Hertz #1 Club

Status
Not open for further replies.

Nightwatchman

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2006
Posts
37
I am a Hertz #1 Club Gold Five-Star member - and didn't even know it.

Is this program a total waste of time? As far as I can tell, I get one free days car hire a year (when added to an existing booking) and that's about it.

Should I be directing my 'points' to my QF FF membership, or to the Hertz loyalty programme thingy?
 
Nightwatchman said:
I am a Hertz #1 Club Gold Five-Star member - and didn't even know it.

Is this program a total waste of time? As far as I can tell, I get one free days car hire a year (when added to an existing booking) and that's about it.

Should I be directing my 'points' to my QF FF membership, or to the Hertz loyalty programme thingy?

Hertz 5 Star is decent in that you are entitled to 1 class upgrades subject to availability. The free day's rental is regardless to where you credit points

Are you able to credit to Hertz (ZE Points) since I was under the impression that it was restricted based on residency? If you are not crediting anywhere ( and you use rates which are points eligable ) , then crediting the few points earned to QF is better than nowhere

Dave
 
I frequently get upgraded without actually asking for it, so 1 free upgrade ain't that exciting (although I guess I have just answered part of my own question, in that these regular upgrades are presumably a function of being a #1 Club Gold member).

The points accrued to my QF FF are so small that I don't bother sticking only with Hertz (which must be the objective of loyalty schemes). At the moment I am using Europcar, Budget and Avis as am trying out different types of cars - which can't be what Hertz is hoping for.

I could probably attain the next level (President Circle), but see sod-all benefit in it.
 
P.S Am not sure if the residency issue is relevant to me, as am resident of Australia.

Cheers

NW.
 
Nightwatchman said:
P.S Am not sure if the residency issue is relevant to me, as am resident of Australia.

I thought that ZE point accrual was limited to US members, that was all

Dave
 
Looking at the letter I got today, it tells me that I can nominate ZE1 as my preferred traveller program.
 
Nightwatchman said:
Looking at the letter I got today, it tells me that I can nominate ZE1 as my preferred traveller program.

Ahh fair enough, I guess you must be able to then. I got my renewal PC membership today ( just didnt read anything that came in it :) )

Dave
 
Yeah, ZE appears to have just been recently added for Australian members. Before it was just the US ones AFAIK.

5* is ok. Nothing special. Random upgrades used to happen to me all the time - not super upgrades, just manual->auto or econ to small car type upgrades. Suppose they are supposed to just keep happening :D

President's Circle (and some members here have it) is supposed to be a lot better - but can't see myself renting 30 times this year to attain it.

My personal gripe about Hertz Gold is that if you go up a tier, they don't recognise it until April the next year.
 
I am not a big fan of the rental car upgrade. Having gone though about the entire fleet of all rental car companies, I like renting a plain Falcon; I know how to work the air con, how to re-set the radio stations, where the fuel latch is etc etc.

Recently I have been 'upgraded' to a Ford Explorer tank that I couldn't park in the hotel carpark, a 5-series BMW which I couldn't work the stupid i-Drive system on, and an Audi TT that I could barely fit in.

(Do I sound like a whinger?)
 
Nightwatchman said:
I am not a big fan of the rental car upgrade. Having gone though about the entire fleet of all rental car companies, I like renting a plain Falcon; I know how to work the air con, how to re-set the radio stations, where the fuel latch is etc etc.

I like having President's Circle with the guaranteed upgrade; book a Falcon and be guaranteed a Fairlaine is pretty decent ( or booking a Camry and being guaranteed a Falcon if you prefer them ) is a great money saving benefit

Dave
 
I think the real benefit comes from Hertz Gold, not 5*.

In Australia, Hertz really isn't that busy. However the quickness of leaving the airport / downtown location is appreciated as well as the lack of filling in excess paperwork.

In some countries though, with Hertz Gold, you will wait a little while - with no Hertz Gold, you will wait nearly forever !
 
Mal said:
the quickness of leaving the airport / downtown location is appreciated as well as the lack of filling in excess paperwork

That's a fair point.

I guess the #1 Club is not really a "loyalty program" as such, as the rewards for frequent custom are fairly modest.

Can anyone join the #1 Club, or is there a minimum requirement in terms of number of bookings? I don't even know how I became a member.
 
