News and notes from around the interweb:
- Hertz deployed an AI vehicle scanner. Then came the CX meltdown. “Hertz’s AI vehicle scanner was supposed to improve the vehicle damage inspection process. What went wrong?”
Reportedly they’re now billing customers five times more for minor incks and scrapes, costing renters hundreds in surprise damage bills for issues so small as to likely to never be even worth fixing. And this may even result from pre-existing damage not noticed on drive-out because photos are taken at slightly different angles pre- and post-rental.
Then Hertz threatens the customer – pay up right away, don’t push back, or we’ll go after you for even more.
- Albertsons grocery chain is “extend[ing] grocery loyalty into the travel space” – I mean! – by rebating up to 10% of travel spend through Expedia in the form of cash back for groceries, including with their Safeway, Vons, and Jewel-Osco brands. Okey dokey.
- Book Air France economy from the U.S. and earn 10,000 bonus Flying Blue miles for bookings made by October 7 for travel through March 31. (HT: Danny Deal Guru)
- Capital One is running a 30% bonus on transfers to new partner Japan Airlines through October 22, 2025, making transfers almost 1:1 during the period.
- Spirit adds two free checked bags as a credit card benefit but who’s going all-in on Spirit loyalty right now? Forget the obvious over whether they’ll be in business to honor the miles, it’s unclear what routes they’ll be flying as they downsize 25%? Will they even be in your city, let alone operating the routes you’d fly? They really need to set clear expectations over their strategy to give customers confidence needed to buy tickets more than a few weeks out (and to decide to lean into Free Spirit).
- Everyone loves pizza. Except maybe Elliott Management. That’s why this isn’t getting its own post. By keeping it buried here, maybe the Elliott-installed board won’t ban ordering pizza for passengers during 5 hour delays.
@SouthwestAir Our flight from RIC was delayed about 5 hours. The staff did everything they could to help everyone and were awesome about it. Freddie stole the show, he made friends with all of us, took the jabs like a champ and did this just before we boarded our flight. pic.twitter.com/UxWOjpO7m9
— Adam Apple (@ad_2050) September 23, 2025
Who could’ve possibly foreseen this outcome?! …AI …premature …abuse of technology …for profit. No. Never.
Hertz disaster, those customers getting hit with that expense are probably never coming back.
How is Hertz still in business? I stopped renting from them the moment spending the night in an orange jumpsuit became a moderately likely possibility.
How in the world are people still renting cars from Hertz? I am former Hertz Gold (maybe higher, can’t remember?). I have avoided them like the plague for several years.
Most people are still renting from Hertz because they don’t follow this stuff as closely as we do. They find travel-related things out the hard way.
The use of AI is going to get figured out through three avenues:
1. Consumer backlash on social media
2. Litigation in the form of class action lawsuits.
3. Regulation in states like California, New York and Illinois.
Every major innovation breakthrough that transforms society causes this kind of drama. It’ll sort itself out eventually. In the mean time, buyer beware.
I do online surveys and just got one asking how Southwest can improve its loyalty program. My suggestion to get rid of Elliott probably won’t work, but still….
I am only surprised that there isn’t a class action lawsuit against hertz. In the meantime friends don’t let friends rent from them
Well said, @Parker. And, in the aggregate, maybe @drrichard’s methods work, too.
@ Gary — No Hertz problems here. We now rent from them only when staying at Marriott.
@Ron took the words out of my mouth. Charging customers for damage that they do not then repair because it is so negligible? That SCREAMS class action (and I’ll be the first to sign up.) In fact SIXT just had a settlement for this EXACT issue for $11 Million. Hopefully Hertz’s will be bigger.
Hertz’s use of “AI” was *never* about efficiency and accuracy. And to be honest, I question whether it is really “AI” in a technical sense. Regardless, I am certain it has worked EXACTLY as it was designed to do: Find ways to bill customers more. A lot more.
Hertz needs to die. Foremost experts on travel should be definitively (and only) telling their readers to avoid Hertz at all costs. Period. I know Gary does dump on Hertz quite a bit (good job!), but positive statements still pop in from time to time when promoting cards. Sure, I understand that if a Uranium American Depress card includes free Hertz Super-Sucker status it may be appropriate to include that in the description. But as a leader and expert on these things, it would be good for your readers, particularly new readers who don’t know the history, to also note BUT YOU SHOULD NEVER USE HERTZ, and maybe link to some sordid stories of sending people to jail and this fresh new Hell they’ve created for customers.
AI is a scam. The s*** will hit the fan soon.
I stopped renting from Hertz over a decade ago.