godivabrit

I'm going to need to rent a car on a number of occasions this year (in the UK, Puerto Rico and Hawaii) and I'm a member of these organizations which have some sort of affiliation with Hertz:

American Automobile Association (AAA) of New Jersey
Costco
Continental Airlines (not elite member but bog-standard OnePass member)
American Express (Gold Card)

From time to time I receive a leaflet or an e-mail with a discount code or upgrade offer from these various organizations.

Just wondering if anyone knows which of these listed above seem to be the most favourable for price or/and upgrade, or on the other hand are most of these offering basically the same 'benefits'?

(My spouse is a No.1 Hertz Gold member but I assume that I can't make any bookings using his card if he's not travelling with me?).

Thank you in advance for any suggestions

cordelli

I almost always do better with the AAA rate but not always. You need to try them all, and even combinations of them, sometimes the results are fairly amazing, other times not so much.

I know that's not the answer you want to hear, but my experience is there just isn't one code that works all the time.

Though Connecticut AAA has been very good to me, and you can often stick another discount promotion in there to get it even less.

BJ's which I assume is the same as Costco's or close, has never been the lowest, there are times the price with no codes is lower.

One trick I've found is to keep checking whenever you get a new code on your exhisting reservations. Leave the box checked for use current discount or whatever it is when you modify it, and put the new code in and reprice. Sometimes the savings are dramatic.

StSebastian

AAA is one of my better ones but I almost always have to try them all because some weird one will qualify for the best rate this week.

Sholey

I have always been pleasantly surprised at how good the discount from AAA was. I have even gotten 50% off on one rental last year.
(Yes that was 50%!)

You always could try your other CPD# but I think you will be happy with AAA.

CrazyOne

I always check multiple CDPs. Sometimes the difference is significant, even on good weekend rates, etc.

Acrossenger

CDP 1757580 (Car and Driver Magazine Reader) always did well for me. I use this code all the time.

Global_Hi_Flyer

I try a number of them. Some are better for short-term rentals than others are. I qualify for USAA, and more often than not, USAA offers a better rate than the others you mention. AAA is a good rate, too, if USAA isn't.

Again, it depends on location, time, and length of rental.

TRRed

I also generally tend to find the best prices with my AAA code. I am frustrated with having to go through each rate special on the website to see whether it results in a lower rate (I guess I could go through all of the applicable specials and write down each code and then change the code on the How screens). I wish there were a way to list the rates for the applicable specials on one screen.

Also, if the special rate is sold out or you didn't meet the requirements, there is a short error message telling you the promo code has been removed and pricing it without any code but not really explaining why (it need to have a detailed explanation such as "use of that code requires a Saturday night stay" or "that location is sold out of cars for that promo code for your rental dates, but other sizes are available and are listed below"). This is also a frustration for me with Hertz's site, so watch for the message as you are trying different codes.