Upgrade frequency is one parameter, rates are another…

It makes me question Hertz very much when they offer me higher rates logged in on the web site as gold member compared to not being logged in at all.
Hence higher prices for gold vs. nobody. Why is that???

What about AVIS?

Because when logged in as gold you get all the preference that you have selected for insurance, etc etc etc etc & etc.

Rates work out the same gold vs non gold once you add in all the extra insurances and the like

I should have been more specific.

In my case the Gold rate is actually including less options!!!

Go to: http://www.hertz.se
Location ARN (Arlanda airport)
Date: 24 July until 2 Aug.
I have added my CDP (which gives 10% off)
Pick Ford Fiesta: price pay now: 2821.5 SEK rate code: WOW3SE
Included are Liability, TP and CDW

Now I login as gold.
The very same CDP is from my profile.
Pick Ford Fiesta: price pay now: 3191.50 SEK rate code: EOX3EU
Included is Liability, excluded are: TP, CDW

Conclusion
Logging is a Gold I not only get to pay more, ALSO expensive options are extra as Gold.

However now let's try to go to hertz.com
the web site is picking up I am in Germany and eventually I am offered as

Nobody: rate code WOW3DE (LIB, TP, CDW included) and I can pre-pay as well with guaranteed rate.
Gold member: rate code EOX3EU as above (included: LIB, excluded: TP, CDW) here I can't pre-pay

Further conclusion, depending on website and IP location I get served up different rates. But logged in as Gold the rate and the conditions are the same.

I am not 100% on all the option fees, but it will be approx 800 SEK (approx 25%) more as Gold for the above mentioned week.

Am I missing something here or this is really discouraging?

I did a similar experiment with 1 week, full size car, from LAX, regardless of being nobody or logged in as Gold the rate as well as pre-pay option were the same.

Maybe the price differences are something we are more often seeing in Europe?

The catch is, only at Hertz is a "nicer" car of the same size an "upgrade." As a National Exec, if I reserve a Premium, I get charged for a Full. I regularly get Impala LTZs with sunroof and sat radio for the midsize rate, and have even once gotten an Impala SS.

I have split my rentals between National and Hertz this year in an attempt to earn 5* status as a "backup" to my National Exec status when National is overpriced or in bad locations. Although I don't yet have 5*, I can't say my experience with Hertz has been encouraging. By and large, the cars I've received have been either exactly the class I've reserved or slight downgrades (e.g., a base F on a specialty F reservation), and most have been heavily worn and dirty. On the average, they have been significantly less appealing than the cars I got from National before earning status with them.

I think National beats Hertz and Avis hands down. Heres my experience:

I rented first few months with Hertz, then National for a few, and then Avis all at the same location (been too long on this project). Always reserved midsize/intermediate.

Hertz was decent. I got good cars and when I did not like the selection, the Gold counter got me something good, unless the rare couple of occasions when there were literally no cars left in the lot. I have gotten Volvos, Mustangs, etc. After being 5*, I had an award rental once at another airport for personal use, and the Gold crew was amazing. I asked if they had any Volvos and they said they dont, but if they did, they would give it to me. They had a brand new Mustang with 2 miles on it, and gave it to me. I have never had any major complaints.

National was awesome. Always a Full Size in the lot, and always something with Sat radio which I prefer rather than a full/mid size. This week, they had 4 cars left in the EC/Exec aisle and none had Sat radio. They still had Camry, Impala, and newer cars with low miles. But I went into the counter and mentioned if they had the keys for a charger parked there with doors locked. They said if the keys are not in, it must be reserved for someone specifically. She asked if I booked a Premium, I said im Exec. I mentioned they dont have anything with Sat radio and asked if I can pick something from Premium, and she said sure.

Then switched to Avis for a month or so to use the 5k bonus mile promo. I got to be Avis First through my company before starting my rentals. Each time, I received an SUV. I have marked in the profile and even complained to Avis who said they have put it in my records not to give me SUV. But still the same goes on. Ok, so they assign me SUVs, fine. I go to the counter and the crew couldnt care less for me. When I insisted I dont want the SUV, they assign me a economy (a downgrade from my res) or the worst midsize on the lot. Actually, once I was assigned an economy before I got there. Plus, there is not automatic door entry (I didnt even know that existed for rental cars). I complained and was given the "there are no other cars left" when I saw multiple Full Sizes and midsizes in the lot and cant imagine every single of those is for an Avis First or higher customer.

I just couldnt be happier going back to National now. The return crew knows me by name and always thanks me and acknowledges my business, while Avis barely avoids a cold shoulder. Hertz return crew is average, no complains. Once the National return lady saw me returning Avis and coming out of the lot, and asked me why I switched. I felt embarrassed a bit and told her it was some promo and I will be back with National.

You're absolutely right, but defining "upgrade" depends on the person. A lot of people these days don't want something bigger than they've reserved. Personally I don't really care, I like to try out something new whenever possible. Anytime I rent I'm usually just driving to and from the airport, so even with errands I'm driving 60-70 miles tops. Even at our ridiculous Canadian gas prices, we're talking a difference of $7 in fuel between a Yaris and a Durango (to use extremes).

That said, some of the nicer upgrades I've had have been in-class. I had a compact booked with National at YEG and they gave me a Focus. Rather than just any old one, they must've recognized I was Emerald Elite since they gave me an SES with Sirius, Sync, heated leather seats and moonroof. I liked being able to have all the creature comforts I love and still have something easy to park and cheap on fuel.

So it depends on the person. I'll sometimes be inclined to take a minivan if offered as a "pay it forward" to my fellow travellers. Whatever they give me, it still beats either waiting for 30 minutes in -30 weather for a cab or being crammed into a 15-passenger shuttle van that decides to skip my drop-off point to save time.

