Remember the Mustang and the Volvo I received last year from Hertz when I’d reserved a “Toyota Camry or Similar.” Well I’m on to their game: now I regularly reserve the cheapest car on offer, usually “Ford Focus or Similar,” and every time I get automagically upgraded to a more interesting car. Sometimes, of course, interesting has Ford Mustang downsides. But this summer I’ve received a very nice (though gas-poor) Subaru Impreza hatchback and, today, a Mazda 5 mini-minivan (very good on gas and surpringly fun to drive).
If I’d reserved either car up-front I would have paid twice as much; somehow my seemingly perpetual Hertz #1 Club Gold status means that they hit the interesting button every time I rent. I’m not complaining. But what if I actually did want to rent a “Hyundai Accent or Similar?”
Update: here’s a possible explanation for all this foolishness… I rent so often that I’m a “Five Star” member, which includes auto-upgrading.
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So I rented a good gas-mileage (relatively) mini-van to haul around some fellow scientists for a week. When I got there they “upgraded” me to a monstrous bad-mileage SUV (we needed to seat 7). I said no thanks I want the better gas mileage van. They did not have one and we went round and round…they ended up giving me 2 days free to help offset the price of fuel. I think the only reason they did that was my club status as it turns out that reservations are not guaranteed (small print)