Rental Car Company Rewards/Denver International Airport

1,893 Views | 27 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by AgRyan04
AgRyan04
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Kind of a two part question....a general one and then a specific one

I've always just booked the cheapest car I can through whatever site I find the best deal on.

What rental car company has the best membership program?

We're going to be flying into Denver multiple times per year (we're guestimating 30-40 rental days per year) and are trying to identify which rental company we want to hitch our wagon to (operating out of DIA with good customer service, most shuttle buses, we can readily get AWD vehicles, etc).

I used FOX the last time I went up and for a once every so often type deal I can put up with thst mess, but realized if we're going to be renting regularly that I'm going to be willing to pay a little more for a little more.

Any other advice?
Bulldog73
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AG
Honestly, in my fairly limited experience, they all kinda suck.
fka ftc
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Agree with Bulldog. Prior to COVID, I rented 40 times a year for a couple days at a time. Almost all at Hobby. I switched from Hertz to Avis then to National. Program / points were always the same. The difference maker was my time at Avis when I got to know the guy working on Thursdays and $20 ensured a brand new Tahoe, Yukon or Escalade every time, running with the AC on full blast.

So pick a company, get to know the staff, throw some cheddar their way and forget the points. My "free" days were usually more expensive than the going rate or coupons you could find.
aglaohfour
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AG
Between ourselves and our employees, we have about 900 rental days a year. We used Hertz for several years and the rewards were okay, but on my last trip to Denver I had such a horrific experience with several employees at the DEN location that we terminated our relationship with them and switched to National and they've been fine.

If you were going to be frequenting any other airport, I'd probably tell you to take your pick of any of the large brands and you'll probably have the roughly same experience with all of them from a service/rewards standpoint. But at DEN, I would avoid Hertz like the plague. I really can't even explain what a **** show the situation was and how badly the employees there handled it.
AgRyan04
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Thanks - that helps quite a bit, actually
HollywoodBQ
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AG
I used to use AVIS 15-25 years ago and loved the certainty of having a car assigned to me when I showed up.
For about a year, I worked for a company that used Hertz maybe 15 years ago.

For about the past decade, I've been using National. I'm very happy with their ability to let you pick your own car.

National is great for upgrades - especially once you qualify for Emerald Aisle Executive. It has been very common for me to pay for a mid-size car and roll out in a full size pickup, or SUV or Mustang/Camaro, etc. I've even had situations where I've paid for the mid-size and pulled an Infinity QX80 or Cadillac Escalade for the same price. On a recent trip to Dallas, I upgraded to a Land Rover - it was terrible but at least it didn't cost me any more money to find that out.

One other caveat during the Covid era is availability of cars period. Throughout history, rental car locations would have hundreds of cars rotating through and if you ever pull into some place like SFO, or Las Vegas, DFW, etc., you should never have to wait more than a few seconds to get a car that suits your needs. During 2020, they still have a lot of cars but they don't clean them all. So, even though you might see hundreds of cars sitting there, there might only be 20 cars available for rent because that's all they've cleaned.
Jock 07
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AG
Nowhere near as frequent renter as those above but I've primarily focused my business with hertz over the years, primarily because I get the president circle with my credit card. I'll agree that their customer service and car selection has seemed to have gone to **** in my recent experiences in IAH, HNL, DCA, & ABQ. Used to always get a challenger, camero, mustang, well equipped 300s, infinities, sometimes Yukon's and Escalades but nowadays lucky to find a damn impala or something similar in decent shape.
AgCPA95
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AG
Same general experience here as formally being a Hertz loyalist for years, but their customer service has gone to crap. Very happy with National for a number of years now so I would stick with them.
kag00
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AG
Renter Hertz twice at DIA in the last month. First experience was fantastic. Great service and great Tahoe. Second trip was terrible. Unwashed car with almost balled tires in the middle of winter was all they could rustle up even though I I was on their schedule for a pick up. They literally had nothing else to choose from in the size I needed so I had to take the trash.
MCMXCVII
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AG
Check out Silvercar from Audi. I use them every time I fly into Denver (5-8 times a year). Easiest rental experience ever. No lines at the counter - all done via an app.
Barnyard96
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AG
Agree with Hollywood about National. Executive is a great perk. For example, I scored a fully loaded Jeep Grand Cherokee 4X4 Limited two weeks ago in Denver for the daily member rate (~ $35/day).
Bachelor99
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AG
do any of the other rental car companies (hertz, avis, etc) allow you to pick your car of choice? i like that option with national where you can pick any car in the emerald aisle or executive aisle (if executive)....
The Pilot
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AG
Depending on when you come to Denver, it it's between Sept 1 to May 31, make sure you are aware of the I70 traction law.
Barnyard96
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AG


"And I can pick up my car without talking to anyone if I don't want to...

