Hertz - Exorbitant rates for #1 Gold

I'm currently a 5* member, located in the US. I need a car for 27 hours from a Sunday afternoon to a Monday afternoon, dropping off at a different airport in the same city. Hertz insist on charging me for two full days at a high daily rate. If I sign on as a non-#1 Gold located in the UK, I get a much better rate, but still have to pay for two full days. After shopping around, I discovered that Avis would give me a 1 day + 3 hours rate that was much better value. Guess which I'm going with.

If Avis can do this, why can't Hertz? And why penalize your frequent renters by charging them higher rates than non-members?

See the comments here around the members vs non-members debate;
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hertz/959434-1-club-gold-reservation-question.html

However if Avis does an hourly rate then thats probably a good thing and no doubt much cheaper, so, enjoy your rental with them :)

Quite honestly, having read the other thread, I don't have the time to keep calling Hertz to get them to behave in a reasonable manner. They should just do it. In fact, they should give cheaper rates to their loyal customers, not try to ream them by charging double.

I think I've noticed this before - there must be a thread somewhere. If you claim to be loyal, you get charged double.. If you pretend to be a newbie (and forego the rental status) you save a lot of money. Makes no sense to me.