ajumbaje

It's listed as corporate. I will call them later today to confirm if it's possible.

cestmoi123

Call whom? The HLE won't care, in fact, they'd love the idea, since it lets them give you something crappy, since you're going to swap it out at the airport anyway, and that saves a better car for either an upgrade to please a customer or a paid upgrade to generate more revenue. The AIRPORT location, however, might not like this arrangement, and, as I understand it, they don't HAVE to let you swap the car, unless there's genuinely something wrong with it.

cloudskipper

As a PC, what has been your experience at HLEs?

Mine has been great. At the HLE I that I deal with I am one of the few retail customers that they have since most of their clients are insurance companies,so they love me and let me rent any car that they have on premises for the price of an econ.

stevietommo

sorry if this has been answered, i just cant find it... i have recently been upgraded to a PC member. I have a hertz LAX booking and it currently says go to Gold counter – will I be able to go to PC selection? Does it always say go to gold? Or has it just not updated it with the pc ?

AutoSlash

Yes, just go to the PC section, pick out a vehicle and drive to the exit booth. It always says "Gold". You are either a regular Gold Rewards member, a 5* Gold member, or a PC Gold member. Just multiple levels of the Gold Rewards program, but all still Gold.

stevietommo

perfect - thanks

hockeyinsider

At the airport branches in London (Heathrow), Manchester and Edinburgh, I've always booked the equivelent of a midsize or standard with an automatic transmission and been upgraded to a Mercedes sedan or SUV. Both on points and paid rates.

PostmanPat47

I was just about to ask this same question for a trip I have to the UK in June this year with a couple of rentals booked from LHR and MAN. I'm curious though as there's very little information on President's Circle on the Hertz UK website, do they use the same 'open selection' areas like they use here at the major locations in the US, do you need to request the upgrade based on your status or do they simply assign you upgrades based on your status and you find out when you arrive at your assigned parking bay?

hockeyinsider

My last U.K. rental in mid-2017 was at Edinburgh's airport. I received an email and text message confirming my car's make and model as well as its rental bay location. I booked a mid-size automatic and was upgraded into a Mercedes GLE350 AMG.

It's been 2 years since I've rented at London and Manchester, so I can't speak to what they do now, but I was upgraded both times. In Manchester, I booked an intermediate automatic and received a Mercedes B-Class crossover/SUV, which admittedly was ugly but it was still a Mercedes. In London, I book a compact automatic and received a Mercedes E-Class sedan.

So, your best bet, is to book an automatic, I think.

jtav559

Need some advice on the intricacies of whats "available" in PC are versus assigned, and how the Ultimate Choice factors into this.

Currently have a Costco car res. with Budget for a full-size Impala out of ORD. Good rate, happy to keep it as we have 4 of us adults to move around. When I booked it, Hertz was wanting 50% more for the same reservation so I didn't want to try and reserve down a size to try and catch an upgrade back to the full size.

Got an email from Hertz this morning with a promo for a pre-paid rate. A little cheaper than the current Costco rate for an Impala (Premium, Group G), 20% less than Costco for an (Full size, Group F).

It seems from reports on this and other threads, PC members can select any car in the PC area as long as they have booked at least an intermediate originally? And that upgrade is free?

Versus the new "Ultimate Choice" option of paying a reduced daily fee for the upgrade? Seem like this program is designed to confuse and drive in revenue!

I am happy to reserve the Group G from hertz and save a few $, but if I can go down to the Group F and save some more $ knowing that I can pick as I please from whatever is in PC section at ORD - I would rather do that.

Your insight is appreciated!

AutoSlash

If you're counting on the "confirmed upgrade" benefit for PC members to get you in a Class G, that won't work. From Hertz.com: "Confirmed vehicle one-car-class upgrade available at all participating locations in the U.S., Canada and select European locations. Maximum upgrade is to a Full-Size class vehicle with a minimum reserved Compact vehicle." However, this is effectively a non-issue at Ultimate Choice locations.

Ultimate Choice is the option for PC members to pick from the PC row. (Also, 5* members to pick from the 5* row and Gold members to pick from the Gold row.) Most major and mid-size airport locations these days are Ultimate Choice locations, where you can choose your own car from your designated status area. It varies by location, time of year, mood of management, etc., but the cars in the PC section of an Ultimate Choice location can be anything from regular midsize cars to fullsize cars to nicer premiums, perhaps even some luxuries, and maybe even SUVs and vans. Anything chosen from the PC aisle is yours at no additional cost.

The option to choose a nicer car for a reduced upgrade fee is called "Premium Selection" and is available at Ultimate Choice locations. These cars are usually nicer than class G. As a PC member, you can choose from these vehicles and a $25/day upgrade charge will be added to your contract.

So yes, you can reserve Group F and choose from the PC section at ORD, which is an Ultimate Choice location. You may find a G-class car in the PC aisle (not guaranteed) or perhaps even something nicer, and you have the option to pull from the Premium Selection for $25 if you don't find something that you want.

jtav559

@AutoSlash - thanks for the detailed play-by-play! That is exactly the info I was looking for. It is almost worthy of putting in the Wiki for those who are new to PC and the upgrade process. Appreciate it.

Well, I will pull the trigger on the Group F and see what comes up when I get to ORD. Seems to be some good reports of nicer options in the PC section there.

hockeyinsider

I've had reservations at Ultimate Choice-participating branches, but have still been assigned a car as a President's Circle customer.

AutoSlash

Have you been reserving something other than an economy through fullsize car?

JVPhoto

Is there a new Chrysler 300 push?
I did a o/w MRY to LAX rental for 6 days booking a full size and got a 300s. Was fine to cruise down the coast, only outlier was when picking it up at MRY there were 5 300s parked in a row.