First time this has ever happened to me - I rented a car at Alamo in Denver this past weekend. As many here know, Alamo has for the most part dismantled Quicksilver, so I had to walk inside and talk to an agent to get the car. That went smooth enough - Quicksilver members go to the front of the line - but I was a bit surprised when the agent said "Where are you headed this weekend?" I was pleasant about it and told her (Colorado Springs), but afterwards I got to thinking...why are they asking that?

I imagine many folks would get defensive when asked - it kind of smacks of invasion of privacy. I just don't get what purpose it serves to ask. I've rented in places like San Diego and Seattle where I can see them making a point about whether you are authorized to leave the country in the car, but they've never asked there.

This was a "normal" car rental: compact car, unlimited miles, two days. After I told them my destination, they didn't pursue the questioning and I don't think they even entered it into the computer. My sense is that they were confirming that I wasn't going somewhere, but I can't for the life of me think of where.

Anyone else get this from a rental car agency?