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#1 Gold showing "Standard Counter" for ORD?

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Old Feb 10, 2011, 2:09 am
  #1  
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#1 Gold showing "Standard Counter" for ORD?

I joined #1 Club Gold for free a year or two ago, and my account on Hertz.com still shows #1 Club Gold as my status.

I just made a reservation at ORD, but it's showing "Service Type: Standard Counter."

I have seen some references that the first rental you do as a #1 Club Gold member will require you to visit the counter so they can have your signature on file. I wasn't expecting that here, because I did a Hertz rental in October (with my #1 Club Gold number), although it was at the Westin Crown Center HLE in MCI, across the street from Amtrak. That location is a corporate location, according to the location finder on Hertz.com.

I assumed that since I had rented at a corporate store, that would count and my subsequent rentals would be full Gold service. Maybe I'm wrong?

Other factors that could be influencing this (based on my reading of previous threads):

1) I have updated the expiration date on my credit card since my first rental, though the card number did stay the same
2) I am using a CDP, though it is the same CDP that was stored in my account when I rented at the Westin in MCI
3) I'm not the most frequent Hertz renter--my last rental was in October

Any ideas why I'm not getting Gold Canopy service?
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Old Feb 10, 2011, 2:49 am
  #2  
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Hmm, question #2:

How quickly does Hertz process the initial signature requirement?

I'm thinking about renting a cheap weekend-rate car at Hertz ANC tomorrow. Hertz ANC is a corporate store (with signature capture devices, if it matters--I don't recall if the HLE office in MCI had signature capture or if I signed paper).

If I rent that car (picking up Friday evening and returning Saturday evening), will it be processed quickly enough to give me Gold Canopy service for my Sunday pickup?

I'm actually renting the car in ORD in part to test out Gold Canopy service for research purposes, so I'm highly motivated to get everything set so it works for me...
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Old Feb 10, 2011, 7:30 am
  #3  
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I would e-mail (they have a gold status form in the contact us section) or call to ask what the issue is, anything we do here is just a guess.

It's possible they did not process the first rental correctly, it could be they entered the card number wrong, who knows?
cordelli is offline  
Old Feb 13, 2011, 3:22 am
  #4  
 
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I believe it just caused by the expiration date change, and they want to verify the card.

That's what I guess. =]
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Old Feb 13, 2011, 5:55 am
  #5  
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Yep, that was basically it. Kinda dumb that they need to do that; National seems far less nitpicky about that. One master signature and you're done.

My ANC rental posted to Hertz.com about 24 hours after I returned it. My existing ORD reservation still showed Standard Counter, but I was able to make new reservations at other locations showing Gold Canopy. Unfortunately, I couldn't rebook my ORD reservation because ORD is currently showing as sold out. Fortunately, a quick call to Web Support (which was answered far, far quicker than Gold Customer Service (which always has waits of 15-20 minutes) fixed that--she pulled up my reservation, flicked a switch, and I'm good to go.

Landing in about an hour--looking forward to my first real big-airport #1 Club Gold experience! ^

(All my other rentals have been at HLEs or non-canopy locations.)
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Old Feb 13, 2011, 2:22 pm
  #6  
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It's really nice when you realize you no longer need to stand in that line. Good luck.
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Old Feb 13, 2011, 4:10 pm
  #7  
 
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How did it go?
Auto Enthusiast is offline  
Old Feb 13, 2011, 6:36 pm
  #8  
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Originally Posted by Auto Enthusiast
How did it go?
Saw my name on the board (rare for ORD, I hear); had a Camry with about 38,000 () miles on it preassigned. Spent several minutes documenting the copious external damage only to get in the car and discover it reeked of smoke. Walked over to the kiosk, where a very friendly agent (a little too friendly--on the "overshare" side) happily gave me a "brand new" 2011 Camry SE with 8,500 miles. She said she wouldn't even charge me for the XM Satellite Radio that it has in it.

So, ++ for employee attitude and willingness of pretty much every Hertz representative I've encountered in the last week to go above and beyond and fix any issues I have. That said, the Hertz rental process seems significantly behind National's. (I guess I just really like the ability to choose your own car.)

Someone posted over in the National forum that a properly-set-up #1 Club Gold reservation has less of a time risk than a National one, because the exit agent merely has to verify ID. Well, our exit agent took at least 45 seconds to do whatever it was she had to do, and after she handed back my paperwork, I asked if she could change my exit time to the current time (10:57am instead of the 8:43am printed on my contract, when the contract was presumably processed). She had no clue what I was asking for (perhaps there was a language barrier, though I would assume it's a pretty standard rquest) and suggested I go back to the Gold kiosk, so I just said I'd deal with it later if I were running late on the return.

All in all, a decent experience with (mostly) helpful employees, but honestly, the benefits of #1 Club Gold do not (IMHO) compare with National Emerald Club--and indeed, I've had pretty much the equivalent service at some Thrifty locations (with Blue Chip) for far less cost. And I strongly prefer the fleet mix at National (and even Thrifty) over the unexciting, high-mileage cars Hertz seems to use.

But I'm keeping an open mind...
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