Update: the SkyRide route AF bus ride from DEN airport to downtown was painless (40 minutes). $8 (o/w) sure beats other methods.

The busdriver dropped me off 1 block from Hertz downtown... just had to walk down one street. Got a Ford 500 for a compact rate.

After casual conversation about my trip (told him I was flying out of DEN), he changed my return so I could drop at the airport for no extra charge for what previously would have been an extra charge ^ . Don't know if that was because I'm Gold or he was just being helpful. He seems to have a rather small lot with meager inventory, so hopefully that doesn't impact his fleet too much. Their problem, of course, not mine.

So all in all very worth it.