Hoping someone can assist me with a question that I have on an upcoming reservation out of DEN. I am Gold (through Amex Plat), if that matters.

Rental details:
Pick Up: DEN Sun., June 5 @ 11am
Return: DEN Wed., June 8 @ 7am
Mustang GT / Camaro SS (V4)

I now have to fly out of DEN on June 8th on a 6am flight and will be staying at a hotel near the airport the night before (6/7). I am not able to update the reservation to return the night before as it says the car I selected is not available if I make these modifications. Also, not able to re-book the reservation to return the night earlier either, as this car class is not available (and I would really like to keep the car I selected for some Colorado mountain driving...)

So, I think I have two options. Does any one have any recommendations?

1. Return the car around 4am on Wednesday, June 8th. I assume I can just drop the car off at this point even if they are not officially open yet? If so, is the shuttle to the airport terminal running at this time? Hopefully no early return penalty would apply by returning it 3 hours early?
2. Return the car the night before it is scheduled to be returned (Tues., 6/7) around 10pm, and take the hotel shuttle or Uber to the hotel that night, and hotel shuttle or Uber back to the airport terminal the next morning. I am worried that I may be penalized for early return if I go this route since I am not set to return until the next morning -- would I get charged a higher rate / penalty if I did that?

Any suggestions appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

Hertz at DEN airport hours are 5 am to 2 am. So probably no shuttle at 4 am--You would probably need to Uber it. I have not had a problem dropping off a car before a place is open--I would call and ask or ask when you pick up a car. That is what I do. Here is the DEN Airport Hentz number 303 342-3800

 

I would definitely do the second option. I doubt if it will cost any more.

 

2nd option, it still counts as 3 days and there shouldn't be any penalty for early return
You will have a good night sleep after getting the actual receipt from Hertz instead of doing after-hour drop off.

 

Anything more than 3 hours is charged as a full day, so you should always book in 24 hour blocks. That way you have flexibility if your plans change. There's no need to change the reservation to return early.

Option 1 is the easiest and cheapest. There is no penalty for returning early and after-hours return is available (as it is at almost every location). Hertz DEN opens at 5:00 AM and there will probably already be staff there getting ready for the day. The only catch is the shuttle; if it's not yet running, you could take an Uber, and it would still be cheaper than the hotel plan you mentioned.

 

Just following up to see if there was a resolution here. I'm looking at a 545a flight from DEN and if the shuttles aren't running until 5, that's a no go.