International too?
 

Does the "#1 Gold free spouse as additional driver" apply for International rentals too? I have an upcoming rental in Germany, and it would be great if my wife could be signed on for free. We are both #1 Gold and she also has AAA (if that matters). My father will be joining us, so it'd be great to work out something where he can be a driver for free as well. I'd hate to pay $5 a day since it's a 2 week rental.

Does it really matter?
 

I've always wondered about this "registering a second driver" stuff. Sometimes I think it's a ploy to get more money out of you. If I never buy any of the extra insurance (CDW, etc.) anyways, does it really matter if the other driver is registered? Wouldn't I be responsible for the damage anyways? Assuming the other driver has their own auto insurance, then that policy should cover the liability, right?

Did not know about domestic partner coverage on Hertz so I can't directly answer your question. I am going to have to find out as I am #1 Gold as well.

But I do know that Avis advertises pretty heavily their free domestic-partner coverage worldwide. Just a little form for the 2nd driver to fill out and sign stating that he is the primary driver's domestic partner. For more info on that. click on this link.

If you are a #1 Club Gold Five Star member your spose is automatically covered as a second driver.

Does the 2nd driver need to be over 25, or is that just to rent the car?

I'm close to 30, but my girlfriend is 21. (Yes, envy me...)

From my understanding - renting a car involves signing a contract - if you allow anyone to drive who hasn't signed the contract, they will be in effect an unauthorized driver, and your insurance company may state their coverage is void in this case. As the primary renter, you would be 100% liable for any damage to the vehicle regardless of fault.

saw an excellent article on this at www.smartertravel.com, not about Hertz specifically, but did cover it.

http://www.smartertravel.com/advice/...5&u=SLF581694F

Since this thread came up again, I'll add another data point: Couple weeks ago we picked up a minivan for the weekend out at PIT. There the agent wanted to charge us $9/day to have my girlfriend on. She said it would have been automatic if married. I'm just ordinary Gold, but I also rented on AAA CDP, which apparently covers spouse for free regardless of Gold, etc. So now I'm thinking maybe the folks at SFO just assumed we were married (well, unless the TPC CDP has some extra magic to it, which seems unlikely). Unfortuntately, just letting them assume that won't really help if something happens; what will matter at that point is how we really are related.

I think it's 25 and over, but the answer is yes, the additional driver does need to be at least that old for Hertz.

Hey! Similar age difference with me and my SO... ;)

Some corp. account have this privilege, check with the CSR for details. Gold members can usually have their spouse drive without having to officially sign the rental record or show a DL. Other than that, a charge usually applies to additional drivers even when that person is a spouse. Rental companies have reasons for this.

Once again following up on my previous post (seems to be a trend in this thread, but my Sept post was the last until a couple days ago), I dug out the actual policy from Hertz after renting once at Avis and getting an absolute no fuss attitude ("Are you significant others? That's fine, it's automatic.") even though I have no status with them at all.

Anyway, the Hertz policy says "domestic partners" is okay. That should mean an SO that you're living with at the same address. So the people at PIT last fall were wrong with me. (No great loss, but I'll know now that it's automatic.) You don't even have to be Gold, just plain #1 Club will get you this benefit. (Easy enough usually to get Gold for free, but just in case.)

This doesn't help in the case of other types of additional drivers. In California there is no fee anyway. (This is why my CA rental was free, I guess.) Nevada can have a second driver for free (but more cost extra). NY is only $3 extra per day max of $35 per rental. And the AAA gets you that for free for either domestic partner or for anyone else if both drivers are AAA members. All these require signing up the second driver, though. If you can do the domestic partner thing under #1 Club, it is automatic, and they don't even have to come with you to pick up the car. (It's automatic even without #1 Club in CA, NV and NY.) USAA and AARP can also get you free additional drivers. Everything else costs $9/day max of $45/rental.

Oh, and all the freebies, automatic or not, require the drivers to be 25 or older. I suppose having any driver under 25 would still incur the nasty extra fees unless you have something else to get those waived.

Hertz terms and conditions - additional drivers
 

Hertz' Terms and Conditions state:

Authorized Operators

Acceptable Authorized Operators age 25 and older are automatically covered on the Rental Agreement.

Authorized Operators are:
- The employer, employee or fellow employee of renter on company business, (when booking includes company Corporate Discount Number).
- The renter's spouse for rentals that originate in California, Nevada or New York.
- The spouse (including partners in Vermont Civil Unions) or domestic partner of Hertz Number One Club, Number One Club Gold or Platinum members.
- Authorized Operators do not have to be present at time of rental.
- There are no fees for Authorized Operators.

Additional Authorized Operators
- Individuals not automatically covered on the Rental Agreement as Authorized Operators noted above may be signed on as an "Additional Authorized Operator" (AAO). AAO's must be present and may be signed on to the rental agreement at the time of rental or during the rental at any US corporate location.
- An applicable driving record verification will be performed on the AAO.
- Renter and each AAO must be present to sign Rental Agreement, present an acceptable credit card or debit card (if renting city accepts debit cards) in their own name, or a current round-trip ticket (air, train or bus), show valid driver's license, and must be a minimum of 25 years of age.

Additional Authorized Operators Fees
USD 9.00 per day, maximum USD 45.00 per rental, for each Additional Authorized Operator.

Exceptions -

California - no fee for Additional Authorized Operators

Nevada - no fee for the first Additional Authorized Operator. The second and subsequent drivers are USD 5.00 per day, up to a maximum charge of USD 35.00 per driver, per rental.

NY State - USD 3.00 per Additional Authorized Operator per day with a maximum charge of USD 35.00 per rental. This fee applies to all locations in New York State. Authorized and Additional Authorized Operators must be a minimum of 25 years of age.

AAA - Spouse/Domestic Partner of AAA members are not required to have a separate AAA membership in order to receive the free AAO privileges. For other rentals, the AAO fee is also waived when both the renter and the AAO are AAA members.

USAA - No charge for qualified Additional Authorized Operators who are USAA members when signing on to a qualified USAA rental.

AARP - No charge for qualified Additional Authorized Operators who are AARP members or member's spouse when signing on to a qualified AARP rental.