SIXT - Upgrades
May 6, 2022, 11:06 am
#631
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 486
As an update: I had my first rental as a "Platinum Light" and they didn't have the category I had booked, so I was given the choice between a one-category downgrade or a 3-category upgrade. It was the first time they didn't offer me a German car (the choice was between Peugeot and Nissan) but this may have been due to lack of availability rather than the change from full Plat to Plat Light.
May 6, 2022, 11:23 am
#632
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,868
As an update: I had my first rental as a "Platinum Light" and they didn't have the category I had booked, so I was given the choice between a one-category downgrade or a 3-category upgrade. It was the first time they didn't offer me a German car (the choice was between Peugeot and Nissan) but this may have been due to lack of availability rather than the change from full Plat to Plat Light.
May 6, 2022, 11:35 am
#633
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: BOM-SIN-EWR
Programs: UA*G (1K again), Sixt Plat, *was*: SQ QPP01 & SK EBS/EBG, LH SEN, AA EXP, 9wPlat
Posts: 8,606
I just called into the Sixt USA line and asked them why my Platinum rates weren't appearing on the website and one device's app.
She first stated that I had to re-register to get the Plat status, but then I requested her to check my status and she said I was Plat.
Then regarding upgrades, she stated that there was a note in bold stating "not eligible for upgrades" - Anyone know why this is??
She gave me an even better rate than the website, but at the same time, both Hertz and Budget (through AutoSlash) have better cars much cheaper than their offering...so only with an upgrade would I even consider renting from Sixt!
PS: Anyone have any (recent) experience renting at BER - Berlin Brandenburg?
She first stated that I had to re-register to get the Plat status, but then I requested her to check my status and she said I was Plat.
Then regarding upgrades, she stated that there was a note in bold stating "not eligible for upgrades" - Anyone know why this is??
She gave me an even better rate than the website, but at the same time, both Hertz and Budget (through AutoSlash) have better cars much cheaper than their offering...so only with an upgrade would I even consider renting from Sixt!
PS: Anyone have any (recent) experience renting at BER - Berlin Brandenburg?
Should I just create a new account then?
May 16, 2022, 11:11 pm
#634
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: North-West Europe
Programs: Flying Blue, BA Executive Club, LH Miles & More, Air Asia BigShot, Les Collectioneurs
Posts: 268
May 17, 2022, 2:34 am
#635
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: BOM-SIN-EWR
Programs: UA*G (1K again), Sixt Plat, *was*: SQ QPP01 & SK EBS/EBG, LH SEN, AA EXP, 9wPlat
Posts: 8,606
May 27, 2022, 11:52 pm
#636
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,732
Sixt Platinum (through our corporate agreement)
16 days rental with pick up at Leipzig (City location) and return at Munich Airport.
Booked: A6, BMW 520 (PCAR ?)
Got: BMW 530 Touring (LWAR ?)
Had the unfortunate "luck" to rent on Apr 29 morning, the 1st day of the major, global system outage. Contract created manually and lucky I had all details of my reservation incl. price etc. I was going to drive in Austria and more importantly "through" the Czech Republic on way to Austria. I had added the "foreign use" option to my rental when making the booking, so that was fine.
However, I had booked PCAR (A6, BMW 520) which is the highest car category allowed by Sixt to be driven in Czech Republic (Austria no issue), so in theory I was not eligible for any upgrade.
Was offered an Audi A6 Avant or a BMW 5-series Touring though engine and group (P or L) wasn't clear to the (nice) agent as he couldn't check the system and keys were just being brought down from garage by staff. I asked him which was the nicer ride for a road trip and he said the BMW which turned out to be a great choice as it was an absolutely fully loaded BMW 530i Touring with full safety package (radar, head up display etc.), laser lights, M package, full leather, heated and ventilated seats, ... (the list goes on) which is L Group (due to the bigger engine).
At that stage, with the system issues and all, the agent confirmed I could drive it into / through Czech Republic and he probably could have cared less at that point. I asked about damage, but he couldn't look it up of course, so just said that I had the full insurance with zero deductible and no need to worry, plus I should take pics if I spotted something ( I always do anyways).
16 days rental with pick up at Leipzig (City location) and return at Munich Airport.
Booked: A6, BMW 520 (PCAR ?)
Got: BMW 530 Touring (LWAR ?)
Had the unfortunate "luck" to rent on Apr 29 morning, the 1st day of the major, global system outage. Contract created manually and lucky I had all details of my reservation incl. price etc. I was going to drive in Austria and more importantly "through" the Czech Republic on way to Austria. I had added the "foreign use" option to my rental when making the booking, so that was fine.
However, I had booked PCAR (A6, BMW 520) which is the highest car category allowed by Sixt to be driven in Czech Republic (Austria no issue), so in theory I was not eligible for any upgrade.