Tuneman -- you're absolutely right about not always wanting to drive larger. I guess my peeve with Hertz is that they will pull the C -> YC thing even when you're using a "one class upgrade" coupon or something similar. With National it's not an issue, because you pick your car at most locations -- so if the upgrades on the Exec aisle are gigantic SUVs, you can just go to the midsize aisle.

Really what I'd love is a rental agency with Hertz's car fleet and National's aisle system.

Aah, okay now I follow you better. Yeah Enterprise tried that one on me once. I have a free rental cause they screwed up a previous booking, and I had booked an Economy but had a free upgrade coupon. The agent gladly took my coupon and said he'd do even better and put me in an Intermediate (I got a Pursuit with a sunroof, fairly loaded for E-Prise). Things is, they had no Economy or Compact cars to speak of. :mad: When I tried to raise the question, he quickly focussed on his computer monitor and then came up with 3 great ways I was getting a heck of a deal:

1. I got a lower rate than they were normally quoting (I wasn't paying anyways and it's the rate they were posting online)
2. I got a double upgrade for no charge (Read, a mandatory upgrade as they had small cars and they still stole my coupon)
3. I was getting it for free (Like I said, cause they had no car for me and I missed an important engagement since everyone in the city was sold out)

So yeah, I guess it's one thing for a no-frills like Enterprise to do that, but I wouldn't expect it of Hertz. A one-class upgrade is just that. When you book, you expect to be getting something slightly larger, hence you book a class lower than you want. But unfortunately I find a lot of rental agents are merely robots programmed by whoever is running the place. I swear you could tell them a Hyundai Accent is a full-size specialty car and they'd defend it to the grave, even with a PC member.

Anyways, I digress. I love the car choice at National, but unfortunately we only have 3.5 locations in Canada with that and not even the traditionally Emerald Aisle/Executive Selection. It's the equivalent of Emerald Reserve. The half-location is YYZ, where you get your choice of cars unless the agents panic and swipe all the keys, effectively making it counter service.

It's odd what they consider an "upgrade." If I ask for a Camry, I don't want an SUV even if they tell me it's an upgrade. I like driving Camrys (I drive a Lexus ES300 at home) and I don't like driving big trucks.

When I worked for the Government, I used to rent from Hertz all the time. They had a contract which included full insurance, the rate was reasonable and I didn't feel like I was being extravagant, and I usually got a car that I wanted. I've never made the President's club (I don't even thing they had it then) but I'm still a Gold member. They used to automatically upgrade Gold rentals, so I could save the Gov't a nickel by renting the class I was supposed to rent and getting a car I liked to drive. No more though, you get what you asked for (or their interpretation thereof).

Now that I'm retired and just about all of my travel is on my own dime, while I'm still pretty fussy about the car I get, I look for good rates, too. Last three times I've rented in Los Angeles, I've saved $150 on a week rental by renting from Thrifty rather than Hertz. I'm perfectly happy driving a Chrysler Sebring, a car that Thrifty (at least this location) stocks in depth. And it's a "pick out your car" rental, so if I don't see a car I like in the aisle they send me to, I can ask politely and get something else from a different group as long as I'm not asking for anything outrageous.

I've had similarly good experiences with National. Avis doesn't usually make the first cut since they're usually only a couple of bucks cheaper than Hertz and in general I don't care for the cars in their fleet.

I sometimes envy people who don't care what car they drive. I'm pickier than that.

TEST 2
 

OK so monday I reserved two fullsizes at SFO, Avis upgraded to DTS, Hertz upgraded to the Volvo SUV. I know they have been giving SUVs out more than other upgrades because they are just sitting there. Normally I would have taken the DTS, but I have always wanted to try the Volvo SUV. It has 27,000 miles, and is a little rough... After about 24hrs, and a grand total of like 22 miles, the check engine light came on, followed a bit later by the service anti-skid warning... the car was hurting... I'm fine with driving a car with mileage on it, as long as its maintained...

I'm doing another test today, 2 fullsizes...

Have you ever tried booking a Camry out of the Green Collection? You can reserve a Camry specifically by make/model. It's usually a few dollars higher than booking a fullsize and chancing it, but that way you've secured the car you want (in theory).

Fair enough. For me I'm all about trying something new every time as I'm a car nut. But for other folks I can understand the comfort of familiarity while travelling.

Theory works better than practice. I regularly get non-Green cars on Green Collection rentals (which are still worth it for the AAA coupons).

I'm almost certain they gave me an Explorer on a Green Collection reservation, once.

One word...... 'Karma'

I agree....Avis beats Hertz
 

I have had some horrible experiences with Avis in Israel (avoid them like the plague), and so I tried to show some loyalty to Hertz recently when in the US.

I ordered a mid-size car with NeverLost in Arlington, VA for the next day via hertz.com. I showed up at the hotel location and the guy ran off the list of cars. No upgrades, but I went for the Mazda. As I was walking out, I asked to confirm it had the nav system. Nope. He went on to explain that just because I reserved the nav system, it doesn't mean I will get it. In fact, it didn't even show up on my reservation that he received. They also rarely have cars with nav systems, with most going to the airport. So I was told to be "thankful" I received a beat-up Pontiac that had a NeverLost. The NeverLost was horribly slow at finding its location, inaccurate when it did find it, and took nearly a full minute to recalculate a route.

The next week I reserved at Avis (also in Arlington). I showed up and asked if they had a Japanese car. They "only" had a Mistubishi Eclipse. Nav? Sure! Unlike Hertz, their nav systems are brand new Garmin Nuvis and can be put into whatever car you rent. Great nav system in a very fun car, and very good customer service.

I need a 1 month rental in January. Guess who I'm calling?