houstr8male

dayone

Say no and see what happens. If it is factory SXM, I'd be surprised if Hertz can manage subscriptions at the individual vehicle level.

Auto Enthusiast

Further proof that Hertz is becoming an expensive discount brand. If this was, say, Payless, or Hertz's own Dollar/Thrifty division, charging for everything like Spirit Airlines might make sense.

Dave Noble

I am not aware of Sirius radio provision being a benefit for PC members. Did the rate for the vehicle include Sirius?

FlyinHawaiian

Sadly, I believe this is something Hertz is implementing; basically, they are looking to monetize something that once was free/complimentary and it flat out stinks.

Dave Noble

Sirius wasn't complimentary and still isn't

Doing a dummy booking for a group F car, it offers Sirius at $4.99 per day

FlyinHawaiian

You are missing the point of the OP. We all know that in the past, Hertz would never charge a member who was either assigned a car with an active and working subscription (either via upgrade or their discretion) or a car selected via Ultimate Choice for Sat Radio. Rogue agents may have tried, but it was never the official policy to do so. What appears to be happening is that Hertz, having found a way to activate/deactivate service per rental, has decided to eliminate this customer-friendly loophole.

Dave Noble

so basically , it has just closed a loophole that was being exploited. Hardly seems a surprising thing to do if it now has capability to do so and cannot see how that 'stinks'. There is a big difference between something being given as an official benefit and then removed rather than fixing an exploited loophole. Sirius has always been offered as an optional extra and free satellite radio has never been a benefit of status

FlyinHawaiian

[Shrug] I would prefer Hertz focus their time and energy on customer-friendly initiatives that acknowledge and reward elite customers, not devaluing their points without the courtesy of prior notice, eliminating other published benefits, and trying to monetize Sirius/XM on rentals. The last is particularly galling as most new cars have a complimentary free trial period, so Hertz is attempting to pass along a charge that, in many cases, is likely not costing them anything.

Dave Noble

Ever since Hertz introduced Sirius it has 'monetised' Sirius ; it is something that is offered as an optional extra and never offered as a benefit of status

There are a lot of things it can do, but also no reason not to address where people are aiming to take cars with Sirius but not wanting to pay for it - in OP's case , for example, it isn't just a case of ending up with a car with the facility because the location had no other vehicles, but a deliberate process to choose cars with Sirius whilst not including it in the reservation

Its changing rates for rentals in the US has no bearing on this

Just connect mobile phone via bluetooth and use an internet radio application and issue resolved

radiolarian

m907

I think they're just bluffing as you describe - trying to get people to pay for something they're already getting.

missingcolours

The simplest explanation (we should never assume that Hertz has actually modified their technology stack) is probably that the yes/no is just trying to force the agent to ask the customer if they want it (ala prepaid fuel). And the result of accepting/declining is exactly the same as it's always been.

houstr8male

dayone

Are there any confirmed reports that Hertz has such a capability?