Hertz #1 Gold Five Star guy here. Travel every week on business, usually at least one car rental, sometimes more. My travel agent (corporate) knows I prefer Hertz, and that’s what she books. I’ve said several times that that’s my perference, but she should feel free to book with another major company if there’s a better deal available. She never does, and I suspect she doesn’t even check. My conscience is clear, since I’ve established that I’m not insisting on Hertz, just expressing a preference.
Why stick with Hertz? It’s certainly not the cheapest option in most cases, but then I’m not paying for it. The #1 Gold Club benefits are the main reason – just knowing that I can generally walk right out to my car, get in, and drive off without having to stand in line at a counter is a huge benefit when you travel as much as I do. I also get frequent flyer miles on my preferred airline, automatic free upgrades, and the occasional free rental day voucher based on my usage (I think it’s one for every 10 qualifying rentals).
If I only traveled a few times a year, the convenience and other benefits might not matter as much to me, but when I get off my twelfth delayed flight in the last two months at 2 in the morning, the last thing I want to do is schlep to some far-flung off-airport lot after standing in line a counter for a half hour.
I have also rented from Avis and have never had a problem.
Having said that, for local personal rentals, I’m as likely as not to go with Enterprise. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with them here in Georgia and in California. They’ve had competitive rates, but it’s been their customer service that has impressed me consistently. We’ve rented from them on a couple of occasions while having repairs done to our vehicles, and when there’s been any issues or special requests we’ve had, they’ve always been extremely accommodating. The main downside is that they don’t generally do intrastate rentals, as they operate as different companies in each state.