Philadelphia 30th Street Station (ZFV)
Jun 17, 2020, 7:40 am
#16
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 1
As a frequent consumer of these threads for various airports, I figured this location, which I know well and use frequently, would be a good place to give something back.
The Location
The National desk is located in an underwhelming room alongside the other big rental agencies, with a location right at the back shared with Alamo. You can find the entry to the right of the ramp leading up to SEPTA Regional Rail, and to the left of a large glass Amtrak ticket counter. While you are on this main station level, there are (relatively harmless) restrooms located behind that glass Amtrak booth, and a nice Acela Lounge upstairs. If you have adequate Amtrak status, I'd recommend paying a visit to load up on coffee, Kind bars, and other goodies before hitting the road.
The Rental Process
The agents are generally very friendly, and no joke, one looks a bit like Ben Franklin (fitting for the city). I have found most if not all the agents will happily lay the keys out for available cars and turn their desk into a bit of a virtual emerald aisle. Some will readily upgrade me to whatever nicer vehicles they have in stock. Recently (Spring - Summer 2020) I have been very happy with the selection, walking away with lux SUVs, or at the very least a standard SUV all at the Full Size rate. Granted, this is aided by my Emerald Elite status.
Final Thoughts
This location is great with after hours returns, allowing a lot of flexibility for your trip. It also has a rail connection directly to PHL. I personally would not use this over the airport location, but I could see it being useful for niche cases where a mix of rail and air are needed for inbound and outbound travel. I have also found this location to be very easy to get a hold of on the phone. Overall this is a great location that should be considered in line with the PHL alternative. Next time I am there I will supplement this post with some pictures.
The Location
The National desk is located in an underwhelming room alongside the other big rental agencies, with a location right at the back shared with Alamo. You can find the entry to the right of the ramp leading up to SEPTA Regional Rail, and to the left of a large glass Amtrak ticket counter. While you are on this main station level, there are (relatively harmless) restrooms located behind that glass Amtrak booth, and a nice Acela Lounge upstairs. If you have adequate Amtrak status, I'd recommend paying a visit to load up on coffee, Kind bars, and other goodies before hitting the road.
The Rental Process
The agents are generally very friendly, and no joke, one looks a bit like Ben Franklin (fitting for the city). I have found most if not all the agents will happily lay the keys out for available cars and turn their desk into a bit of a virtual emerald aisle. Some will readily upgrade me to whatever nicer vehicles they have in stock. Recently (Spring - Summer 2020) I have been very happy with the selection, walking away with lux SUVs, or at the very least a standard SUV all at the Full Size rate. Granted, this is aided by my Emerald Elite status.
Final Thoughts
This location is great with after hours returns, allowing a lot of flexibility for your trip. It also has a rail connection directly to PHL. I personally would not use this over the airport location, but I could see it being useful for niche cases where a mix of rail and air are needed for inbound and outbound travel. I have also found this location to be very easy to get a hold of on the phone. Overall this is a great location that should be considered in line with the PHL alternative. Next time I am there I will supplement this post with some pictures.