...and I don't."
breezecustomtravel
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AG
Hertz went bankrupt this past summer so since then it's been nothing but bad reviews and horrible service from them.

Has anyone used Sixt?
I'm not too familiar, bu my husband has used them in Europe and some in the US for his job pre-COVID travel and he was impressed.
Not sure how their pricing is but he said their customer service is top notch.

Lauren K '07
www.breezecustomtravel.com
@breezecustomtravel
Bulldog73
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AG
We had a very frustrating experience with them in Phoenix. Polite complaints to desk workers and managers didn't accomplish much, calls to corporate didn't get anything done. Eventually, I just went to my card company and they made it right.

I've used them in Europe without a hiccup, and they are in the lower tier of pricing when I run the Autoslash reports typically.
Jock 07
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AG
Bachelor99 said:

do any of the other rental car companies (hertz, avis, etc) allow you to pick your car of choice? i like that option with national where you can pick any car in the emerald aisle or executive aisle (if executive)....

I know hertz does at least for presidents circle. I think most of the big names have a similar operation where keys are in the car and you just hop in whichever one you want and check out at the gate.
fka ftc
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Jock 07 said:

Bachelor99 said:

do any of the other rental car companies (hertz, avis, etc) allow you to pick your car of choice? i like that option with national where you can pick any car in the emerald aisle or executive aisle (if executive)....

I know hertz does at least for presidents circle. I think most of the big names have a similar operation where keys are in the car and you just hop in whichever one you want and check out at the gate.
Having been higher/est tier at all 3 over the years, National does this the best. No talking to anyone, no changing paperwork. Just get in and go.
txags92
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AG
If you can get Avis Preferred status, it is really nice to always be able to pick the car you want. I have been using them exclusively for about 5 years now and have had nothing but good experiences. As for DEN, not sure if it is still this way, but in the past, you could save a lot of money riding the train from the airport to downtown and renting there.
aggie_wes
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AG
Rented from Sixt last time we went to Denver (2019) and got a suburban through them and everything went fine. I felt like the counter was slower than most others as far as getting the car, but no issues after. I generally go with Budget or National when I travel and have had no issues with either.
Jock 07
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AG
I've always wanted to try out National but their rates always seem so damn high when compared with the competition.
Hincemm
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AG
i think sixt is good...mainly for the quality of their vehicles.

when it comes to booking vehicles, i just use autoslash. best rates, hands down. the only rental company i wouldn't use is fox. they're really bad.
Jock 07
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AG
I think the worst I've ever gotten stuck having to use for work was E-Z, it was anything but.
The Pilot
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AG
Did anyone rent from advantage at LAX when we played at UCLA few years ago? Waited about an hour and a half in line. It was a giant cluster F.
Barnyard96
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AG
The Pilot said:

Did anyone rent from advantage at LAX when we played at UCLA few years ago? Waited about an hour and a half in line. It was a giant cluster F.
Couldn't have been worse than the second half.
The Pilot
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AG
It was close.
Bitter Old Man
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AG
MCMXCVII said:

Check out Silvercar from Audi. I use them every time I fly into Denver (5-8 times a year). Easiest rental experience ever. No lines at the counter - all done via an app.
This. I used them the last time I was in Denver. Great experience, once I figured out what all the whiz-bang dohickey knobs and buttons in the Audi did.
htxag09
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AG
barnyard1996 said:

Agree with Hollywood about National. Executive is a great perk. For example, I scored a fully loaded Jeep Grand Cherokee 4X4 Limited two weeks ago in Denver for the daily member rate (~ $35/day).
Yep, this is pretty standard with national in Denver. I used to travel there once ever 6 weeks or so. Executive aisle is always stacked with Grand Cherokees, Tahoes, and Expeditions.
AgRyan04
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Thanks all

We had our first run through last weekend with National...super smooth
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