The problem with Hertz Gold points is that if you reserve with them, and then have to change dates (cancel and rebook) then there is a 50% penalty of the points. That lack of flexibility and unreasonable penalty does not work well when my plans may change several times before a final date is established. When booking through the Hertz website (when you can successfully log into said site), you do get the option of choosing Hertz points or SWA. I now usually book through Autoslash, which is finding discounts that otherwise don't seem to be available. I enter my Hertz Gold number in the Autoslash/Priceline reservation field, and one would presume that since Hertz does pick up the Gold service designation, that they would also pick up the preferences from my Gold account, but such seems to not be the case. I hope that SWA will either intervene with Hertz to get better handling for all RR members trying to use the service, or else simply indicate that Hertz is no longer a participating partner. In my case, switching to a different company may be the easiest solution.

All of this hassle does make you appreciate the much more customer friendly policies of SWA.