Obviously it must have been something like than. But it looks like my time machine is out of order now

Called Sixt again as I got the "new" rates (much higher rates posted here) displayed in the internet yesterday. In addition to that the internet reservation tool wouldn't let me book a navi. for a FDMR car To make a long story short: the agent told me, that they changed all rates for weekend rental and that it's not a computer glitch� the really strange thing is that two days ago I was still able to book a car for the upcoming weekend in TXL for the normal low rate while now it is not possible anymore for a rental in MUC next weekend

I told him about others having the same problem (known from all your posts here) and he told me that there is nothing he can do for me. So I'll write a complain as well as suggested by Ben. If nothing happens I'll move my business to Hertz and collect 1,5k miles per rental into my BD account.

Greetings
totti

I dont really get it to be honest.
On the one hand we have International Standard -35% (LH Gold credit card) and International Standard -40% (Hon Circle). On the other hand there is the gold (-25%), platinum rate (-35%) and amex (-40%). These are based on different tarrifs but due to the increase in the last weeks both are above 100e for LDAR on a weekend.
Is there any other tariff which is still around 70-80Euros? e.g. a normal senator rate?

I got the reply from sixt to my complaint letter. really funny. they are suggesting that I book ECMN to IWMR because than the probability is higher that I get an upgrade with my platinum card. And appearantly the platinum prices are much lower for weekends than internet and private customer rates.

however, they defend their price increase and stick to it. even though they didnt really. They wanted to increase prices by a further 50% on 1st april. Then they postponed to 1st june and now they scrapped the 2nd increase completely.
so maybe if more of you write complains it will help further.

Even though this is not the right thread here: anybody suggestions for CDP/ID at europcar and hertz if we all decide to change?

And that�s the answer to my complaint. Please let me know if there is the need to translate the reply.



Sehr geehrter Ben,

vielen Dank f�r Ihre offenen Worte. Ihre Ver�rgerung kann ich sehr gut verstehen.

Unseren �Vielmietern� bieten wir neben einem Premium - Service auch einen besonderen Preis. Aus diesem Grund haben wir Ihnen eine pers�nliche
Platinumcard zugeschickt und einen Sondertarif hinterlegt.

Wie bei allen Unternehmen richtet sich unsere Preispolitik nach Angebot und Nachfrage.
Bitte haben Sie Verst�ndnis, dass sich Preisanpassungen nicht immer vermeiden lassen. Wir versichern Ihnen, dass wir uns die Entscheidung, die Preise zu erh�hen, nicht leicht gemacht haben.

Unser Tipp: auf unserer Internetseite halten wir wechselnde Angebote f�r Sie bereit.


Freundliche Gr��e


Sixt GmbH & Co. Autovermietung KG
Kundenbetreuung
Trelleborger Strasse 9
18107 Rostock
Tel.: 0180-5260026
Fax.: 0180-5254450

Actually I don't get it either. The only thing that I can tell you is that I was able to book LDAR for ~85 EUR at the beginning of this week, although the increasing prices were still posted here on FT. For this reservation I used my "normal" plat rate connected to my earned plat card. Anyway it looks like the really good rates are gone!

The reply makes sense to me. In the last month it was difficult to get a car for weekends on short notice and the station manager from "Frankfurt Zenturm" told me that they are running out of cars every weekend and that there is an unbelievable demand on weekends. So from Sixts point of view it makes sense to raise the prices and try to come away with it.

But as still pointed out with this fares offered by Sixt, Hertz is back in competition now. So I might use them more often in the future�

greetings
totti

me too!

totti:

That's a really "unusual" letter. First they start with "...kann ich sehr gut..". Later they write "....Wir .... wir ....."

However, Ben got a PERSONAL PLATINUM CARD with a special discount.^ Next time they (ich, wir) offer Ben a Maybach with driver

BTW, has anyone tried www.Kayak.com to check car rental prices?

I interpret the sentence in that way that they already sent me a platinum card as a frequent flyer. Therefore it would be a wonder if a further card arrives within the next days connected to the "original" or lower rates.

@sixtisbest

In the last time I chose sometimes Europcar instead of Sixt and got following weekend rates with Senator/FTL ID 80496823:

PWAR (Audi A6 Kombi) � 101,69
SDMR (Audi A4 Kombi) � 73,79

Everytime I booked the SDMR and got nearly 70-80% an Upgrade to PWAR and let me explain why.

Europcar uses an own class for the Audi A4 Kombi and a lot of times they don�t have it at the station. With a normal car, no "Kombi", they can upgrade you easily to a small group higher because they have more of them.

But you booked a "Kombi" and because of that they try give you the next "Kombi" they have which happened to be an A6 (3.0 Diesel) for me. Of course, sometimes they have an A4 and sometimes they upgrade you to a C class but then I take the A4 because as "Kombi" they have nearly 100% Diesel which is quite nice when you drive a lot.

I know that some of you don�t like a "Kombi" and still want to be sure to have a PWAR. This is just a nice solution I found out by accident and this solution is actually quite cheap and may be an option since Sixt raised the rates.

I know about the lack of service at Europcar stations but I noticed that if the station knows you they will treat you far better than other customers.

