Things like this have been discussed in numerous threads. European rate plans usually get a low daily rate plus a flat, taxable drop charge. US retail rate plans generally get a higher daily rate with no separate drop charge, or a corporate rate plan with a fixed daily rate plus a per-mile fee. A reason for the difference in rate presentation is differences in expectations stemming from how and why each customer group rents and pays for cars.

There is no "transparent" way to dissect or predict one-way pricing. It's proprietary, and depends on relative demand as well as depreciation due to mileage. (For one-ways between corporate stores, the cars are not sent back.) Go with whichever combination and company offer the lowest total price.

Hertz is usually good for one-way availability and location choice. However, they are attempting to raise all their prices. They need to pay for all the new 2015 cars they're buying, to replace the aging cars they've kept for the past several years.