Instead of taking a taxi or Uber from my house to the Vancouver International Airport to depart on an overseas journey, I opted for an innovative solution by travelling to the airport a day early, and getting myself a Hertz rental vehicle in order to self drive to the airport. I would leverage Hertz Presidents Circle status by getting a car category upgrade by using a cheaper method than paying for three weeks worth of parking, or by taking a taxi. Read on to see how our experience was with Hertz at the Vancouver international Airport.

---

This post is one chapter on a trip with my 82 yr old mom from Canada to Singapore. For informaton on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Air Canada Aeroplan and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.

---

---

My Experience Renting as Hertz President’s Circle Member at Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

---

I have maintained Hertz Presidents Circle status for a number of years now. While it seems to be among the most indifferent elite status’ around, in terms of treatment by Hertz employees, I have found it useful and getting some surprise upgrades.

My travel circumstances were a bit unusual today. I’ve gotten away from driving my own car to Vancouver International Airport when departing on a personal trip. With a lot of seagulls in the Pacific Northwest whenever I park my car at the usual Park ‘n Fly valet, it usually comes back pretty messy over a longer stay. As a result, and in the spirit of being greener, I’ve recently started taking transit to the airport.

For today’s journey, I was departing for Singapore and travelling with my 82-year-old mom. I wasn’t super confident that she would be able to navigate a checked medium size luggage across buses and subway platforms. I was going to get an Uber to the airport but it was about $90 CAD (before tip) from my suburban residence.

I came up with a creative idea about using a Hertz rental to get to the airport. I ended up taking the bus out to the airport a day earlier, picking up a Hertz rental car for $55 CAD. With this rental we would be able to load up the car, drive into the airport at our convenience, and just drop the car at the airport. It would end up being cheaper than getting an Uber, a taxi and I’d earn hertz gold plus reward points and one rental credit for the Hertz qualification year. We were getting picked up by Mrs WT73 at the end of our journey so the one-way trip made sense.

About Hertz Gold Plus Rewards:

Since this space is about loyalty programs, Hertz offers a loyalty reward program called Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. The program is primarily designed to keep your driver’s licence, credit card and insurance preferences on file to allow for quicker rentals that allow for bypassing the legal formalities of the rental counter in many locations and allow you to get out on the road faster.

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards also offers the ability to earn Hertz Gold Plus Reward points. While we didn’t typically get a lot of value from car rental points, they’ve recently delivered outsized value from travel when car rental prices escalated during the pandemic when many Hertz locations reduced their vehicle fleets, driving up car prices.

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards offers three tier levels of Gold, Five Star and it’s top tier President’s Circle. It’s around the Hertz Presidents Circle level where the benefits get interesting.

Hertz President’s Circle Benefits:

Hertz’s highest tier level is Hertz President’s Circle. Hertz Presidents’ Circle offers the following benefits:

• Upgrades: Guaranteed
• Hertz Gold Rewards points earning: $1 = 1.5 points
• Hertz Ultimate Choice: Widest Selection
• Dedicated Hertz Reservation Line

With reward redemptions starting at about 950 Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points, you’ll need a little bit of spend in order to get a free rental.

This leads me to my most recent experience renting from Hertz at the Vancouver International Airport.

My Experience at the Hertz Vancouver International Airport:

Upon arrival to Vancouver international Airport, I approached the Hertz rental counter. The Hertz rental counter at Vancouver international Airport is located on the ground floor of the Parkade and is fully walkable without shuttle bus from the domestic and international arrival areas.

There was one person ahead at the counter when I arrived. While there was a Hertz Gold plus reward line, it was unmanned.

After presenting my identification, and confirming that I was a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Presidents Circle member, the pleasant agent confirmed my pick up with a rental contract that had been pre-printed.

I had booked an intermediate “I” class category car which was described as a Toyota Corolla or similar. I was handed the keys to the vehicle and sent out to stall number ten.

Due to some space limitations at the Vancouver International Airport, Hertz does not offer ultimate choice where you can select any vehicle in the aisle and go. There are only spaces for about 25 vehicles at this location with cars being shuttled in for use as needed.

The Vehicle: A Brand New Hyundai Kona

When I got to stall number 10, I found myself a brand new 2024 Hyundai Kona midsized sport utility vehicle. This represented a “to the letter” one category President’s Circle upgrade from the Intermediate that I had booked.

The car was in excellent condition with less than 7,000 km on the odometer.

Interestingly enough, Hyundai has gone away from logo and the interior of its vehicles. Aside from the Kona branding in the floor mat, it was hard to tell you were driving a Hyundai.

Overall, the pick up experience was exceptionally smooth. Everything went as expected, and my paperwork was ready on arrival.

Returning at Vancouver International Airport:

On the date of our departure on our Air Canada Business Class Vancouver – San Francisco flight, I packed up my 82-year-old mom and we both drove to the Vancouver international Airport together. The markings for car rental return were easy to find underneath the economy parking lot for regular travellers.

Hertz operates a small rental footprint at Vancouver and the rental return area is a small one.

I had no challenges getting gas for the rental car and the return process was smooth. My bill was processed and arrived by email, as expected.

Unlike my luck at the Ottawa Hertz location, I had no issues getting my Hertz Gold Plus Rewards to credit.

My Thoughts on Hertz President’s Circle at Vancouver International Airport:

While I’ve previously had high expectations of Hertz President’s Circle Ultimate Choice, I’ve learned to taper those expectations.

My rental at the Vancouver international Airport marked a cheaper way of getting us to the airport that was slightly better than a taxi. While I did receive a one category Hertz President’s Circle upgrade, I might’ve had similar luck if I was just renting off the street without any form of status at all. My rental paperwork was ready on arrival, and I got Hertz Gold Plus Rewards rental credit quickly. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

---

If you have visited Hertz Vancouver International Airport, did you have an efficient rental experience ?

---