petesamprs

Hi - can those of you who have actually rented confirm than a Gold/Platinum AMEX is NOT actually required. I carry a Amex Blue cash and Chase freedom card, neither of which is gold/platinum. A prior poster suggested they didn't care, but some additional data points would be helpful.

thanks

EDIT: sorry, meant Chase Sapphire, not freedom. The Sapphire is a Visa/Mastercard (and no foreign txn fees).

TheBOSman

I don't think it would be an issue. I'm not German and they only needed one card from me when they are supposed to ask for two from all non-Germans according to the letter of their rules, admittedly I used an Amex Platinum. Seems to depend which agent you get. The gold card doesn't need to be an Amex though.

I think both of those cards carry foreign transaction fees though, just to be aware. Since they aren't both from the same processing network (Amex for one and Freedom being MC or Visa as the other), I feel you'll be ok.

Edit to reflect OP edit: You should be fine, as long as it is Chase Sapphire Preferred (I think regular, fee-free Sapphire has foreign transaction fee?). CSP and Amex Blue should be more than enough, CSP is normally a Visa Signature which is above Platinum in the Visa line.

AirD0c

I didn't use an Amex. I gave them my Chase Sapphire Preferred and Citi AA Executive.

Durian

+1, I also used only one card which is an Amex issued by a foreign bank and which color is black. Neither gold nor platinum nor the Centurion black, just black black

Kleffen

Hi all ,

I am getting this Porsche deal on 8th of May.
I plan to test a Porsche Panamera, since I am considering buying one later this year…

What types do they have, are they S, Turbos etc. ?

NewbieRunner

It looks like the deal is now available in MUC as well.

Wie wäre es, die Wartezeit auf Ihren nächsten Flug mit einem besonderen Erlebnis zu füllen? Als HON Circle Member, Gast von Lufthansa First Class oder Private Jet haben Sie nun die Gelegenheit, jede Sekunde auszukosten: in einem Porsche 911 oder Porsche Panamera. Ob Sie eine Spritztour in die City bevorzugen oder die faszinierende Beschleunigung auf einer speziell für Sie ausgewählten Route spüren möchten – das Porsche First Class Excitement schenkt Ihnen ein Stück Freiheit.

Mit einer für denselben Tag gültigen Bordkarte von Lufthansa, SWISS oder Austrian Airlines kommen Sie in den Genuss der folgenden Kurzmietangebote, zum Beispiel:

Routenvorschläge Frankfurt
Routenvorschläge München

JVPhoto

What is the traffic (if any) like around FRA on a Friday? I have about 6 hours before LH404 and was thinking of doing the Porsche again.

Kleffen

I rented one for three hours on a Thursday in May, between 10:30 - 13:30.
Traffic was not bad. A little bit around the airport, but once I got out into the countryside it was pretty pleasant. 6 hours should not be an issue. I would get out as early as possible in your 6 hours span, so in case any traffic you still have a 2.5 - 3 hours margin going back exceeding the 3 hours rental agreement...

amolkold

Just booked mine for August!

Any recs on which route to take? I'd like to open it up for a bit on the autobahn, but also interesting in a scenic drive otherwise.

habshabs444

I rented one a couple of weeks ago and after the Avis agent had some trouble finding my reservation, I was given the keys to a 911 C4S with only 3k on it. The agent did not request to see my boarding pass.

After changing the NAV from german to English, I was unable to find any of the planned routes and assumed that perhaps this was only loaded on the older rentals. There was a booklet in the car describing the various routes (albeit in German) so I plugged in the first town on the Taunus route.

Unfortunately after having to endure the first 90 mins of sideroads with lots of traffic, I realized that the NAV must have been selected to avoid highways once I decided to ignore the instructions and jump on the Autobahn. I never did figure out how to disable this option, but at least I enjoyed a little on the Autobahn with no speed limits.

I dropped off the car at the first class terminal with 6kms to spare and was subsequently billed the 99 euros a couple of days later on my credit card.

JVPhoto

Booked the 5h connection so I could have some fun again.

A swamped rental car area in general. I wait behind a family at the counter who spent 5min debating about insurance then another few calling their credit cards and then the daughter who was the only one who spoke English asked if they could do a discount on the insurance.
After about 10 min that passed they finally slide aside to talk amongst themselves.

The woman at the counter exasperated made it seem like she had never heard of Lufthansa or a Porsche let alone the two of them together.
She said there was no Porsche here I needed a resv. I said I made it about 3 weeks ago but if it's going to take a long time I just want to cancel it. She asked for my surname looked up the reservation, didn't look up at me and said: "It's cancelled"

A .99 cent experience!

AirD0c

That's frustrating, I would have been quite upset. My experience wasn't exactly 100% smooth either, but as I mentioned in this post, my personal assistant (at the time) was receptive and concerned about some of the issues I had (wait time, no routes etc.). I would suggest we continue to provide feedback at the FCT - they all knew about the program there, while there was clearly a knowledge gap between the FCT and Avis.

JVPhoto

Yah it seems like the same situation, I wasn't in the mood to wait or felt it worth it. I ended up napping in the slumber rooms.

The trip before I only had 2.5 hours so I of course skipped it but late last year everything went off without a hitch. It was sitting in the parking lot, I was in it within 8 min from walking up to the counter.
Didn't care about the GPS routes so much, I was going to Darmstadt to pick up a friend and then just "got lost" on some small roads there before heading back to FRA.

I did mention it to the PA who checked me in (she just sort of shrugged) and the PA who took me downstairs (shift change from the original one) and she also just had somewhat of a blank look.

amolkold

Made a res last week about 12 days out and got an e-mail today saying reservation denied! Huh? Trying to make another reservation but it says 'no J cars available' ... shifted it to an hour later and it says reservation system down. Weird.

tonykline1947

Here is my 2 cents:

1) booking in advance was PIA. Link from LH site keep returning an error. I also failed booking by phone
2) upon arrival at FCLB, agent called Avis and arranged fro a car to be ready in 30 min. Avis line was short, and car was parked at the Avis lot 217. I opted for 911S.
3) Navi was easy to set up. Follow directions from the booklet on LH site.
4) I selected Weinheim-Russelsheim route. WARNING: route is substantially longer than stated 134 km. I followed the nav to the letter, and it was more like 180 km. I will plan to challenge this with Avis if I'm charged for extra kilometers.
5) Traffic does not really allow to push the car even thought it was Saturday Aug 1st. You just do not get too many wide open left lanes. 250 was the fastest I was able to go
5) return to FCT is straght forward, just follow T 1 departures and turn right when you see it