Nightwatchman said:
Can anyone join the #1 Club, or is there a minimum requirement in terms of number of bookings? I don't even know how I became a member.

There are really 2 clubs.

Hertz #1 Club and Hertz #1 Club Gold.

More info on both are here:

https://www.hertz.com.au/rentacar/e...OverView.jsp&leftNavUserSelection=globNav_5_1

In Australia, the distinction is moot. Australians get free membership to Hertz #1 Gold (or rather did last time I looked!). If you rent enough from Hertz they'll sometimes give you free Hertz #1 Gold anyways. This is more for U.S residents where they still charge the $50 yearly fee.

But I think Hertz does look at rental histories and "offer" Hertz Gold to their "frequent" renters. So will Amex Plat and a few other credit cards.
 
Mal said:
In Australia, Hertz really isn't that busy. However the quickness of leaving the airport / downtown location is appreciated as well as the lack of filling in excess paperwork.
I don't know anything about Hertz Gold or 5* but one thing I do know is that in Australia Hertz is one of the most expensive and I have never hired from them. It is fine if your company pays but Hertz will not be getting any of my hard earned money soon enough unless all other companies have run out of hire cars.

I am an in-frequent car hirer and my last three car hires have been Budget twice and Avis on the last occassion. In DRW recently I hired a car from Avis and I had 4 days car hire for the price of 3. I asked for the smallest car possible, I think Hyundai Getz, and they did not have any when I got to DRW so I got upgraded to a Toyota Corolla Ascent, only had 19kms on the speedo, free of charge.

Hertz at the same time for the smallest car possible was about $80 more dearer than Avis. Still wondering why they are not that busy in Australia?
 
Rates are very much dependant upon location and day of week and whether it is a peak period. Even without using my normal rate ( which is extremely good ), ,my local Hertz location can be $40 a day for a cheap car and $50 for a falcon .

Dave
 
Dave Noble said:
Rates are very much dependant upon location and day of week and whether it is a peak period. Even without using my normal rate ( which is extremely good ), ,my local Hertz location can be $40 a day for a cheap car and $50 for a falcon .
I can only quote on my experience. The rates that you get might be better rates than mine.

I normally check all 4 hire car companies earning QF FF points, Avis, Budget, Hertz and Thrifty, and have 4 windows open with the final quote for each. Hertz and Thrifty are by far the most expensive. Budget and Avis are the cheapest with a difference of about $10 between them but difference could be higher depending on specials like hire 4 days and pay for 3.

My last three car hires have been ADL, PER and DRW and these were not peak times. Normally hire car Sun through to Wed.
 
I use and trust Hertz for my rentals. Several reasons including decent rates through the CDP (discount plan) I use, Hertz #1 Gold, the condition of the cars and the treatment I get from them.

Avis is fine as well - thats where my Corporate rentals are through (Hertz are personal), but I still trust Hertz more for my personal rentals...
 
I use whatever is cheapest; for the last three years it's been Thrifty as I can get an FCAR through a corporate rate for $43++ (comes out to ~$51). I also get QFF points on this rate, on the $43, not the $51.

Before that it was Budget; before that Hertz.
 
I go through a similar process to JohnK, and get quotes from all Budget, Avis, Thrifty and Hertz. Used to also to Eurpocar, but heard too many stories about them from various people.

Typically find that Avis gives me the best deal, but Budget is normally close. Thrifty and Hertz can be similar, and sometimes they are substantially more. Seems to depend mostly on what deals are on offer at the times I do the booking, and I seem to have a growing collection of various Avis vouchers.

I am not sure that I hire cars often enough that loyalty schemes mean much to me.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

oz_mark said:
I go through a similar process to JohnK, and get quotes from all Budget, Avis, Thrifty and Hertz. Used to also to Eurpocar, but heard too many stories about them from various people.
I am looking at 4 days car hire in smallest available car in HBA mid-November arriving on a Saturday afternoon and departing Wednesday morning.

Budget Group X Hyundai Getz $175.46
Thrifty Economy Hyundai Getz $210.98
Hertz Toyota Echo $250.91
Avis Group X Hyundai Getz $288.00

Decision appears very simple at this stage. I am surprised that Avis is showing very expensive rate. Will compare again about 1 month before trip and then compare again about 2 weeks before trip and make booking based on cheapest hire car.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top