Senior’s Hertz rental in Austria

By Doug Barnett
This item appears on page 42 of the April 2019 issue.

After reading the subscribers' letters about "Senior Drivers of Rental Cars" (Dec. '18, pg. 38 & Jan. '19, pg. 32), I decided to add my 2¢.

I'll be turning 86 in April 2019. In September 2018, I returned to Austria for the 10th time since 1988. I rented a car from Hertz because I received a 20% discount card from Marriott Corporation; my wife and I are timeshare owners with Marriott Vacation Club.

I called Hertz to make the reservation, and when I gave the clerk my personal information, my age was not a problem. When I picked up the car at the Salzburg Airport, I showed them my driver's license, and my age was still not an issue.

I drove this car for 16 days in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and didn't have to pay for any additional collision insurance, as my Chase credit card covered this issue.

My only complaint with Hertz was the high drop-off fee of $350 for returning the car at the Zürich Airport, but it was worth every penny because we were able to visit with our dear friends Hilde and Max Jaeggli in Flaach and Mark and Michele Ouimet and their three children in Winterthur.

Flying out of the beautiful Zürich Airport was a breeze, as we stayed our last night at Hotel Allegra (Hamelirainstraße 3; phone +41 44 804 44 44, www.welcomehotels.ch/allegra/en) in Kloten, five minutes from the airport. The hotel shuttle took us to the airport in the morning.

DOUG BARNETT
Sarasota, FL