Cheers

Thanks for the tip, I am renting sdmr today at europcar. lets see what happens. To be honest I rather take an audi a4 2.0tdi than being upgraded to a e220cdi tmodell automatic. I can run faster than this crappy engine in such a heavy car. Surely I wouldnt mind a a6 2.7/3.0tdi :-)
you wrote that you book a "kombi" but always mention SDMR. Do you mean SWMR? Its quite confusing with europcar because prices for SDMR and SWMR are the same.

I won't book a PWAR at europcar. then I expect to get a a6 3.0 and what do I get? an e220cdi. I had that already 2times
Cheers

Sorry, you are right, I meant SWMR. That one which is a kombi because they have more of the non-kombis and can upgrade you on a smaller one more easily instead of a kombi. You can choose it in the reservation mask and nearly 100% of the A4�s are Diesel.

That�s a little strange with your e220cdi. Never saw an E-class kombi at my Europcar stations, had it a few times with Sixt. I think it depends on the station, mine has a lot Audis and the only Mercedes they have are the c-classes.

Of course you can be unlucky with my sort of plan. For example, this weekend they gave me a c220cdi T which is crap and I was laughing out loud as I read your comment because I don�t like that one, too. But it�s a give and take, once in a while it�s not working.

But it only happens once a year that they give me that c-class. They know me and also know that I�d rather take a Golf instead of a Mercedes and that is why they don�t give it to me. Another reason could be a one-way rental. Everytime when I am doing a return-rental I get better cars. They told me that a lot of people like the Audis and because of that they try to keep them as long as possible and don�t give them out for one-way rentings.

Let me know if it worked in your case.

Cheers

Well, I got a 320i with satnav and seat heating on a cotton chair. whoever invented that, should be forced to use it
they had plenty e220cdi t, so if you wanna get one, go to dus airport.
anyway, a4, 3series or cclass dont make much difference to me, so its fine except that it isnt a diesel. next time I will try swmr instead of sdmr. (btw. if I would have done it this time, would have ended up with a 3series kombi in darkblue and black interior. sometimes I wonder which blind person is buying this car afterwards)

any experience with that europcar FIRST programm??? looks like 20 rentals are enough in a year in germany.
I should be looking for a smaller station, but on friday evening most stations are closed when arriving at the airport.
Thanks for the help anyway, not sure if I change to europcar. lets see what happens during the next weeks.

At least I�ve seen some 5series kombi, never a 3series kombi with Europcar. But I think it depends on the station. I rent at +/- small stations and maybe they have less different types there.

Just brought my car to the station and will have one the next weekend, too. Will do it again with swmr and will see what comes out.
That guy told me that I could keep my c-class, he doesn�t want to have a car like that ^ No way..

Yes, Europcar first with 20 rentals but doesn�t bring too much to me. Yes the upgrade but I saw that they don�t give you such nice upgrades as sixt. At sixt you often get a 5series instead of a golf (if senator or other card) but that�s more than just one simple upgrade. Europcar would give you a Nissan something which is one group higher, they keep it as small as possible instead of that you have to "force" them with the car-group at least if you don�t know them.
Just talked to Europcar guy and he told me that they are going to change their behaviour and try to act more like sixt with giving more easily good upgrades.

Another thing with the First Card is the Priority Pass, they only reason why this card makes sense for me. But with a C-class ticket or other status you get in a lounge anyway.

Why are you looking for a smaller station?

Because if the station is smaller my guess is that less cars are available and the chance is higher to get a better upgrade.
secondly, in an airport are always other employees. so I cant "get to know" one of them who always gives me e.g. a diesel. therefore its better to change to one of the smaller stations.

what do I do with a Nissan? try if the credit card insurance is actually working to the full amount?

btw, has ever anyone here had an accident covered by the credit card? did the cc company pay what they were epected to pay?

to gerguy:
1. which type of priority pass is included in the europcar first? the one where you can go to as many lounges as you want to without paying anything? or do you have to pay a small amount every single time?
2. europcar germany really needs to improve the service. when I rented the sdmr audi a4, the woman behind the counter went back and checked and made phone calls in order to avoid giving me the 3series which is one class higher. maybe they get a bonus for NOT giving bigger cars :-)

I think I am gonna make the 20 europcar rentals this year to get the first card and then I can choose between sixt and europcar.

Exactly, that�s what I do but at every station it took some weeks and rentals until they switch to be friendly. In my case, Sixt was friendly nearly everytime from the beginning, also at stations where they don�t know me. That�s the big advantage with Sixt.

But as I wrote, talked for half an hour with that Europcar guy and he told me that they�ve had a big meeting in Hamburg a few weeks ago where they talked about that change in the service. Europcar increases company clients but decreases privat clients. They now need to keep that company clients and for that the try better (but who know, we�ll see).
But he was true as he told me that there are more 24 hours Europcar-stations than Sixt and that Europcar has it�s own damage-service and Sixt not. Didn�t know this before but he told me that if you have an accident they are faster there than Sixt etc.

1.) PP brings nothing to you because you have to pay 79 $ p.a. and then still have to pay 24 $ to get in.
You can go to http://www.europcar.de/whyeuropcar/first.html and check the firs card (in german). After 30 rentals p.a. you get a free weekend voucher (s-class). And they bring you your key directly to the baggage claim at airports.
2.) happened to mee, too. They try to discuss everything but as long as you know your rights

Btw, if you need to call for a reservation from you cell phone, use 040-520182112 then you don�t have to pay for the expensive 01805... number.

Cheers