Originally Posted by
bocastephen
From reading the various threads, it appears that Hertz Presidents Circle is their highest earned tier, and pales badly against National Executive Elite, specifically around car selection. I am a National customer and EE for many years but would like to give Hertz a try so I can diversify a little. I rent mostly in Southern CA and Southern FL, but my usual procedure is to pick up at the airport with one free day and then renew for a week at a time at various in-city locations to avoid airport taxes. I could be in a rental for a month or more at a time, renewing every week to re-use coupons.
My question is two-fold - while National may often put Volvos, Mercedes, BMW, hybrids and other nice cars on the Executive Aisle at LAX, is it correct to assume that Hertz Presidents Circle at LAX will be 99.9% base trim full size models with little to no chance at a nice car even by request? Second, while it's generally easy to take a nice car from National location
#1 , and then open new contracts (the weekly renewal) at locations
#2 ,
#3 , etc etc to avoid the back-to-back limitation on earning benefits, how do Hertz locations treat a PC customer showing up in a premium or luxury car, but with a midsize or fullsize reservation when they request to keep the same car they came in with? Are Hertz locations more likely to take the car away and insist the customer take something in-stock from the category they reserved?
Yes, it is correct to assume that PC at Hertz LAX is full of basic trim FCAR's. Never seen a Mercedes or BMW in PC only in the upgrade (for an additional per day fee) area. Lately, even though it is a slower season, I have been seeing less and less upgraded vehicles in PC at LAX. It was great when they started last April but lately it's been ho-hum at best. In Hertz LAX PC area, I was renting hybrids and Cadillac Escalades for the cheapest rate class offered even during the summer but haven't seen any in PC since.
I can't speak of what Hertz Local Edition locations will do for you if you try to rerent a vehicle that is not in the class you reserved. At LAX, though, they aren't keen on it. With few exceptions, they are too busy to set aside your vehicle as you go to the Gold Office and persuade an agent to give you back an upgraded vehicle that is not in the class you reserved (even if it was in PC). You may wish to ask this question in another thread that isn't so specific as to LAX for a better answer from others who may have an experience that relates to your question.