National - 1st Emerald Club Rental - Time Stamp question

Last Friday, I rented a car using the Emerald Club Counter Service for the first time. When I got there, they had the rental agreement printed out inside the jacket and handed that to me along with the keys and said I was all set. After I left the airport, I noticed the printout had a time stamp of 7:30AM, even though I did not get there until 6PM, which is what my reservation was for.

With the morning time stamp, it takes my rental from being one week to one week + one day. Do they normally print out the receipts in the morning no matter what time the pickup is scheduled for? Is there a way in the system for them to know that I didn't pick it up until 6PM? Should I be concerned that they will try to charge me for that extra day?

Thanks for any incite you can provide!

Is there a way in the system for them to know that I didn't pick it up until 6PM?

Yes. They will know the actual time of pickup and charge the appropriate duration.

Be careful with big changes in pickup or dropoff times, however: you can disqualify yourself for weekend rates or coupon use and wind up with a much higher rental cost, even if number of hours rented doesn't change.

I've rented almost exclusively at EC Counter locations during my 3 year tenure as an Exec Elite, and not once have I been charged for time that I did not use. The procedure varies by location: Some locations print all the EC contracts in the morning, while others will print an hour or two before you're due to arrive. You'll notice that when you're handed the contract the vehicle information is blank. Rather than pre-assign you a car like some other agencies do, National likes to offer you a choice. So after you've picked from a few different options the agent offers you, the agent then attaches that car to your rental contract (for instance, Kia Rondo #9U374958). When the car is attached, the time is automatically updated.

I like how they do this, however my only gripe is that it makes it hard to plan for how much my CC is authorized for. National generally only authorizes for the estimated amount due, but by printing ahead it means the system "thinks" my total is higher, and therefore auths me for a higher amount. Not a huge deal as it's usually only $40 to $50 more at most, but still can be annoying as my CC is painfully slow to release pre-auths.