ijgordon

Definitely put it for 28 hours so the contract only shows one day rental charge. I wouldn’t trust the location to know not to bill for an extra day. Also, I got hit with a ~$12 “late return” fee because I made a reservation for 10am-10pm but returned the car the next morning (<24 hrs, so not related to the grace period) even though I paid for a full rental day. I stopped using Hertz for a year after that.

m907

It's almost never a good idea to reserve a partial rental day with any company. You're already paying for a full day but locking yourself in to less, so if plans change, you're paying extra.

The only exception I can think of is 4 days + 2 hours is treated as just that, while 4 days + 3 hours is treated as a weekly rental.

MattBTU

I generally agree with you when you are using a CDP that does not have a grace period such as USAA, United, etc.

However, the Amex Platinum CDP is unique in that you won’t be charged the hourly or full day charges by booking 28 hours. The total cost is almost identical as 24 hours (Property tax, title reimbursement might be $5 more).

On the margins, this benefit is useful like if I have flights arriving at 12pm on Friday and departing at 5pm on Sunday. My standard corporate CDP will charge me for 3 full days for a 52 hour rental. Using the Amex CDP will only charge for 2 full days. In this case, I just look at the total rental cost and pick the lowest.

duffmankc

Data point from my rental this weekend. I have both Amex platinum and Venture X cards and they are both in my Hertz profile. When searching rates on Hertz, searching with the platinum saved around $100, so I used these rates. Since I reserved about 48 hours before my flight I went ahead and prepaid to save more money. When checking out and paying, since I have both cards in my profile, even thought the Amex card was the default I went ahead and changed it to the Venture X and paid with that at reservation and the rate didn't change. I dropped the car off yesterday and got the receipt and the Amex rate was honored. Also note, through the Venture X I also got to use President's circle and ultimate choice on this rental.
Long story short, yes the terms say you have to pay with Amex platinum, but paying with a different card worked fine and cause no problems whatsoever.

sfflyer415

Just got President's Circle elite status with my Amex Platinum card, but I'm still hesitant to make Hertz my go to rent-a-car company.

Recently I had a smooth experience renting from Hertz in Palm Springs, but every other Hertz location in the country has some of the worst rental car reviews online.

Is Hertz really that bad overall? Does it make a difference as high tier elite member? Appreciate any feedback.

joeyday

Of course the elite status makes a difference, just as it does for your Alaska and Marriott programs.

91StealthES

Yes, higher status helps.

You will find bad reviews at every location for every rental car company around the world. If you have high expectations of always driving a BMW, Mercedes, or Cadillac at every rental; you will be disappointed. You will get a full size or above with a mid-size reservation. You will also get extremely lucky sometimes.

Welcome to Hertz and enjoy your stay!

sfflyer415

Ok I suppose let me ask this question another way: even with your Hertz elite status, do you still deal with problems such as erroneous extra charges made to your credit card, false accusations of car damage, etc?

I know every car company has bad reviews, but Hertz tends to have worse reviews than others. National and Enterprise tend to have better reviews all around, and I've never had issues with them.

esquiar

In my experience, status helps at well-run locations, typically the airport locations with Gold/Ultimate Choice. It doesn’t help at poorly run off-airport locations, where there’s only one employee working the desk and they’re too indifferent to do anything promptly.

91StealthES

I've been traveling for over 15-years and have never been hit with false damages or erroneous charges. Now, I've only ever utilized National and Hertz as they are/were my employer's primary agency.

Please also remember that people love to complain, but not give more praise. I am sure a lot of negative complaints arise from legitimate charges, but the customer refuses to accept. For example, if you keep a car 2-hours longer than your reserved time, you will be charged another day. While you may be unhappy with this charge, it is what it is and it is shown on the contract you initiated. Another example is a facility being in a sold out situation and people need to wait 20-minutes to get a car. Instead of being gracious a car was received, they complain that they had to wait 20-minutes because there were no cars.

Again, I have never had issues with National or Hertz. In the last few years, my primary locations for rentals have been LGA and JFK. Many people state these locations are horrible, but I have had nothing but great experiences at both locations and have found the staff to go above and beyond when I have a specific request.

FYI, I was Executive Elite when with National and am Presidents Circle with Hertz.

sfflyer415

Appreciate this reply, thanks!

atsak

I've only ever had one erroneous charge on an invoice, and it was at LGA Budget, and they fixed it (after I sent photo evidence). They said the car was full of gas when they gave it to me but it was not. Otherwise, I've used all the companies (including Hertz) without issues on around 200 rentals over the last decade or so in about 30 or 40 cities. Service was bad in STL in all the companies (Budget, Avis, and Alamo all did not have a car ready for me when I arrived, on multiple occasions, despite having checked in online / having status) except Enterprise, and very slow in DFW at Budget. That's really been my only gripes.

safari ari

I've had a better experience as a PC with Avis in the last 3 years, receiving BMW/Volvo/Acura/Genesis/Mercedes than as a PC with Hertz the prior 5, but would say most services are on par between each other. You get what you pay for with Hertz and if you have a decent rate it's nothing to scoff at, just as people said upthread, don't expect a red carpet of luxury cars to be rolled out for you, and you won't be disappointed.

m907

Before 2020, Hertz was a poor man's National - generally good but less flexible and a fleet that was not as good, although they were making efforts in that regard.

Now Hertz's fleet is full of 40,000+ mile beaters with visible body damage and interior problems. Management and customer service was lackluster before and is worse now. Their rewards have been repeatedly devalued without notice. The only redeeming factor now is Ultimate Choice.

The only time I'm willing to rent from Hertz nowadays is if they are at least 30% lower than my National contract rate, if not lower.

joeyday

My last two Hertz rentals (this month) had 3,500 and 180 miles on the odometer when I left the lot. Further proof that PC status is beneficial.