...from someone who rents cars in various cities 364 days a year...

Thrifty quietly, without fanfare, got rid of their early return penalty. Their rental agreements use to include a section that warned you that you would be assessed an early return penalty if returned more than 12-24 hours prior to your scheduled contract date. If you look at their current contracts, there is no reference to an early return penalty being assessed. And having played attorney for over 3 decades, I guarantee you can give them a run for their money if they do try it without it being in your contract Course Thrifty has quietly imposed other charges (see my other post re the new increase in frequent flyer charges that go into effect 9/1/08). One Thrifty customer service rep who I know pretty well, recounted the upset they rec'd when they were imposing that early return penalty.