Originally Posted by
Kacee
I usually rent with National but was unable to get a one-day reservation at PHX this week. So I went with Hertz for the miles (2750, no 5000 bonus unfortunately).
I was reminded once again how badly Hertz sucks. The service is terrible, the vehicles are cheap, and they nickel and dime you on everything. I reserved a full size and they tried to give me an intermediate. The Gold area at Sky Harbor had about a dozen people standing around waiting for help and zero employees anywhere to be seen. After rejecting the first two dogs they tried to give me, I wound up with a gutless Chevy Malibu for $66/day. The contrast with National is really stark, especially at PHX, where National has an excellent fleet and I typically get a 2 or 3 class upgrade just for being Emerald Club.
I don't care how many bonus miles they give out, I'm never voluntarily choosing Hertz again.
I am disappointed that the Presidential Plus discontinued the Avis benefits - from what I have experienced, none of the Hertz cars that I have rented come anywhere close to the quality of the cars that Avis offers. I remember a few years back - I got upgraded from an intermediate car to a Lincoln MKS for free...that was an amazing ride.
To be frank, the thing that bothers me the most is that none of the Hertz cars I've rented has leather seats - whereas almost every single Avis car I rented did. But alas, the programs changed, and to be frank - Avis was almost always the most expensive rental option - so I didn't use them, given I travel on my own dime for leisure.
I will never use National again - I booked a mid-size SUV, and they 'upgraded' me to a Wrangler without telling me it was only a two-door car (I saw 4-doors online, so I assumed that was what I was going to get) with 1990s technology (manual windows, no remote to unlock the car, etc.). Our friends riding in the back were not pleased at all the entire weekend.