Hertz - additional drivers?

When renting a car with Hertz at LAX, is it possible to put two additional drivers on the record (probably against a fee)?

If so, do they have to be present when taking out the car?

Thanks

Amazingly:
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/byr/index.jsp?targetPage=rentalQualificationsView.jsp? KEYWORD=OPERATORS

Individuals not automatically covered on the Rental Agreement as Authorized Operators noted above may be signed on as an "Additional Authorized Operator" (AAO). AAO's must be present and may be signed on to the rental agreement at the time of rental or during the rental at any US corporate location.

California - no fee for Additional Authorized Operators

Link doesn't work (must be session-based or something), but you can tease that info out of Hertz.com it's true. Most of what you need is contained in the quote above, but it's worth noting that if one of the drivers you're hoping to add is your spouse or domestic partner or something along those lines, they are covered automatically, at no fee anywhere and in fact do NOT need to be present, as long as you are a member of Hertz #1 Club (does not have to be Gold, even the free #1 Club is enough). Although for California, you don't even need that. Here's the relevant info from the first part:

Authorized Operators

Acceptable Authorized Operators age 25 and older are automatically covered on the Rental Agreement.
Authorized Operators are:
- The employer, employee or fellow employee of renter on company business, (when booking includes company Corporate Discount Number).
- The renter's spouse for rentals that originate in California, Nevada or New York.
- The spouse (including partners in Vermont Civil Unions) or domestic partner of Hertz Number One Club, Number One Club Gold or Platinum members.
- Authorized Operators do not have to be present at time of rental.
- There are no fees for Authorized Operators.

The next section includes the bit quoted above by UpgradeMe. Basically, if the person doesn't qualify under the stuff I quoted, then they do have to be present and added to the rental record, and in most places there's a fee. To find this on Hertz.com (since direct link seems not to work), go to "Locations, Cars and More", then "Qualifications and Requirements". It will ask you to enter a location, which you can do, then choose "Authorized and Additional Authorized Operators".

You do seem to be in especially good luck in California, where it's all covered with no fees.

Up till now I always paid for my wife as an additional driver.

Did I throw away money?

Up till now I always paid for my wife as an additional driver.

Did I throw away money?

I'd say you threw that money away, unfortunately. :(

A few years ago, I recall a Hertz agent at MSY explaining they'd have to charge extra for my fiancee to be listed as a driver, but once we were married she would NOT incur additional charges... so it's been that way for at least 2 1/2 years just based on my observations.

Thanks all for your input. :)

I'd say you threw that money away, unfortunately. :(

A few years ago, I recall a Hertz agent at MSY explaining they'd have to charge extra for my fiancee to be listed as a driver, but once we were married she would NOT incur additional charges... so it's been that way for at least 2 1/2 years just based on my observations.

Actually, I had someone tell me this at PIT no more than about 2 years ago, and after that rental I looked up the policy and found out she was wrong. You don't have to be married; cohabitating is enough for Hertz. :D (And Avis, for that matter.) BTW, you DO have to be a member of #1 Club, but that goes without saying around here right? Anyway, yeah, you don't even have to inform them or have your spouse/domestic partner present.

One caveat: this does appear to be the US policy. The statement I quoted does not make a distinction, but I put in AMS for example and it's completely different and seems to make no exceptions in paying for extra drivers. LHR has similar policy. So it looks like you have to pay in Europe. The key is to go to Locations and look up the policies that apply to each different location you rent. Policies about minimum age and such are also available there.

One caveat: this does appear to be the US policy. The statement I quoted does not make a distinction, but I put in AMS for example and it's completely different and seems to make no exceptions in paying for extra drivers. LHR has similar policy. So it looks like you have to pay in Europe. The key is to go to Locations and look up the policies that apply to each different location you rent. Policies about minimum age and such are also available there.
I have a couple upcoming rentals in Germany and thought I would be able to add my wife as a driver for free (she and I are both #1 Gold). As you noted above for AMS and LHR, the German locations I'm renting from don't mention anything about spouses being allowed as an additional driver for free, but the Gold benefits description implies that they are. :confused: Any ideas?

If you're planning on using the "domestic partner" method to qualify an additional driver for free, make sure it meets the rules in case there's a problem that comes up. If they accept unmarried opposite-sex partners, then the same address on driver's licences would probably do it. When I went to register with them as same-sex partners, they didn't even ask for bluesincenew's name and told me it was fine. Then again, that was at ONT, so that might be California policies instead of Hertz policies. I know they did add him when I called the #1 line so I wouldn't (hopefully) run into any issues.