I had about 17 rentals since 08-2002, about 3-4 days each. Called them up to request preferred select, and about 2 weeks later got the new card.

The first time I rented with the new status was from LAX for the weekend. We were about 30 minutes early. The car was not ready. No WSJ newspaper. They did however give us an upgrade to a Buick La Sabre and give us the weekend rate even though we picked up at 11:30 instead of after noon on Thursday. I found out that a big car in LA isn't all that good though. I thought we got a good deal, as 3 days and 2 hours came out to $73 with tax. I used a weekend $$ off coupon from the Perferred Select web site.