Originally Posted by
J0lt_C0la
Question about how to determine exactly who qualifies for a rate:
I used a rate that I can find from my login with a university that I am an alum at. The university account system knows I am an alum and not a current student, and I had to log into the site with my school account to see their page with the link, although you could just google (University Name) Hertz discount and find a direct link to the Hertz page for it that way. It is explicitly listed as being ok to use for personal/leisure travel, but I can't find any fine print beyond that with any specific details on who officially has the right to use it.
I wouldn't worry except for the following: the rate (again, the leisure/personal rate, not their business one, I made absolutely sure of that) includes LDW. A day or two ago, when I went to my car from my hotel's parking lot, I saw a decently sized ding on a back passenger door. (I suspect a careless person threw their door open into mine. The car is nearly brand new, and the light catches the ding in such a way that it's clearly noticeable.) I worry that since it is now in Hertz's financial interest to find me ineligible, they might try to do so.
I still have my school email, and my school account (which I used to find the discount in the first place), and one of the verification methods mentioned for proving your right to use a discount code in general is a relevant email account. However, I no longer have a school ID. Given that the school website shows me the discount link when logged in, and I have my @(university).edu email that I can show to Hertz, I hope I should be fine. Is there anywhere I could hope to find details about this? Does anyone have any other advice? I have the car for a few more days, so I'd like to either reassure myself or be prepared for any issues.
Some Hertz landing pages for universities expressly welcome alumni; others do not. If the landing page for your university does not, I would be concerned. You could contact your university's purchasing office and ask the person in charge of the car-rental contracts whether alumni are entitled to use the contract "leisure" rate.
While I suppose that anything is possible, it's pretty unusual for a contract "leisure" rate to include LDW. My alma maters (both of them) have contracts with Hertz, and the Hertz landing page for each expressly welcomes alumni to take advantage of the leisure rate discount. But the leisure rate does not include LDW or any liability insurance.
If it turns out that you
are entitled to use your alma mater's leisure code, then going forward I suggest that you obtain a certified copy of your transcript, and carry it with you whenever renting from Hertz. An email might be sufficient, but a certified transcript is hard to ignore.
Good luck!