-time fee of $15.00. Both offer credit cards with no currency conversion fee.

Incidentally, Patelco and DCU often provide some very low rates on mortgages and car loans.

(sorry for the off-topic post :) )


?But aren't all these credit cards simply co-branded cards from Visa or MC?

Hertz did not cut the 2.50 booking fee because of the customers. They cut it because AAA wanted their customers exempt from the fee and that would have been alot of people and Hertz would have made no money. @:-)

?But aren't all these credit cards simply co-branded cards from Visa or MC?

Mine is: it's a Visa card. Right now, I pay 1% over interbank for currency conversions. I *think* that's assessed by Visa, because my Credit Union says they add no fee for conversion. If the post above is correct, perhaps I'll be paying zip after April 1...

The only time I use my credit union Visa card is for international expenses. It does not yield any rewards. I simply haven't gotten around to trying to find one of those MBNA cards that might give me the best of both worlds... I already have the C.U. card sitting in a drawer and I don't rack enough int'l non-Diner's/non-Amex volume to make it worthwhile.

?But aren't all these credit cards simply co-branded cards from Visa or MC?

Yes. But the difference is that the issuing bank (credit union, in this case) doesn't add a 2% or 3% currency conversion fee to each foreign transaction. Most of the major credit card issuers in the US, such as Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America, charge a total fee of 3% for all purchases made in a foreign currency---which makes them a poor value for use while abroad.

Until April 1, the 3% fee charged by the big banks is broken down into 1% included in Visa/MC's conversion rate, plus 2% extra added by the issuing bank. After April 1, due to legal challenges, Visa and MasterCard will no longer be adding 1% to charges in foreign currency; it will be up to the individual banks to determine their foreign exchange fees (if any). The big banks mentioned above will be charging a 3% fee on their own for foreign purchases after April 1, so the total fees for using one of these cards abroad will remain the same.

With a card issued by MBNA, Capital One, or a credit union, on the other hand, the effective foreign exchange fee will go down to 0% after Visa/MC stop charging their 1% next month. None of these card issuers, as far as I'm aware, has announced new currency conversion fees; if all goes as planned, you will pay just the standard interbank rate when using one of these cards for foreign purchases after April 1.

It's true that none of the credit union cards provides rewards, but a CU is less likely to stick you with hidden fees.

As for MBNA, the Amtrak Guest Rewards card is a good choice; you earn one Amtrak point per dollar spent. These points can be redeemed not only for train travel, but can be transferred into Continental Airlines miles, or used for a number of other goods.

It's true that none of the credit union cards provides rewards, but a CU is less likely to stick you with hidden fees.

I have a credit card from my credit union. (Los Angeles Federal). I have their "Platinum Plus" Visa with CU rewards. I get one point for each dollar charged. A domestic ticket is 25K & I can also use it to get other stuff.

My CU only charges the 1% foreign exchange charge which should go to zip on April 1. When I go overseas, I use this card & put nothing on my UA Bank One Visa which charges 3%. When my CU visa was a plain Visa, I still used it for foreign purchases. The 2% difference in "hard money" was worth it to me. In the unlikely chance that I couldn't pay the bill in full, my CU only charges me 9% interest.

^ to my CU for not charging more than necessary for foreign exchange!

It's true that none of the credit union cards provides rewards, but a CU is less likely to stick you with hidden fees.

Actually, DCU (mentioned above) DOES provide rewards -- they use ScoreCard for their rewards, and it takes a $35K spend to get the usual 'one roundtrip economy ticket'. Some of their other travel rewards are more interesting -- we used 50K points ($50K spend) for three nights at the Park Hyatt hotel in San Francisco...

The rewards aren't the best but they're pretty good. (And we have most of our financial eggs in the one basket of DCU -- they've been very good to us. My wife and I celebrate five years living in the US today, and anyone who's been a new immigrant to the US knows that the biggest hassle of all once you're here is the lack of a credit rating. DCU understands this -- they deal with a lot of hi-tech foreigners -- and were very helpful)

Oh, and DCU's checking account is 100% free -- and with direct deposit they even REFUND other banks' ATM surcharges!

Offtopic sploogefest ends here :)

Here in Norway we still have the +59 minute rule.
Some CDP rates will give you 1h59m extra.

Though sometimes I don`t see the problem why stations can`t bend the rules. If there isn`t much traffic I let my customers have the car for maybe 3 hours extra. Big deal! The customer is happy! I reckon it is rude to charge a whole day extra just for 2 hours over the limit.
And if the rental station says the computer won`t allow the extension...well that is true, BUT............we can put information in an info line which will tell original check in time and cheat the computer.
Does this make sense for you guys.......it is kind of hard to explain.

So if these stations are being uptight, just say what we do here in Norway.
That is our way of keeping customers!

So if these stations are being uptight, just say what we do here in Norway.
That is our way of keeping customers!

I'll have to try that next time I'd dropping one off late at LAX: "Your colleagues in Norway are much less uptight about return time!" ^ :D

Just so you know (if you didn't), Christopher Elliott and TRIPSO are one and the same...

Hmm. I got a little slapdown in the latest Tripso weekend e-mail for that comment. Apologies to James, Charlie, Terry, John, Joel and Chris Jernigan... seriously, read Tripso (http://www.tripso.com) , it's really good.

A couple of days ago I received a copy of the amendment of the T&Cs effective 04/04/05.

The changes only apply to EMEA , not to all "international" locations and I don't see any reason why this is either insulting or ridiculous; why is it insulting to charge people when they return a car late? Hertz are still providing a buffer period for people who get held up traffic or similar and just miss the return time. I also cannot see a logic , as suggested by the OP that "international" locations should allow even longer for returns

Dave

FWIW, the grace period for Avis at LHR is zero minutes. So Hertz is still 29 minutes ahead of them. I had assumed that zero minutes was the standard in Europe because of that experience.

In order to get a grace period with Avis, you should telephone in advance and ask the return station for another hour because you are stuck in traffic. It works.

A couple of days ago I received a copy of the amendment of the T&Cs effective 04/04/05.

The changes only apply to EMEA , not to all "international" locations and I don't see any reason why this is either insulting or ridiculous; why is it insulting to charge people when they return a car late? Hertz are still providing a buffer period for people who get held up traffic or similar and just miss the return time. I also cannot see a logic , as suggested by the OP that "international" locations should allow even longer for returns

Dave


Today, I received the same copy of the amendment of the T&C's too. It is really bad that they can't spare us the extra 30 mins. I don't see how much money they are going to save with this new term. Furthermore, I do hope that none of the other rental companies are going to apply the same conditions. At times it is really out of out control that something pop's up and delays us in the returning of the cars. I think they should really think about it. I would surely not rethink my decision when I need to rent a car.

:(

Well, it seems like the 29 minute grace has come to Norway too.
And we have been told to be strict about it.

But I guess it depends on what mood I`m in and how nice you are to me.
Maybe I`ll just bend the rules a wee bit more and give you.....let`s say 30 minutes more................