Was offered an Audi A6 Avant or a BMW 5-series Touring though engine and group (P or L) wasn't clear to the (nice) agent as he couldn't check the system and keys were just being brought down from garage by staff. I asked him which was the nicer ride for a road trip and he said the BMW which turned out to be a great choice as it was an absolutely fully loaded BMW 530i Touring with full safety package (radar, head up display etc.), laser lights, M package, full leather, heated and ventilated seats, ... (the list goes on) which is L Group (due to the bigger engine).
At that stage, with the system issues and all, the agent confirmed I could drive it into / through Czech Republic and he probably could have cared less at that point. I asked about damage, but he couldn't look it up of course, so just said that I had the full insurance with zero deductible and no need to worry, plus I should take pics if I spotted something ( I always do anyways).
Last edited by demue; May 29, 2022 at 9:01 pm
May 29, 2022, 11:45 am
#637
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Spain
Programs: IB Plat - Hilton Gold - Marriott Gold - IHG Ambassador
Posts: 464
Hello. As a Platinum member I have not had 1 single upgrade in years.
Many agents when renting indicate that the site does not offer upgrades,
or that being Platinum in Europe "does not entitle you may get an upgrade even if we have cars available".
no bonus points....in fact no points at all...
Maybe living in Spain means no benefits?
As a "birthday suprise" I got this cyberattack issue with prevents SIXT from doing almost anything 😂
Many agents when renting indicate that the site does not offer upgrades,
or that being Platinum in Europe "does not entitle you may get an upgrade even if we have cars available".
no bonus points....in fact no points at all...
Maybe living in Spain means no benefits?
As a "birthday suprise" I got this cyberattack issue with prevents SIXT from doing almost anything 😂
May 30, 2022, 10:41 am
#638
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,925
Hello. As a Platinum member I have not had 1 single upgrade in years.
Many agents when renting indicate that the site does not offer upgrades,
or that being Platinum in Europe "does not entitle you may get an upgrade even if we have cars available".
no bonus points....in fact no points at all...
Maybe living in Spain means no benefits?
As a "birthday suprise" I got this cyberattack issue with prevents SIXT from doing almost anything 😂
Many agents when renting indicate that the site does not offer upgrades,
or that being Platinum in Europe "does not entitle you may get an upgrade even if we have cars available".
no bonus points....in fact no points at all...
Maybe living in Spain means no benefits?
As a "birthday suprise" I got this cyberattack issue with prevents SIXT from doing almost anything 😂
Two levels of Sixt Platinum: one with upgrades/one without
Apparently, you need to have 10 Sixt rentals per year to get upgrades as a Plat.
Jun 1, 2022, 12:37 pm
#639
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 84
Sixt Gold
LHR Sofitel T5
CDMR booked
BMW 118i MSport automatic received. Sixt location at LHR is a bit of a drive but the shuttle was quick. Check in was super smooth and drop off
MUC
PCAR
BMW 530i diesel
GVA
PCAR
downgrade to Volvo XC40
LHR Sofitel T5
CDMR booked
BMW 118i MSport automatic received. Sixt location at LHR is a bit of a drive but the shuttle was quick. Check in was super smooth and drop off
MUC
PCAR
BMW 530i diesel
GVA
PCAR
downgrade to Volvo XC40
Jun 22, 2022, 7:20 am
#640
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,732
XC40 is quite small versus PCAR, not great unless you didn't need the space. Hope they charged you a lower rate.
Aug 3, 2022, 5:45 pm
#641
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 164
Rented from downtown Manhattan NYC location. Really great, friendly staff. Very helpful.
The app now lets me pick my car- but all day it offered me nothing but upgrades for $40/day (all to new BMWs). Finally, I got a notification that said "FREE UPGRADE" but it was to a 4-Runner with 41k miles. No thanks.
At the counter a very friendly/helpful guy offered me more upgrades, and then put me in a 2021 Camry with 41k miles. But it had a warning light on the dash, so I flagged down a nearby Sixt employee who quickly put me in a new 2022 Rav-4 (4k miles, FL plate). Definitely an upgrade over the old, base Camry I was initially given. All in all a positive experience.
The app now lets me pick my car- but all day it offered me nothing but upgrades for $40/day (all to new BMWs). Finally, I got a notification that said "FREE UPGRADE" but it was to a 4-Runner with 41k miles. No thanks.
At the counter a very friendly/helpful guy offered me more upgrades, and then put me in a 2021 Camry with 41k miles. But it had a warning light on the dash, so I flagged down a nearby Sixt employee who quickly put me in a new 2022 Rav-4 (4k miles, FL plate). Definitely an upgrade over the old, base Camry I was initially given. All in all a positive experience.
Aug 7, 2022, 8:00 pm
#642
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 164
Once again, the SIXT app offered me nothing except upgrade options. If I didnt want to pay more $, I couldnt use the app and had to go to the counter. Remains very disappointing.
Staff at downtown Manhattan location still very helpful, though they appeared to be out of cars today and were frazzled. I had to wait 20-30 mins for car returns to come in, and they tried to get me to take a downgrade promising me that the garage was plain empty (and that the cars I was looking at were locked/broken). I ended up with a very sweet X3 with 16k miles so I am not complaining.
