Hertz Car Rental Review
With over 10,000 locations around the world, Hertz is one of the most popular rental car companies out there. You can find a Hertz in any major U.S. airport and in many metro areas. Does that mean it’s the best company for your trip?
We’ve reviewed the best rental car companies on the market to help travelers find the best service and rates. In our Hertz car rental review, we’ll give you a detailed look at the company’s services, prices, fees, and more.
Our Hertz Review
The Hertz Corporation is a reliable rental car company with many locations worldwide. That means frequent travelers can join Hertz’s loyalty program and rack up points quickly. The company also offers a huge selection, ranging from daily drivers to a custom Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Compared to competitors, Hertz’s rental prices are average for the industry.
Hertz Pros And Cons
Hertz Quick Facts
Founded: 1918
Locations: Over 2,800 in the U.S., over 10,300 worldwide
Headquarters: Estero, Florida
BBB rating: A+
Loyalty program: Hertz Gold Plus Rewards®
Airport rental locations: 1,600 airport locations in the U.S.
Vehicle types: Huge selection including compact, standard, and full-size vehicles plus sports cars and luxury models
Hertz Rental Car Services
Hertz offers daily, weekly, and monthly car rental services across the globe. Its car collection is among the best in the business, and the company offers an elaborate rewards points system. Let’s take a closer look.
Hertz Car Collections
Hertz has one of the widest vehicle rental collections on the market. The company calls it the Ultimate Collection, in fact. Hertz divides the collection into a few subcategories depending on vehicle type. These include:
- Green Traveler Collection
- Prestige Collection
- Adrenaline Collection
- Dream Cars
- Car/Sedan
- Wagon/Estate
- SUV/Minivan/4×4
- Convertible
- Commercial Van/Truck
Motorheads may drool a little over some of the following models Hertz has for rent in the Prestige, Adrenaline, and Dream Car collections (depending on the location):
- Custom Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Chevrolet Camaro SS
- Nissan GT-R
- Mercedes-Benz AMG C 63
- Porsche 911
- BMW 740i
- Range Rover Sport, Evoque, and Velar
- Mercedes-Benz G 550
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards
Hertz’s loyalty program is called Gold Plus Rewards and is free to join. As a member, you can accrue points with each purchase and use Express Return® to drop your car off without waiting in line. Here are the details on the three different tiers:
| Gold Member | Hertz Five Star® | President’s Circle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification | Free to sign up | 10 rentals or $2,000 | 15 rentals or $3,000 |
| Upgrades | None | As available | Guaranteed |
| Point earning | $1 = 1 point | $1 = 1.25 points | $1 = 1.5 points |
| Vehicle selection | Standard | Wider selection | Widest selection |
| Reward redemptions | Free rentals and online rewards | Free rentals and online rewards | Free rentals, online rewards, exclusive benefits |
| Dedicated phone line | No | No | Yes |
What can you do with Hertz points? The cheapest reward is a single rental day for 950 points (blackout dates apply). From there, you can get multi-day rentals and upgrade your vehicle for more points. A free two-week rental with a Hertz Prestige car and no blackout dates would cost you 63,333 points. You can also redeem points for different travel experiences, events, and more.
Hertz Rental Car Cost
Hertz costs a bit more than average compared to a variety of its competitors in the market. That said, Hertz rental car costs vary depending on many factors including the vehicle you select, the location, your age, and the rental period.
Our team compared Hertz rental rates for a standard sedan and SUV at three different popular U.S. airports: Orlando, Los Angeles, and Dallas-Fort Worth. These rates are to rent a car for a seven-day period and were gathered two weeks ahead of the rental period. All costs include taxes and fees.
| Vehicle Type | Airport | Rental Cost per Day | Rental Cost per Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard sedan | Orlando (MCO) | $79.60 | $557.18 |
| Standard SUV | Orlando (MCO) | $89.94 | $629.59 |
| Standard sedan | Los Angeles (LAX) | $81.74 | $572.21 |
| Standard SUV | Los Angeles (LAX) | $100.44 | $703.05 |
| Standard sedan | Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | $50.47 | $353.32 |
| Standard SUV | Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | $63.05 | $441.35 |
*Costs are the “Pay Now” price. Hertz costs are slightly higher if you choose to pay at pickup.
