Originally Posted by
AutoSlash
As per the above, it seems that the T&Cs around additional drivers have not changed. It's an error (and
apparently a long-standing one) on the part of Hertz's web content team. We'll revert the changes to our blog post accordingly.
Now I'm thoroughly confused. Is it that Hertz ACTUALLY DOES let spouses of base-level GOLD members drive for free (as their T&C would seem to state), but their non-T&C pages erroneously don't mention this benefit? Or is it that Hertz ACTUALLY DOES NOT let spouses drive for free, and the error is what's stated in the T&C?
Of course, one should always assume that the official T&C applies. But the T&C are confusing because the statement about spouses driving for free is given to clarify a prior statement, not to simply state that there exists a specific beneft:
Rentals which do not use the Program will be governed by the Terms and Conditions for rentals at the facility at which the rental originates, which will be given to You at the commencement of the rental, and not by these Rental Terms.
However, if the Terms and Conditions for rentals at the facility at which a non.Program rental commences are less permissive with respect to which persons may operate the Car than are the corresponding provisions of these Rental Terms for Program Rentals commencing in the country in which that facility is located, then renters enrolled to use the Program in that country will receive the benefit of the more permissive terms even when making a non.Program rental of a Car. For rentals in the United States and Canada by renters enrolled to use the Program in those countries, this means that the renter's spouse or domestic partner may operate the Car without registering as an Additional Authorized Operator or paying a fee, provided he or she is at least 25 years old and has a valid driver's license from a jurisdiction acceptable to Hertz.
I read this paragraph to mean that even if you make a "nonProgram rental", you get whatever additional driver benefits normally come with Gold membership. At the time it was written, Gold members got free spousal additional driver benefits. But now, those benefits are not listed elsewhere.
So, *in practice*, does this spouse-drives-free benefit apply, or not? Have base-level Gold members been asked to pay additional driver fees for spouses when renting in the US? (I mean in states that are NOT California etc that mandate this benefit for spouses.)