Others waiting around were receiving Corollas, Camrys, Altimas. Definite move towards Toyota/Nissan vehicles from what I see, with the upgrades/premiums being solidly BMW/Volvo.
Staff at downtown Manhattan location still very helpful, though they appeared to be out of cars today and were frazzled. I had to wait 20-30 mins for car returns to come in, and they tried to get me to take a downgrade promising me that the garage was plain empty (and that the cars I was looking at were locked/broken). I ended up with a very sweet X3 with 16k miles so I am not complaining.
Others waiting around were receiving Corollas, Camrys, Altimas. Definite move towards Toyota/Nissan vehicles from what I see, with the upgrades/premiums being solidly BMW/Volvo.
Aug 17, 2022, 5:53 am
#643
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Louisville, KY, US
Programs: AAdvantage Gold, National Executive, Hilton Honors Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 104
No Sixt Status - second time using them
FRA Airport
Booked: BMW 530/Audi A6 (PCAR)
Received: BMW X4M
Process of actually getting the X4M was a bit of a journey. I arrived at the counter about an hour earlier than my reservation, as flight landed early and there was no wait for immigration. Got the the counter and was told they were short staffed getting returned cars prepared to rent. They mentioned they had a 530 Wagon that had been returned and cleaned, but no one could find the keys. The agent then found an X3 in the system. She at first attempted to sell it to me as an upgrade, but I told her I'd be fine taking it with no additional charge. Finished the paperwork and headed up to the lot. When I arrived at the lot it was about half-full and there was no X3, so I just started walking around pressing buttons on the key fob. I then noticed an X1 off in the corner flashing its lights. Looking at it more carefully, I realized that the X1 had a license plate that was once digit off from the X3 I had supposedly rented. I headed back down to the counter and waited my turn again (only two desks open), and explained the situation. The agent was apologetic and thankful that the issue had been discovered before I drove off in a car that I technically had not rented. After quite a bit more typing and confirming that I would be returning the car at the same location, the agent noted that I would be getting a similar vehicle with an "engine upgrade". The X4M was very nice, but a little loud at autobahn speeds.
FRA Airport
Booked: BMW 530/Audi A6 (PCAR)
Received: BMW X4M
Process of actually getting the X4M was a bit of a journey. I arrived at the counter about an hour earlier than my reservation, as flight landed early and there was no wait for immigration. Got the the counter and was told they were short staffed getting returned cars prepared to rent. They mentioned they had a 530 Wagon that had been returned and cleaned, but no one could find the keys. The agent then found an X3 in the system. She at first attempted to sell it to me as an upgrade, but I told her I'd be fine taking it with no additional charge. Finished the paperwork and headed up to the lot. When I arrived at the lot it was about half-full and there was no X3, so I just started walking around pressing buttons on the key fob. I then noticed an X1 off in the corner flashing its lights. Looking at it more carefully, I realized that the X1 had a license plate that was once digit off from the X3 I had supposedly rented. I headed back down to the counter and waited my turn again (only two desks open), and explained the situation. The agent was apologetic and thankful that the issue had been discovered before I drove off in a car that I technically had not rented. After quite a bit more typing and confirming that I would be returning the car at the same location, the agent noted that I would be getting a similar vehicle with an "engine upgrade". The X4M was very nice, but a little loud at autobahn speeds.
Aug 26, 2022, 12:44 am
#644
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,732
Long process, but certainly a nice upgrade. Plenty of people who would be salivating over that ride. Hope you enjoyed it despite the throaty engine sound that some would love actually 
.
.
Sep 5, 2022, 10:54 pm
#645
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 164
Rented at EWR today. Once again, the app eagerly offered me nothing but upgrades: I had reserved a BMW 5 Series, and the app only had BMW x7s and Infiniti Q80s for me, that I would have had to pay $$$ for.
I then had to wait 45 minutes for a car to appear because they were all sold out of luxury sedans. It was plain awkward to have that conversation as we looked out the window at rows and rows of BMW X1s, X3s, and even a really nice looking x4. I said I'd happily take any lux vehicle, but "they had none." At some point, this became ridiculous because the app is TELLING ME they have an x7, so they DO have one, they just want me to pay for it even though they dont have any other car to give me. Took behind the scenes cajoling before I was finally and begrudgingly given an X7 (with 39k miles).
I then had to wait 45 minutes for a car to appear because they were all sold out of luxury sedans. It was plain awkward to have that conversation as we looked out the window at rows and rows of BMW X1s, X3s, and even a really nice looking x4. I said I'd happily take any lux vehicle, but "they had none." At some point, this became ridiculous because the app is TELLING ME they have an x7, so they DO have one, they just want me to pay for it even though they dont have any other car to give me. Took behind the scenes cajoling before I was finally and begrudgingly given an X7 (with 39k miles).