stimpy

It might have been an upgraded sedan like a BMW or something. I didn't even ask what it was. I just wanted an SUV.

DJ_Iceman

Rented at LIT last week with my family; booked a small SUV (Nissan Rogue or similar) and was really hoping for an upgrade to something bigger. I was even going to just book a bigger SUV but it was about $100 a day more, and then a few days before arrival wasn't even available for booking. Showed up at the airport and they had my keys ready to go for a Chevy Tahoe parked right next to the gold booth--score! Return was seamless, but it would have been for any Hertz customer; not too busy and the staff there is competent and friendly. No need for a drive back to the terminal as the rental car garage is right next to it, so the big benefit of platinum to me this time was the vehicle upgrade, which worked out perfectly.

MASTERNC

That's definitely a few classes up, Iceman

DJ_Iceman

Had another good experience in PHX this week. Reserved a compact, got an almost-new Toyota Avalon (with active satellite radio, which I always appreciate). The associate who drove me back to the terminal upon return told me they're trying hard to staff up to where they'll again be able to offer curbside pick-up as well.

stimpy

I flew into the smallish ORF and walked to the rental lot. No need for a bus. My flight was early, so they didn't have a car prepped for me, which they apologized for. They gave me the choice of a 300 or an X5. I took the X5, which was white and very well equipped. The manager seemed a bit sad. I think she was expecting to have the car for the night.

Steve M

The way I interpret the quote is that the "nominal fee" applies to situations where you have the care delivered to somewhere OTHER than the airport terminal (e.g. hotel, work, home).

DJ_Iceman

I had another good experience in BOS this week. Got the e-mail in advance with my rental agreement and saw they had put me in a Toyota Venza with 22k miles on the odometer, so I was hoping to change at the booth. When I arrived and asked, the next offer was a Chevy Equinox. I told the attendant since it was just me traveling I wasn't looking for something bigger, just something nicer. At that point it clicked, and he told me to pick any of the sports cars in view around the booth. Not wanting to be greedy (well, MORE greedy) I told him to just pick the one they were least likely to rent. He started with a Mustang but withdrew the offer when he found it was a V6 model, then offered me a Hemi Challenger (which I took). It wasn't the world's best vehicle, but it sure beat a Venza!

stimpy

I flew into LYS and as has been the case since bankruptcy, they have no German cars. They offered a mini-van and I said I didn't need anything big So they gave me a Citroën DS 3 Crossback which was perfectly fine. I dropped it off in Paris with no extra fees. So at least that hasn't changed.

FlyinHawaiian

Out of curiosity, what was your original booking class?

As a general note for this thread, Miss Regina at SFO is off to her well-deserved retirement.

DJ_Iceman

Compact (B class). Sadly, that's all my employer will reimburse. Sometimes I get lucky and higher classes are actually cheaper than compact, other times the difference is small enough that I'm willing to pay the nominal upcharge. I will admit to having higher expectations for my vehicle when I book a higher class, but I wouldn't even take a Venza back when I was PC with Hertz!

Info79

Hi,
​​​​​​
Is there any better treatment being Hertz platinum then being PC?
Is there a big difference or is it more depending on the person behind the counter?

​​​​​Asking for Hertz Europe & US ... Thanks 🙏
​​​

stimpy

The answer is yes. Significantly better.

DJ_Iceman

I had another good experience at BOS. Reserved a medium luxury SUV (Cadillac XT5 or similar) as it was the biggest thing available to book, and was hoping for an upgrade to a massive SUV due to traveling with my family and luggage for a 4-week vacation. I was pleasantly surprised to find they had upgraded me to a Lincoln Navigator which was parked immediately outside the gold booth. At return, they gladly drove us back to the terminal with no delay. This location really gets the platinum thing right!

JohnnyP

Good experience at SNA. They have a ton of very high end cars at this location — Range Rover, Porsche Taycan, Polestar 1 (yes, the hybrid coupe!), lots of Teslas. Super impressive selection. At the Gold desk in the garage, I was escorted over to the key window. She said “Platinum” and the gentleman started to process me.

I had booked a full size sedan. I was assigned a brand new Toyota Avalon. I asked about the Range Rover since there were 5 of us on this trip. He asked how long my rental was and where I was returning (1 day, same location), did some typing and offered up a Jaguar E-Pace. I was happy with that for sure!

First time in the E-Pace. It was fine, nothing special to drive. The interior finishes were great though and I loved the big touchscreen with wireless AirPlay.

Overall, I’d rent from this location in a heartbeat again. Drove by the National Exec selection on the way out and it was pretty meh.

stimpy

Again I needed an SUV in NYC, this time for a week, and it was crazy expensive to book one. So I booked a sedan and then asked for an SUV upgrade. And they kindly gave me a GMC Terrain.