Tips for a Smooth Car Rental Experience From Hertz

Hertz offers a safe, fast and easy car rental experience from pickup to return. Here are a few quick tips to help you reach and enjoy your destination sooner.

Here’s what to know before you go:

When to book: Reserve your rental car when making other travel arrangements. Rates are often more expensive the closer you get to time of renting. Ideally, the rental car should be booked at the same time other travel services are booked (i.e. air and hotel). For airport rentals, be sure to include your flight number, airline carrier and scheduled arrival time. This can protect your reservation if the flight is delayed.

Booking outside of high-volume locations: If you need to book last minute and have flexibility, you may find car rental availability outside of high-volume areas during busy seasonal or holiday travel periods (e.g. airports may not have available cars while neighborhood locations may). Hertz has thousands of locations in convenient, neighborhoods across the U.S., which offer a free pickup service.

Plan your trip ahead of time: Planning in advance will ensure you have adequate time to determine the best routes to navigate unfamiliar areas and get the best possible travel deals. Often pre-paying for a car rental can provide a savings of up to 20 percent.

Choosing a car: There are a wide range of vehicles to choose from. Choose a car type based on the purpose of your trip and number of travelers, as well as accompanying luggage. At Hertz Ultimate Choice® locations, you can choose the exact car you want to drive from the car class you reserved or upgrade to a different one.

Loyalty program: Join Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® for free and enjoy special benefits that make your rental faster, easier and more rewarding. Take advantage of faster pickup and return, exclusive offers and earn points toward free rentals. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members can access exclusive Hertz Ultimate Choice areas that comprise an even wider selection of vehicles and car classes to choose from when they make a reservation for a midsize car or above.

Renter age: The minimum age to rent a car is typically 25 years old, but it varies based on state regulations. However, Hertz provides rental cars to licensed credit card-holding drivers age 20 and up. There may be a fee associated based on the type of car and rental location. At Hertz, this fee is waived for AAA members.

Insurance & convenience options: Hertz provides a wide range of optional protection plans to meet your travel needs. Check with your credit card and car insurance policy prior to renting to see what types of coverage or protection they offer for rental cars. You can also choose from a variety of convenience options such as child seats, SiriusXM satellite radio and more.