Originally Posted by
JuanAl
Hi Guys, this is my first post in this forum, I've been reading for a few days, lot of helpful information but I have a doubt that I didn't find any mention in the thread.
I registered for Gold Plus Membership and I'm looking to rent a minivan for my family vacation in Miami/Orlando.
Using the Herz app for the dates I need I see a special offer for a Prestige Collection SUV, the price is much much cheaper than the price for the Minivan.
This is a non brainer for almost anyone but in my case, we're 6 people so I really need a minivan.
If I make the reservation for the Prestige SUV:
A) can i go to the Gold Plus lot and grab another vehicle? And if so, what are the chances to pick a Minivan??
B) if I can't get the minivan from the Lot, can I get a "downgrade" in the counter? Will Hertz consider this as a downgrade? Or will I have to pay the usd35 per day rate??
Thanks for your help!!
Ps: I know Miami doesn't have the Ultimate Choice program yet, but I'm flying next year.
Welcome to FlyerTalk!
The chances of a minivan in the Gold area are pretty minimal. I would not plan or expect that to be the case. That said, technically by the terms of the Ultimate Choice program, if there is one in the Gold area, you
should be able to get it for free, though at least as of right now, there are some issues with staff understanding the rules about what you are entitled to take.
If there are no vans in the Gold Choice area and you pick one from the Minivan area, it's a little iffier. Vans have historically been considered "lower" than the larger SUVs, but they're sort of a different "fork" above the standard car classes and so aren't a direct upgrade or downgrade from SUVs. You might have luck talking an agent/manager into getting a van at no cost. Note that changing out of the van
may cause the promo code you're using to be invalidated, which might cause your cost to go up.
Note that some of the Prestige Collection SUVs have fairly comfortable seating for 6 passengers--like the QX80 or the Escalade especially, and maybe a few others, too. You might just plan to go ahead with one of those if the cost is acceptable.