Originally Posted by
Catherine Taylor
Hi! I'm completely new to the rental car game. My family will be renting a car from SFO to drive to Yosemite. There will be 5 adults, and we absolutely must have an SUV (or minivan would work I guess!) mostly just for space purposes. In all my research so far it looks like with Hertz Gold, if I book a group L4 SUV, I would be assigned a specific SUV to pick up, or I could choose a vehicle from the Gold Ultimate Choice area. Just from what I've read though it looks like any SUVs from the UC area would be smaller ones than L4. While I certainly like the idea of having a choice, midsize SUVs probably just wouldn't work for us. I've also looked at National and it seems like the same deal with the Emerald Aisle.
So my ultimate question is- is there anyway to get to "pick" a large SUV, or are you just stuck with what they assign you from group L4? Thanks for any advice you can give!
They will just assign you one, but there's no harm in asking the agent at the counter what's available in that car class for your reservation. They might tell you 2-3 cars that are available and you can request one.
It's possible to find an SUV or minivan in the Gold area of Ultimate Choice but if there are any it will only be 1-2 and they will be basic with high mileage. You could make 2 reservations under 2 names, one for a midsize (allows you access to Ultimate Choice) and one for L4 so you can check the UC lot first and if you don't like what's there, go to the counter. But AutoSlash will probably chime in with your best bet on that front.
You're much more likely to find an SUV on the National Emerald Aisle than Hertz Ultimate Choice. Hertz UC is a poor man's National Emerald Aisle.