HERTZ GOLD CLUB FLORIDA RENTAL MIXUP

I like Hertz rental car. I’ve received great service from both them and Avis. I try to stick to these 2 companies whenever I rent a car. I found her to be a good deal when I was ready to reserve a car for a recent trip to Florida.

They have all my driving and other information on their website—on which I’m registered as a Hertz Gold Member. I reserved a car for 5 days at a price of about $200. Instead of reserving a compact, midsize, etc., I opted for the “Manager’s Choice.” This means they would give you an available car that was at the discretion of the manager on duty—but would be a minimum of a decent sized compact car.

In my experience, upgrade at the time of pickup with Hertz were very common. I typically got a better car than I have reserved, without having to pay more. And especially since I was a Hertz Gold Member, which entitles you to a certain amount of privilege (for free! I highly recommend!), I figured even if I ended up with a compact car I was still ahead of the game for that price.

After getting off my flight and telling my family and suitcases to the pickup booth in the airport garage, I handed the young lady behind the window my confirmation printout that had my confirmation number and my name. She took my info into her computer.

“Okay… do you have the AAA card for your discount?”

I thought this up for 2 reasons: 1. Even though I used to be a AAA member, and my membership info could be registered on some travel websites I belong to, I was pretty sure it wasn’t on the Hertz site when I booked. 2. If the price was fixed, why would she even asked for my card? The only way she could be determining if I was a AAA member was if it was on their computer system already—and they would have the membership number.

“I don’t have my AAA number… but I don’t think I used that for a discount on your site,” I said.

“Okay… it’s showing that the best rate I could give you is $75 per day for a subcompact. That’s what we have for the AAA discount.”

“Are you sure that’s right? I don’t think I used AAA. I used AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.) I booked online. There was a fixed price of about $200. I don’t know why it would be higher than that.”

I handed her the AOPA card. She entered the numbers, but was still checking her computer record. “Sorry. Even with this, the best I could do is about $55 per day. And I don’t have any cars available at that rate. I think we need to keep you on the AAA discount because that will work out better.”

“AAA? I really doubt that I booked using AAA. I don’t know why there is a price increase. I booked with a fixed price of $200 for the 5 days. All my information is in the Hertz Gold member site. I paid with a credit card online. This should be a done deal.”

She looked at me. “You’re Michael, right?”

(Sigh.)

“I’m Anthony. Just like it says on my confirmation slip. Right there.”

“Ooooooooohhh. I’m sorry. I was looking at the wrong record.”

“That explains a lot.”

“Here you are. You’re all set. I can give you a Ford Escape.”

Bingo. An Escape would be perfect for my family on this trip. Except:

“Oh, wait. The Ford Escape needs maintenance. I have a Hyundåi Elantra.”

It was a compact. It had A/C. I cut my losses.

“I’ll take it.”