U ltimate Choice is a feature through which all customers of Hertz who rent in the United States can have a choice of vehicles within the car zone indicated on the reservation; and as of this month, it will be available in five additional airports:
- Albany
- Oakland
- Orlando
- Sacramento
- Washington Dulles
Hertz Expands Ultimate Choice to More Airports
Ultimate Choice is already available to customers at 30 airports within the United States — meaning that the total will be 35 airports as of July of 2017.
How Ultimate Choice works is instead of having a specific vehicle assigned to you, you decide which vehicle you would like to drive. Simply go to the car zone indicated on your reservation; choose the car from a range of makes, models and colors which is right for you; then get in your chosen vehicle and go to the exit gate.
Members of the Hertz Gold Plus frequent renter loyalty program have access to a select group of vehicles with enhanced features; and the car zone is clearly marked based on elite level status.
If you prefer to upgrade your vehicle, you can opt to pay a flat fee of $35.00 more per day — excluding taxes and fees — and select any car from the Premium Upgrade zone. Members who have earned and achieved President’s Circle and Platinum level status enjoy a special upgrade rate of $25.00 per day, excluding taxes and fees.
All changes will be processed at the exit gate.
Summary
I have not used the Ultimate Choice option from Hertz as of yet; but I suspect that it is similar to the Emerald Aisle offered by National Rental Car, which I have enjoyed for years because once I arrive at the rental car facility, all I had to do was choose a vehicle and go with minimal interaction at the exit gate.
What I like about Emerald Aisle is that I could choose a vehicle based on my circumstances at the time at no extra charge. If I knew I was attending a conference and was going to be driving around several passengers, I would choose a sport utility vehicle or a passenger van. If one of the passengers was a young child, I would choose a vehicle with a built-in car seat. If one of the passengers was elderly, I would choose a car with which ingress and egress were as easy as possible. If the area where I was renting a car had high fuel prices, I would choose a car which was efficient with its consumption of gasoline…
…and if I was feeling a little sporty, I would choose a convertible or a car known for satisfying the need for speed — but that was rare.
If I do have the opportunity to try out Ultimate Choice from Hertz, I will review my experience in a future article.
In the meantime, I have no idea what a baked Italian dumpling stuffed with cheese and other ingredients called car zone has to do with renting cars…
Photograph ©2007 by Brian Cohen.
