$250 to change drop off location within same city?
 

A friend is in Atlanta for a conference. He's an Emerald Club member, but no elite status. He has a mid-size from ATL's Emerald Aisle.

His travel plans changed and he tried to call the downtown Atlanta location to drop his vehicle off there. No one picked up, so he called National customer care.

National said there would be a $250 penalty for dropping his vehicle off at a location other than the destination on the reservation.

I've dropped off vehicles at locations other than the destination on the reservation before and never have been assessed a penalty. Not just airport vs. city, but destinations 400+ miles away.

Anyone heard of this before? New policy?

Completely depends on the rate code used for the reservation.

He just texted me...

He drove to the downtown location and asked in person. The station manager said it would be approximately $400 to change the title in addition to the one-way rental fee.

This was a standard, Emerald Club reservation. No contract code, rate code, etc.

You have to call reservations and change the drop off location...which may change the rate. Fees can be much higher is you just drop it off at a different location.

For retail renters, National is often relatively unfriendly towards one ways. They seem to have fewer cars and locations than competitors who usually offer better one way rates, which may help explain why.

I'd drive the 7 miles from downtown ATL to the airport and take the MARTA or an Uber back.