Key Takeaways
- In our review of car rental providers, Hertz ranked 2nd overall due to their widespread availability, many discounts and deals, and superior customer service.
- With average rates of $78 per day or $543 per week (including taxes and fees), Hertz rental car costs are average for the industry.
- Hertz is known for providing an excellent customer experience at its 1,600 locations across the country.
Hertz is a well-known rental car company with locations across the world. In our Hertz car rental review, we at the Guides Auto Team will dive deep into the company’s costs, fees, deals and more to help you decide if it’s the best option for you. We’ve reviewed the top rental car companies on the market and rank Hertz in second place just behind Budget (which offers lower rates on average).
Hertz Rental Car Ratings
Overall, Hertz was one of our top picks for rental car companies, earning a 9.2 out of 10.0 rating, earning our award for best customer experience. Out of all major rental car providers, the company has a great mix of affordable costs, great customer service, and plenty of add-on coverage options for your trip. Below you can compare how Hertz scored on our five major criteria we used to judge all rental car companies:
| Rating Category | Our Rating |
|---|---|
| Industry Reputation | 8.7 |
| Availability | 10 |
| Cost | 9.1 |
| Options and Restrictions | 9.3 |
| Customer Experience | 9.1 |
| Overall Rating | 9.2 |
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Hertz Car Rental Customer Reviews
Hertz stands out from the pack for having many positive reviews online. Hertz has a rating of 4.4 out of 5.0 from over 7,000 reviews on Trustpilot. The car rental company also has an A+ rating from the BBB, which shows that it responds to complaints quickly. Hertz is a smart choice for car rentals if customer service is the deciding factor for you.
Positive Hertz Car Rental Reviews
The vast majority of customers have a positive rental experience with the company and praise Hertz customer service in their reviews. Here are a few common themes in Hertz rental car reviews on Trustpilot:
- The final bill was what the customer expected with no surprise fees.
- When issues arise, staff members handle them quickly and courteously.
- The cost was cheaper than other options for the customer.
Negative Hertz Car Rental Reviews
As with any large company, there are a few negative Hertz reviews online. In some reviews, customers say they received cars in bad condition or that smelled of smoke. Other customers experienced issues with availability when certain models were out of stock. In rare cases of high demand, a location may not have available vehicles for a customer who paid ahead of time.
Our team reached out to Hertz for comment on its negative reviews but did not receive a response.
Hertz Rental Car Cost
Our team compared pay now rental car rates from Hertz for three major airports — Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Orlando — for standard sedans and SUVs. Overall, we found Hertz charges average rates of $78 per day or $543 per week (including taxes and fees). This is almost exactly the same as the national average of $77 per day or $539 per week. So, Hertz isn’t an expensive rental car company, but you may be able to find cheaper rates by shopping around.
Below are three example quotes along with the daily and weekly average for a standard sedan rental.
| Location | Sedan Daily Cost | Sedan Weekly Cost | SUV Daily Cost | SUV Weekly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | $50 | $557 | $90 | $630 |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | $82 | $572 | $100 | $703 |
| Orlando (MCO) | $80 | $353 | $63 | $441 |
| Average of above locations | $71 | $494 | $84 | $591 |
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Hertz Rental Car Taxes and Fees
You’ll pay the highest fees at airport locations since airports charge rental companies fees to use their facilities, and the rental companies pass these on to their customers. In total, we found that airports have fees that are 293% more expensive than those at neighborhood locations when comparing a Mazda 3 rental from Orlando airport and a local rental location. The difference was around $81, and while booking at an airport is more convenient, we recommend comparing pricing at non-airport locations to get the best deals.
Security Deposit
Hertz will put a card authorization hold on your account for up to $200 when you pick up the vehicle. This is to cover any damage or other costs you might incur during the rental period. If you booked your trip with a debit card, this hold can be up to $500.
Hertz accepts all major credit cards as well as debit cards with a Visa, Mastercard or Discover logo. To pay with a debit card, you need to provide two forms of identification that match the address tied to your debit card. If you’re booking a rental at an airport location, you must supply a return itinerary, as well. Finally, Hertz will perform a credit check to determine your creditworthiness.
