Hertz matched President's Circle status first visit

Your account wont be verified until 24hrs after you return your 1st rental

Quote from shoobydoo : Your account wont be verified until 24hrs after you return your 1st rental

So if I have to do a "dummy" rental, I have to do it at least two day before my trip. Thanks for the information. That is the worst case I would expect.

I got a chance to stop at my local airport Hertz. They said they cannot activate gold service without a reservation. The first rental has to be returned to fully activate my service, according to their words. I plan to do the dummy rental this weekend. The "one hour" rental at neighborhood location costs about $26. I will report back.

Quote from xman099 : I got a chance to stop at my local airport Hertz. They said they cannot activate gold service without a reservation. The first rental has to be returned to fully activate my service, according to their words. I plan to do the dummy rental this weekend. The "one hour" rental at neighborhood location costs about $26. I will report back.

Why do you need to throw away $26?

Quote from AutoEnthusiast : Why do you need to throw away $26?

I get Gold with AAA and the no additional fee driver can be a spouse, domestic partner, or any AAA member. I also get a free car seat. Granted, AAA is more expensive than $26 but we've really used it this year and had 2 long distance tows and a flat tire change for a blowout.

This is what President's Circle benefits are. It would be hard to maintain it unless you are a frequent renter.

What are the benefits of President's Circle® status?

Free access to Hertz Fast Lane powered by CLEAR
Confirmed one-car-class upgrades at participating locations
50% bonus on Gold Plus Rewards® points on all qualified rentals
Access to Hertz Fast Lane powered by CLEAR
Expedited vehicle pick-up at over 1,000 locations worldwide
No stopping at the counter at over 50 airports
Mobile Gold Alerts
eReturn
Freedom to choose any vehicle in the President's Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot on the spot at no extra charge No additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner in the U.S.
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® points for free rental days around the world
Access to exclusive and unforgettable experiences through Hertz+
Hertz Valet – Take advantage of our terminal drive-back service at participating locations up to four times a year
Dedicated President's Circle call center line.
*Taxes and fees excluded. Terms apply.

To earn Hertz President's Circle® status, one of the following must be met within the specified 12-month period:

20 or more rentals
$4,000 car rental spend excluding taxes and fees

Quote from AutoEnthusiast : Why do you need to throw away $26?

So far, the lowest price for my rental period (two weeks during Christmas) is still from Hertz, even adding up the $26. So I have to book with it anyway. The upgrades and skipping the line are bonus.

My complaint with Hertz is their lack of Corvette vehicles. They are located in areas where you cannot enjoy them (high traffic areas, congestion, etc). Most locations do not even stock them. Trying to figure out why they even bother to advertise them.

Just came back from vacation. I did a "one hour" rental at my local Hertz to activate my gold plus account about one week before my vacation. After that the customer service confirmed that my president's circle status was activated. When I arrived RSW (Fort Myers, FL), I was assigned to president's circle area directly as expected.

However, the selection of PC in RSW was extremely disappointing. Only regular sedans and tiny suvs were available. The gold area was actually better, I saw rav4/rogue and 4runner in gold. I picked up a 20K miles Buick encore.

Hope this would help some SDers in the future.

How do you knowmifnits activated? I see presidents circle in my profile and I don't recall anything about activation I'm my status match email but that was about a year ago.

Quote from Sithrebel15 : How do you knowmifnits activated? I see presidents circle in my profile and I don't recall anything about activation I'm my status match email but that was about a year ago.

I have it too and can't figure how.

Quote from xman099 : rav4/rogue and 4runner in gold. I picked up a 20K miles Buick encore. Hope this would help some SDers in the future.

It definitely helped me to understand that i'd better stick to National. Pls open the topic nearby, get yourself EE at National and never come back to Rogue and Buick.

Quote from thumper1 : I have it too and can't figure how.

Quote from Sithrebel15 : How do you knowmifnits activated? I see presidents circle in my profile and I don't recall anything about activation I'm my status match email but that was about a year ago.

The CS will tell you or just make a refundable reservation in ultimate choice location (most large airports, for example LAX, SFO), you will see "Service type: Gold Canopy" on the confirmation page then you had already been activated. If you see "Service type: Standard Counter" and a footnote warning of "Customer not registerd for gold service at this location", then you are not.

Quote from AlexK6706 : It definitely helped me to understand that i'd better stick to National. Pls open the topic nearby, get yourself EE at National and never come back to Rogue and Buick.

I am a National EE already from last year's similar offer as I mentioned in OP.

Actually I did have a National reservation during the same time period. I had a quick look at National's lot before I headed to Hertz, nothing interesting on that day. No 300 or cadillac at all. I think they did have few convertibles Since the price of national reservation was much higher than my hertz one, so I was fine with that tiny Buick.

I think during the holiday, it is much harder to find a "luxury" vehicle in every "select by yourself" lot since location has to save them for real "luxury" reservations.

Quote from xman099 : The CS will tell you or just make a refundable reservation in ultimate choice location (most large airports, for example LAX, SFO), you will see "Service type: Gold Canopy" on the confirmation page then you had already been activated. If you see "Service type: Standard Counter" and a footnote warning of "Customer not registerd for gold service at this location", then you are not.

I had made a reservation through Priceline via Autoslash but never saw that it reflected my AAA benefits so I called Hertz and was told that my President's Circle membership would give me those benefits and that I could get a free upgrade, as well. I asked the rep if I got an extra day, how much would my rate change. She quoted $15 less that included the same car and an extra day. I don't ever remember signing up.