According to costs we gathered from eight leading rental car companies, the average cost to rent a standard sedan is $490.98 per week and the average cost to rent a standard SUV is $580.76 per week. We found Hertz’s prices to be close to the industry average, with an average weekly cost of $494.24 for sedans and $591.33 for SUVs.
Taxes And Fees
Taxes and fees vary by rental location. To give you an example of the types of fees you can expect to pay, a seven-day car rental from Orlando International Airport includes the following fees:
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Privilege Fee Recovery Charge | $33.38 |
| Customer Facility Charge | $24.50 |
| State Surcharge | $14.14 |
| Vehicle Licensing Fee Recovery | $9.97 |
While Hertz charges you these fees, the fees originate elsewhere. For example, the airport charges each rental company fees for using its facilities, and the state charges rental car businesses fees for fleet registration. The fees we found from Hertz were comparable to those from other companies.
Young Renter Fee
Most locations require drivers to be at least 20 to rent a vehicle. Drivers between the ages of 20 and 24 will pay a young renter fee of $19 per day with Hertz. (The minimum age is 18 in New York and Michigan and 19 in Alabama and Nebraska.)
Hertz’s young renter fee is slightly cheaper than fees from other companies. For example, Enterprise charges around $25 per day and Budget charges $27 per day.
Additional Driver Fee
You can have someone else drive your rental car, but you may have to pay a fee depending on your relationship with them.
Authorized operators include spouses, domestic partners, and company managers or fellow employees if you booked the car with a company card. (Domestic partners need to have the same address on their driver’s licenses.) Authorized operators do not require a fee.
On the other hand, if you want a parent, child, or friend to drive your rental car, you’ll pay an additional driver fee of $13.50 per day ($189 maximum). You don’t have to pay a fee if you’re both AAA members, though.
Security Deposit
At the time of rental, Hertz will place a hold on your card as a security deposit until you bring the car back. If you used a major credit card, the hold is up to $200. It can be up to $500 if you used a debit card. This is a separate hold from the payment charge whether you pay in advance or at pickup. Read your rental agreement carefully to be aware of all the fees, terms, and conditions.
Add-Ons
Hertz offers a variety of add-on options when you make your reservation and when you pick the car up at the counter. Add-ons available at reservation include:
- Loss damage waiver: This releases you from responsibility if the car is damaged or stolen during your rental and doesn’t require a deductible.
- Extra liability coverage: You can add up to $1 million in bodily injury and property damage liability coverage (Hertz supplies basic liability coverage automatically).
- Personal accident and personal effects coverage: This adds up to $10,000 of medical coverage, $125,000 of accidental death insurance, and up to $1,800 for personal item coverage.
- Skip the full tank: This option allows you to drop off the car with an empty tank.
- SiriusXM®: Enjoy satellite radio during your rental.
- Child seats: Hertz offers infant child seats, standard child seats, and booster seats.
You can choose the following add-ons when you pick up the vehicle:
- Extra liability insurance
- Loss damage waiver
- Personal accident and personal effects insurance
- Premium emergency roadside assistance
Premium roadside assistance covers lockout assistance, battery jump-starts, fuel delivery, lost key service, spare tire installation, and travel interruption reimbursement. It also guarantees service in 90 minutes or you’ll get a refund for the roadside assistance charge that day.
Cancellation Policy
For prepaid reservations, Hertz charges cancellation fees depending on when you cancel:
| Time of Cancellation | Fee |
|---|---|
| Within 24 hours after booking | Free |
| More than 24 hours before pickup | $100 |
| Less than 24 hours before pickup | $200 |
| No-show cancellation | Total amount paid |
These fees are on the steeper end in the rental car world. Be aware of them before you decide to pay for a reservation upfront. On the other hand, Hertz allows you to change or extend your reservation any time before pickup for free. You can move the reservation up to 12 months into the future.
