hertz car rentals gold plus member, how to get the best deal

[traceyy]

i got the upgraded membership through my ff status, have to book in vegas for a week, need a 7 seater as there are only 3 of us but we will have a ton of luggage. prices were soso, no discount no bonuses no nothing, what good is having status if there is no benefit? how do you get discount codes? and what is with them trying to charge me $200 for a gps for 7 days? any tricks to a better deal??

 

[tdimdad]

You may find that while some programs give discounts based on status, not all programs do that. The benefits are elsewhere like streamlined pickup and return of the car (or better rooms, free wifi, etc. in hotel programs). There's a thread elsewhere in this forum specifically discussing Hertz and anecdotes of prices being higher when booked under the program vs. without the program.

While being Hertz Gold, I used them in US for the first time this year (in SFO) and was delighted that in the Gold section I could choose any of the dozens of cars available there (booked a Corolla-sized, chose Camry) and the car is linked to your booking at the exit gate. Handy, if anything. That's what status gave me with them there.

 

[odysseus]

It's like frequent flyer programs. Higher status gives you service benefits, not better prices. e.g. QF gold will still pay the same fare as QF bronze, they just get perks on the trip.

Many just use their phone, use maps, or even buy a local GPS on the ground if renting a car over many days as other ways are more economical.

 

[traceyy]

so how often do hertz have sales then? i see lots of 205 off deals but nothing at the moment. i dont travel till dec...

 

[ja1]

Hertz do have a number of deals and you can search for them. They may also offer a better price based on either corporate (negotiated) discounts or membership with an auto club.

I've often found that my corporate discount code and NOT using my hertz gold gets me a better deal on price (the price for which is missing out on the gold benefits of course) though if it's service you can sometimes get a subset of that simply by having them throw in the number and/or having a card at the pickup time.

I haven't seen enough benefits I care about to value the hertz gold over the (significant) corporate discount.

If you don't have a corporate discount code then there's probably a discussion to be had by Hertz and your corporate finance team (even if that's just you..

 

[Daver6]

I'm presidents cicrle with Hertz. Just booked a car in Germany and it was cheaper to book as a guest through the German Hertz site than being logged in! I just called after booking and got my loyalty number added.

 

[knagelli]

I haven't seen enough benefits I care about to value the hertz gold over the (significant) corporate discount.

I completely agree with your comments. I have been Hertz Gold for some years now but the corporate discount was always better than the normal benefit/offers you get from Hertz Gold membership.