Hertz's hurts & the elite crossover benefit
 

I just booked vacation flights for the family in late July (we were originally leaving for Hawaii on Monday but 14 days in the hotel room might not be much of a vacation). After I hit purchase it popped up the usual hotel and rental car items...except the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty columns were all marked "Not Available." So I checked my existing reservations. Nope, Hertz isn't an option, however, Dollar and/or Thrifty is. I'm hoping the worst isn't going to happen in Hertz' bankruptcy and the Delta/Hertz elite crossover goes away, given of course that Hertz actually survives this. I've enjoyed "picking my own" in the PC row. Losing the bonus miles aren't the end of the world and maybe they just aren't able to offer that bonus deal. When I looked under SkyMiles Medallion benefits page it still lists the Hertz elite link. Has anyone else had any experiences yet?

I just booked a car with Hertz in PHX for 6/13-16. Are you saying I should cover my bases and have a backup?

I think there's a slight risk that Hertz will cease operations but I don't think it would come this soon. But when Icahn is involved anything can happen. There are plenty of other options at PHX. If you have favorable rates with one you might want to book it ahead of time to be sure. Just remember to cancel one or the other.

Pretty sure National has been doing the pick-your-own-car thing since long before Hertz got into it. So if that's your concern, nothing to worry about

Icahn is out. He lost $1.8 billion on Hertz.

I completed a Hertz rental today and it was totally normal. Many locations are loosly affiliated franchises anyways.

I have a Hertz reservation at SMF next weekend.

I understand that at the time it filed its bankruptcy petition (last Friday 5/22), Hertz reported that it had roughly $1 billion on hand; unfortunately, its current liabilities were $18.7 billion.

Anybody know whether National and/or Avis are doing status matches? I'm President's Circle too (I got it through being a DM once upon a time, and never lost it even though being relegated to PM).

I've successfully matched from Hertz PC (obtained through Delta Platinum) to National Executive Elite several years in a row. I have not bothered with it this year due to lack of travel, so I can't confirm if they are still matching. But definitely worth a shot. If a match fails, National is fairly easy to get Executive status anyway (both my employer and my auto insurance company offer it) and I don't see a huge benefit of Executive Elite over Executive. But Executive gives better car selection over the regular Emerald Aisle.

I feel for any Hertz employee who may be negatively affected by the filing, but in regard to Icahn’s investment being wiped out, its just too bad. I have always felt that if it weren’t for the way he pillaged and plundered TWA, it might have survived, at least until the 2007 - 2008 recession.

Both PM and DM get matched to Hertz President's Circle under the current policy, so that's correct that you're PC if you are still a DL PM.

I've matched this to National for the last two or three years with no problem (I did it once, and it's never gone away). I would recommend doing that no matter what, just to have the option.

I've got a Hertz rental at JFK in about 10 days that I'm planning on picking up, I don't expect that they'll pull out of their airport markets as part of the bankruptcy at this point - that would be bad for everyone involved. In the longer term, I wouldn't be surprised to see elite deals like the DL/Hertz tie up go away, but it's anything but certain.

It will be business as normal while they are going through bankruptcy protection so I would not feel the need to cancel and rebook with somebody else.

IIRC there was a thread in the National forum about AmEx Plat card getting Executive Elite, but (the more generous version of) the offer might have expired. It also might just be for new members, so check there before signing up with National.

I did it and recently got the COVID-19 extension too even though I haven't rented from National yet.

Good recommendation from all that say do the National status match. My company recently added National/Enterprise as a corporate account. I've had good luck using Enterprise award rentals. I just didn't like that they make you stand in line. National fixes that. Hopefully Hertz can pull thru this but in case...

Thanks all.

That's a real shame. :rolleyes:

Serves him right for messing up TWA.

Dumped Hertz for National a few years ago after three incidents with Hertz in two months. Haven't looked back. Never realized how old/crappy the cars in Hertz's fleet were until I went to National. It's easy to get status there, but good to know that they'll match DL-gotten status.