Hertz Customer Service
Hertz has a 1.1-star rating from about 1,200 customers on the BBB but a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot. Overall, the majority of customers have a positive experience with Hertz’s car rental service. Considering the company serves millions of customers around the world each year, negative reviews count for a small fraction of its customers. In this section, we’ll look at a few common themes in both positive and negative reviews.
Positive Hertz Car Rental Reviews
About 71 percent of Hertz customers on Trustpilot rate the company with either four or five stars. Here are a few points that stood out to us when analyzing positive reviews:
- Staff is helpful and service is quick even with long lines
- Staff had cars all thawed and prepped in winter weather
- No pressure to get enhanced insurance or other add-ons
- Cars are clean and ready to go at pickup
Negative Hertz Car Rental Reviews
Some people don’t have the best car rental experience with Hertz. Before you travel, make sure you have some extra room on your credit card for the security deposit hold. Also, pay attention to your final bill. According to some negative reviews we analyzed, Hertz has made mistakes by either double charging for some services or adding charges that weren’t authorized. This is rare but it’s better to be safe than to hit your account maximum.
Other things we noticed from negative reviews include:
- Some reserved cars were unavailable and Hertz charged more for a different car
- Reserved cars were dirty on pickup
- Customer service agents were unprofessional or rude
- A non-refundable rental was not refunded even when inclement weather closed the Hertz office
Conclusion: Hertz Car Rental Review
Overall, Hertz is a reliable car rental company with locations all around the globe. It offers a wide selection of cars and a helpful loyalty program. We recommend comparing online rates from Hertz with other companies to see which is best for you.
Top Rental Car Alternatives
Below are a few other rental car companies to compare rates from:
- Enterprise: Enterprise is another multinational rental company with thousands of locations worldwide. Its prices and vehicle selection are similar to Hertz’s according to our analysis.
- Budget: Budget is one of the cheaper rental car companies we’ve reviewed. Our team found rates of $180 for a 4-day economy rental in Orlando from the company.
- Alamo: Alamo offers below-average rates at 1,100 locations worldwide. The company has a better cancellation policy than Hertz – it charges $50 or $100 depending on when you cancel.
FAQ: Hertz Rental Cars
Is Hertz trustworthy?
Hertz is a large car rental company with an A+ rating from the BBB. While it filed for bankruptcy quickly after the pandemic began, a surge in travel helped it leave bankruptcy in 2021. Today, the organization is going strong with thousands of Hertz locations worldwide.
Is Hertz cheaper than Enterprise?
Our analysis shows Hertz tends to be cheaper than Enterprise. The rates our team received for weeklong rentals with Hertz were closer to the industry average, while Enterprise’s were a bit high.
Is Hertz owned by Enterprise?
Enterprise does not own Hertz. Enterprise owns National and Alamo rental car brands, while Hertz owns Dollar and Thrifty.
Can you negotiate the price with Hertz?
No, you can’t negotiate the price for a rental car with Hertz. The price you find at the time of booking is the price you pay (unless you add more services at pickup).
How We Rate Rental Car Companies
Our review process aims to deliver consistent and unbiased assessments of car rental companies. While there are multiple qualities that make a rental car provider successful, our review team focuses on those we’ve determined are the most important for consumers:
- Industry Standing: Car rental companies that have been in business for several years and have a strong rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) score well in this category.
- Availability: Car rental agencies with more locations nationwide and at major airports scored highest in this category. We also considered the types of rental vehicles available with each company.
- Cost: Providers that offer affordable average rates, low cancellation fees and discount opportunities received the highest ratings.
- Options and restrictions: Companies with several add-on options and fewer restrictions are more likely to meet consumer needs.
- Customer Experience: Our team takes a comprehensive look at customer reviews on sites like the BBB and Trustpilot to get a sense of each provider’s customer experience. This score is based on customer reviews, J.D. Power satisfaction ratings and loyalty program availability. We also considered how easy it is to get pricing information from each company.