Young Renter Fee
You need to be 25 years old to pay standard rates for renting a car. If you’re under 25, you’ll pay a young renter fee. Hertz rents vehicles to drivers as young as 20 in most states, but the minimum age is 19 in Alabama and Nebraska and 18 in New York and Michigan.
Hertz charges a fee of $19 per day for drivers under 25. This is a bit cheaper than young renter fees at most other companies, which tend to be around $25 per day.
If you’re under 25, you can rent almost any car that Hertz offers. However, you can’t choose a vehicle from the Dream Cars, Prestige or Adrenaline collections. In other words, you’ll have to wait until you turn 25 to rent a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG or Nissan GT-R from Hertz.
One-Way Rental Fee
You don’t have to stay in one place when you rent a car — you can return it to a different location if you want to do a road trip or your travel plans change. However, you’ll pay a higher rate to do so.
The good news is that one-way rentals from Hertz are about 7% cheaper than the national average. For a one-week rental, Hertz charged $488 extra on average to return the vehicle to a different location. Based on quotes we received from a number of rental car providers, the average upcharge was $524 for the industry.
Cancellation Fee
How much you pay to cancel your reservation depends on how you booked it. There are no fees to cancel reservations if you selected the pay later option. Just look up your reservation and let Hertz know you want to cancel it.
However, you may have to pay a fee to cancel if you used the prepay option online. It’s free to cancel within the first 24 hours after you book the reservation, which gives you a bit of time to change your mind and back out. After that, you’ll pay $100 to cancel up until 24 hours before the reservation. And if you want to cancel within the last 24 hours before pickup, you’ll pay a hefty $200 cancellation fee.
Hertz’s cancellation fee has pros and cons. Not many companies allow you to cancel for free at any point if you prepaid, so it’s nice that you can change your mind within the first 24 hours and get your money back. But after that, Hertz’s cancellation fees of $100 or $200 are higher than cancellation fees from other companies.
Hertz Deals
Hertz offers deals online to help travelers save a bit more on rental cars. These offers change from time to time, so check out Hertz’s deals page to see what applies to your trip.
- Get one free rental day when you book at least five days
- Save up to 30% on base rates with an electric vehicle
- Travelers over 50 can save up to 20% on base rates
- AAA members save 20% on base rates
- AAA members save $50 on monthly car rentals
- Young drivers with a AAA membership don’t have to pay young renter fees (applies to 20- to 24-year-old renters)
Hertz Rental Car Services
Hertz offers a wide range of rental car services. Single-location short-term rentals are one of the most popular rental car options, and Hertz offers this service at all its locations globally. The company can also accommodate different situations. If you have a wedding party looking to rent cars in the same area, for instance, Hertz can offer group rates. The same goes if you are planning a company event. Below are a few details on other services.
- Long-term rentals: Hertz offers discounted rates on monthly car rentals with a minimum period of 63 days.
- One-way rentals: Use different pickup and drop-off locations for a road trip or to accommodate a change in travel plans.
- Hertz Insurance Replacement: This service is available if your insurance company doesn’t offer rental car coverage or can’t get a car to you. Call Hertz and the company can get a car to your location.
Vehicle Selection
In our Hertz car rental review, we found the company has one of the best car selections in the industry. You can pick anything from a budget economy car to a family-size SUV. You can also splurge a bit and choose from a variety of luxury vehicles and sports cars. Hertz calls its fleet the Ultimate Collection. Here’s a sampling of what you can find:
- Cars and sedans: Nissan Sentra, Volkswagen Jetta, Mazda 3, Toyota Camry, Tesla Model 3, Ford Mustang
- SUVs and minivans: Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX5, Kia Sorento, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Suburban
- Utility vehicles: Box trucks, cargo vans, heavy-duty pickup trucks
- Prestige Collection: Audi A3, Infiniti Q50, Cadillac CT5, BMW 530
- Dream Cars: Porsche 911, Mercedes C63 AMG, Mercedes G550, Range Rover Sport, BMW M4
- Adrenaline Collection: Hertz-Hendrick Chevrolet Camaro SS, Shelby GT-H Fastback
The only thing Hertz is missing is a selection of exotic car rentals from the likes of Lamborghini or McLaren. It offers exotics in some European countries but not in the U.S.
