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I'm planning to book a rental, and I have some points saved up with Hertz that would cover my trip. When I set up the reservation, it shows the full rental amount, even though I have selected the option to redeem my points. Here's what I'm looking at:

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My question is: what charges should I expect to see drop off as a result of the redemption? All of them? Just the first one? The first two?

mathewb
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    Not sure if a free week is any good for this car class. I think it's only good up to something boring-sized. Try with an intermediate car size and see if the total reacts to your 'free week'. – Aganju May 15 '22 at 03:50
  • It is. I did some research here before posting the question: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/hertz-gold-rewards/ Scroll down to "Maximizing your Hertz Gold Rewards points by renting high-end cars." This is the exact same class he uses as an example. Also, the points redemption amounts change depending on the class of vehicle selected. I checked a mini-van as well, and it jumped up to the expected 7500 points for a specialty vehicle. – mathewb May 15 '22 at 11:18
  • The primary source (Hertz) doesn't apply the credit, while the secondary source (The Points Guy) says it should apply, with frequent notes that "Hertz is in Bankruptcy" and "may not apply" observations. Which source is more trustworthy? You could contact Hertz, but don't hold your breath for success. All in all, this feels like the unfortunately-common tactic of the merchant's announcing a benefit then obscuring collection by complicated, convoluted, and arcane requirements which are actually intended to make such benefits uncollectible. – DavidRecallsMonica May 15 '22 at 14:35
  • @DavidSupportsMonica Hertz is not bankrupt, and they never were. They did file for "Bankruptcy protection" (sometimes referred to as "Chapter 11"), but they exited that almost a year ago. In my experience as a long-term Hertz renter, their points redemption is for the most part very transparent - although as per my answer below, their website is broken for points redemption at the moment. – Doc May 17 '22 at 16:39
  • @Doc That's true, 'tho Chapter 11 is often referred-to in the vernacular as a Bankruptcy as business operations are supervised by the Bankruptcy Court and its Trustee, and the subject firm is (hopefully) not going to be wound up. And my cynicism may have come on too strong; the behavior I describe is too frequent, and not a favorite. – DavidRecallsMonica May 17 '22 at 16:49

2 Answers2

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Short version - Pick up the phone and call to make the booking. Hertz's website has been unreliable for points booking for some time.

Slightly longer version... Hertz's websites have had difficulty with points bookings for some time. The exact issues will depend on which counties website you are using (and possible which country your Gold Plus Rewards account is based in), however seems to affect most countries. I recently spoke to Hertz call center staff in both the US and Australia and they confirmed these issues.

That said, the next problem is that you have selected the wrong rewards redemption. You have selected "1 Free Weekly Rental" which only covers vehicle classes from Compact to Premium, however you've selected a "Luxury Sedan" class of vehicle. That vehicle falls into the "Specialty Vehicle" redemption class, which doubles the number of points required for the rental to 7500.

Specialty Vehicle

Selection box

If you select that option and proceed with you booking then it's likely (but not guaranteed!) that it will work. Previously Hertz's website used to show the new rental total after you selected the reward type, however this feature stopped working sometime last year and now it is only displayed on the final confirmation screen.

Doc
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Since Hertz doesn't charge up front for the rental, I completed the booking online to see what would happen. I used 3750 points for the one week rental of a Large Luxury Sedan. After completing the booking, a reduction was applied as a "Promotional Discount" of $390.00 (i.e. the full amount of the Base Rate).

The Taxes, which are clearly linked to the Base Rate, remained unchanged.

The Airport Concession Fee, which appears to be tied to the Base Rate, was removed from the final bill.

The Vehicle Licensing Fee Recovery, which appears to be a flat rate of $4.00/day (for the location selected), was not reduced.

The AP CONTRACT FEE, which appears to be a flat rate of $6.00/day (for the location selected), was not reduced.

I find it odd that the fee tied to the Base Rate was reduced, but the Taxes were not. I also find it interesting that the only change to out-of-pocket costs for the reward redemption is in Taxes, which suggests to me that it is worthwhile to book at the highest vehicle class available (within the standard reward tier).

Thank you to everyone that took the time to respond in comments and/or answers.

mathewb
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  • Have you actually picked up the car? You'll potentially find the percentage-based taxes will not actually be charged. This is another known issue with Hertz's rewards bookings. That said, in some states they still DO charge these taxes as they are required by local law to do so. Any fixed rates charges generally remain, as you've stated (although sometimes some of them will also disappear at pickup) – Doc Jun 01 '22 at 03:23