Category Archives for car rental.
Navigating travel is all about making the best use of time. If you can do that, you don’t need to show up two hours before your flight. Most of all you don’t need to waste time.
When he rented the car he “noticed a huge dent.” So he did what many advise and took a photo, and also pointed it out to the rental company staffer. “[H]e noted it.” Also what you’re supposed to do!
Yet a few weeks after the rental, he received an email claiming he damaged the vehicle, showing the dent that he’d documented.
It seemed like Hertz really got this under control, after bringing in Palantir to help track its rental fleet. So it was pretty jarring to me that a reader recently received the scariest letter than anyone who frequents this blog can get. They rented a car from Hertz. And Herts wrote to them to say the car was missing.
Uber’s introduction of tipping, initially perceived as beneficial, actually leads to reduced driver wages and deteriorating service quality.
Hertz systems are down, along with those of their Dollar and Thrifty car rental brands. Customers are showing up, and they cannot rent cars. This has been going on for nearly two hours without information on when customers will be able to leave with the cars they’ve reserved.
The top Hertz public status tier that you can earn as a frequent renter is their Presidents Circle status.
Normally the status requires at least 15 rentals or spending $3,000 with the company, and it comes with upgrades, faster points-earning (so you have more points when they devalue without notice) and better car choices in self-service lanes.
Travelers need to be cautious of increasingly prevalent ‘No Show’ fees, particularly with rental car companies like Hertz, which may charge a day’s rental for no-shows. While rental agencies historically overbook and often fail to honor reservations, strategies such as booking through third parties can help travelers avoid these unexpected charges.
Hertz charged a customer $519.80 for driving their rental car through a single $1 toll. Reader Chris had rented from Hertz for four weeks in Stamford, Connecticut. And he went through one toll. That activated Hertz’s ‘PlatePass’ system and charged him for it for every single day of his rental.
You may pay tourism fees; concession recovery fees; customer transportation fees; parking recovery fees; vehicle license fees; energy surcharges; and even tire fees. Junk fees often add 50% – 100% to the cost of a car rental. Car rental companies employ the most creative people in the world at developing scam fees and naming them euphemistically.
Toll tracking is one of the more annoying fees that rental car companies impose.
A reader shared his experience Monday night renting from Hertz at Dallas – Fort Worth. He’d reserved an SUV but was happy to take any car. They had none they’d rent. He’s a Presidents Circle member and was behind 15 others in that top public elite tier line waiting for a car. He reports about 20 people deep in line for Five Star elite. I feel sorry for those without status.
Worse, they actually had cars they wouldn’t give out to customers who’d reserved them. They were premium vehicles available for additional upgrade.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