Rental Car Add-Ons
Hertz offers a variety of add-ons. Below are a few examples, but you may find different products depending on your state and how you book your reservation.
| Add-On | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Loss damage waiver | This option waives your responsibility if the car is damaged during your trip. Otherwise, you’ll have to use your own car insurance or cover the damage out of pocket. |
| Extra liability coverage | Hertz automatically includes basic liability coverage, which compensates other drivers when you cause an accident. This option increases those limits. |
| Medical expense and personal item coverage | This option provides coverage for your and your passengers’ medical expenses after an accident and damage or theft of your personal items. |
| Skip the pump | Normally, you’re required to bring the rental car back with a full tank of gas. But with this option, you can save some time and return it on empty. |
| SiriusXM® | Hertz offers ad-free satellite radio through SiriusXM. |
| Child seats | If you’re traveling with little ones, you can get infant, child or booster seats from Hertz. |
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Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Program
Hertz offers a multi-level reward program to incentivize customers to keep coming back. If you’re a frequent traveler, you can earn points for free rental days throughout the year. Here are the details:
| Gold | Hertz Five Star® | President’s Circle® | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification | Free to sign up | 10 rentals or $2,000 | 15 rentals or $15,000 |
| Upgrades | None | As available | Guaranteed |
| Earning points | $1 = 1 point | $1 = 1.25 points | $1 = 1.5 points |
| Ultimate Choice | Standard | Wider selection | Widest selection |
| Reward redemption | Free rental days and online rewards | Free rental days and online rewards | Exclusive benefits plus free rental days and online rewards |
| Free additional driver | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated phone line | No | No | Yes |
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Ultimate Choice is Hertz’s special selection for rewards members at some airport locations. You’ll see an area marked off for Ultimate Choice vehicles in the parking lot. Finally, be aware that Hertz charges an additional driver fee that even applies to spouses and domestic partners unless you are part of the rewards program.
Hertz Rental Car Review: Conclusion
After a thorough Hertz car rental review, our team awarded the company our Excellent Customer Experience designation for its solid service reputation. Hertz offers a wide range of vehicles to choose from and is available worldwide.
Recommendations for Rental Cars
Shopping around from different rental agencies is the best way to find a good rate, and it takes just a few minutes to get a quote from a company. Besides Hertz, we recommend Budget, Avis and Dollar.
- Budget: Budget is our top pick overall because it offers cheap rental rates and a wide variety of rental car services.
- Avis: In our industry review, we named Avis Greatest Value because its rates are typically cheaper than the national average. The company also offers many deals for customers to save more on rentals.
- Dollar: Dollar is another rental car company that offers good value. According to our rate analysis, Dollar offers some of the best prices for one-way car rentals.
Hertz Reviews: FAQ
Below are some frequently asked questions related to Hertz rental car reviews:
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Hertz is a reliable rental car company with a reputation for strong customer service. It has a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot from over 7,000 customers.
Hertz and Enterprise are two separate companies. The Hertz Corporation owns Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty, while the Enterprise Group owns Enterprise, Alamo and National Car Rental.
Hertz only accepts debit cards with a Visa, Mastercard or Discover logo. The address on your debit card must match the two forms of identification that you present at the counter. Be aware that Hertz can put an authorization hold of up to $500 on your debit card at the time of pickup.
President’s Circle is the highest rewards level from Hertz. Getting to that level requires 15 rentals or $15,000 spent. Rewards include the best selection of vehicles, a dedicated phone line for customer service and guaranteed upgrades.
Our Methodology
Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best rental car companies. We collected data on several car rental providers to grade them on five key ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the companies that scored the most points topping the list.
Here are the factors our ratings take into account:
- Industry standing: Our research team considered years of experience and BBB ratings when giving this score.
- 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: 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.
If you have feedback or questions about this article, please email the MarketWatch Guides team at [email protected].
