A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,554
The key to Hertz #1 Awards is whether you have a need for 1-day, standalone rentals. Those are the rentals for which Priceline doesn't provide much help and for which most cheap rates and promotional codes don't work. I actually use a few of these a year, so Hertz #1 Awards is VERY valuable for me.
I figure a standalone one-day rental the way I use them is worth $50. (Like I said, I use them where normal promo codes don't work well - I've done downtown SF, downtown Denver, and the Hilton Hertz location on Waikiki Beach in the past few months - so $50 for a Taurus isn't all that unusual.) Therefore, I value the points at about 8 cents each.
Since I value Marriott Rewards points at about a penny each, my breakeven point is about a $60 rental. Cheaper rental: Marriott points. More expensive rental: ZE1 points. A typical weekly business rental for $175-200 yields about $15 in reward.