gtslow

I rented there last month. Booked Intermediate and was given a Jeep Cherokee. Last Summer I saw a BMW M5 (Dream Car) available.

chrish09

I picked up a Dream Car there 2 years ago (rate mistake!). It was a Caddillac CTS V. I took it 1 way to Houston. Everyone in Houston was shocked.

explorer84

Had a decent experience, I am PC, rented a mid-SUV (Rav 4). When I got there they have the new "ultimate choice" where if a PC member books out of a certain class of cars they get to choose any car in the PC member lot. I got a jeep patriot for less than my booked rate.

I would think if you booked a particular type of special class, you will not be directed to PC area.

FlyinHawaiian

Just ended my rental at AUS and it was a really nice experience.

I'm attaching the email I received for the Ultimate Choice service. I walked from the terminal to the garage across the roadway and into the President's Circle section. I saw a large mix of Kia, Nissan, and Toyota sedans and several small Jeeps. I also found a 2016 Dodge Charger R/T with 4,500 miles and working Siruus/XM that I gladly took.

The selection in the PC lot did seem to have better quality cars than the rest of the lot.

FlyinHawaiian

Getting a YF Challenger Hemi out of the President's Circle Gold Choice section at AUS almost made up for all the garbage cars LGA gives me. Almost.

FlyinHawaiian

Arrived at AUS early this morning, just after midnight. I had a midsize reservation, so went out into the President's Circle area. While fully-stocked, it was all sedans, with nothing fun. Basically a mix of Toyotas, Nissans, and Hyundai midsize and fullsize cars. I saw an Impala Classic LT parked there as well. I didn't see any higher-trim models, mosty base (no leather, sunroof, etc). I ended up taking a YF 2017 Hyundai Sonata with working XM/Sirius.

I poked around the Five Star lot to see if there were any hidden gems and found more of the same, with some Dodge Darts thrown in.

I didn't bother to check the tags of the cars in the upgrade area to see how much the upcharge was.

beckoa

Similar experience for me- PC had a 300 in it so I stuck with what I reserved.

Didn't know they moved is no longer the quick walk from the AS counter... now a bit further (pain w/ loads of luggage in tow).

FlyinHawaiian

Additional point of reference - I was talking with a Five Star member who arrived after I did (around 1:30 am) and he was assigned a Chrysler 300 for his reservation. I'm a little ticked that they held back better cars from the President's Circle area.

jackal

I think I saw somewhere that (like National) you have to reserve a midsize or higher to take advantage of Ultimate Choice (as a PC member), but I can't find anything referencing that now. Do I? And what would I get if I booked a compact at AUS as a PC member?

jackal

I picked up last night at AUS for a one-way rental. When I first arrived at the lot, the Presidents Circle area had two 2017 Maximas, a Hyundai Sonata, a Ford Escape, and a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. I initially picked the Jeep, but after going on a mini-tour of the new facility, I came back to find a VW CC that had been deposited, so I snagged it.

The rep inside told me Wednesdays were the worst days for selection (no surprise--middle of the business travel week) and weekends had a sea of cars to choose from. A PC friend picked up at AUS last Saturday and said there were lots of options, including an Infiniti Q50.

I didn't get a traditional Carfirmation text+email; instead about 1.5 hours before my reservation, I got an email (no text) telling me to go to the PC area with a map of the lot attached.

I walked the lot and didn't see anything more appealing in any of the other areas (midsize, like I'd reserved, or the Gold/5* area) so didn't test the waters about picking up from one of those areas. The "Premium/Luxury" area had 4 Infiniti Q50s, 2 Chrysler 300s, 2 Infiniti QX60s, and one Mercedes C300. A sign next to the area said that upgrades were available to these vehicles for $35/day. The wording on the sign is that it is a fixed $35/day for any of those vehicles, not a "from $35 and up" type of thing. I was tempted by the Merc for $35 and may have done it if the CC hadn't shown up. (I'm sure the fleet management would have loved me taking a Merc out of their fleet, ha...or maybe the offer isn't available on one-way rentals. Would be interesting to test sometime.)

There were other areas labeled "midsize" and "fullsize" but no other areas for premium or luxury cars, so it almost looks like anyone with a premium car reservation can pick up from the premium/luxury area (and there isn't anything there that differentiates a premium from a luxury). However, a friend who rented last week on a PCAR reservation was assigned a specific vehicle and parking stall with his Carfirmation (a 2017 Maxima, so most definitely not an Infiniti or Merc!), so maybe the "choose your own car" thing actually doesn't work with PCAR/LCAR reservations. FWIW, I also didn't see any areas labeled for "Standard" cars, only compact, midsize, and fullsize, so I don't know what would happen with an SCAR--or, for that matter, ECAR--reservation. The 5* area is the same as the Gold area, so I don't know how the 5* upgrade benefit is handled; that said, the Gold/5* area actually had several cars larger than midsize (Sonatas, Malibus, etc.), so apparently Golds get access to the same upgrade inventory as 5*, I guess. Odd.

Either way, not bad at all for a midsize rate and way better than the 50K-mile Corolla or 200 they would have tried to foist on me in the old days for a one-way res. As this rolls out to more locations, this appears to finally be making the Hertz experience competitive with National (though National's rewards program remains superior, IMO).

ETA: I just noticed that this line was in my Ultimate Choice welcome email:

So it seems that it's legit to choose from those other sections if there's something else you prefer to drive.

Also, I'm still somewhat curious how PCAR rentals are handled. I suspect it's as my friend experienced and you get a specific stall reserved. If so, I think that calling the upgrade area the "Premium/Luxury" area is misleading. I think it would be much clearer for them to label it "Prestige Series Upgrades" (since that's what the Hertz website advertises the upgrade area as being) and then have a Premium and Luxury area for people who booked those classes to choose from. JMHO.

jackal

Wednesday evening 11/9 Ultimate Choice aisle reports:

PC area: 2x 2017 Nissan Maxima, 1x Ford Escape, 1x Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1x VW CC
Gold/5* area: assortment of Malibus and Sonatas among a few others
Premium/Luxury upgrade area ($35/day for Golds): 4x Infiniti Q50, 2x Infiniti QX60, 1x Mercedes C300

I took the CC.

rthib

Apparently the use the Henry Ford Ultimate Choice - in PC you can have any car you want, as long as you want a Toyota Corolla. Same for Gold, except the occasional KIA. Not an empty spot - just rows and rows of crappy cars.

dinanm3atl

Supposed to be 'midsize or above' booked. So as PC book "midsize" and choose something potentially much better.

Looking at AUS 3 day rental right now and it's Compact, Inter, Standard and Full Size for cars. Which is 'midsize'. Not sure Hertz uses that term anymore except for Midsize SUV.

Would be first time I'm traveling to an operating Ultimate Choice location and want to make sure I get put into the proper PC section to choose.

sanctified50

Intermediate

narvik

nice score! ^