babyboy754

is it true they do not rent to locals at the airports anymore or is that just at the ft. Lauderdale location? i'm a emerald club member.

drzoidberg

Must just be at that location.

6P&E

Could be the time of year as well. If you are trying to book during March in south FL, the busiest month of the year, it could be they are trying to keep inventory for non-resident visitors.

thirdfey

someone had posted a new national rental car policy last year that stated locals could not rent from national anymore. the exception to the rule was emerald club members.

i believe this policy was put in place because if you are local and renting a car then most likely you are using it for long distance travel so they wanted to keep the miles down but again, the exception to the rule was emerald club members.

Auto Enthusiast

And who knows if they at some point decide to change that Emerald Club exception, too. At many airports, Enterprise, which bought National, won't rent to locals.

3Cforme

Here is Firewind's thread, specifically:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/natio...e-airport.html

I don't see any prohibition under National's rental policies.

Tuneman1984

I know some smaller airports (such as YKF, Kitchener/Waterloo Regional just 1 hr from T.O.) require a flight number in order to make a reservation. So chances are if you showed up without a boarding pass or not on the flight then they may choose to not rent to you. Also FWIW Budget YVR has been requiring proof of flight arrival for years and turned away a colleague of mine who'd arrived by ferry.

Auto Enthusiast

Budget's website says YVR is a franchise. Licensees frequently have different, sometimes unpredictable rules. But National corporate stores seem to be following this no local renter policy.

newfbc

I rent from National YVR 40-50 times a year. No problems.

Ron.

eyedoctor28

I rent from FLL 1-2 times a month and am a local emerald club member, never had a problem.

FlyerTalker93851

You might be "blending" what you heard with many Debit Card policies at Rental Car Locations...You have to have proof of Round Trip Flight confirmation in order to use a Debit Card. This makes doing rentals for locals impossible.
Policies vary location to location based on Negative Rental Happenstance. Meaning when there becomes a Pattern in certain "things" new policies are established. This happens in every business.

I can speak for National/Alamo in Phx, AZ...we require the above. And it is disclosed not only on our website but third-party sites representing us as well. (However there are a surprising number of ppl who choose not to read rental requirements daily! Lord be with those who don't read it and Pre-paid their rentals! And those of us who have to explain why we can't rent to them.)

Auto Enthusiast

You have to have proof of Round Trip Flight confirmation in order to use a Debit Card. This makes doing rentals for locals impossible.

What about people flying in and wanting a one-way, which by definition means there won't be a roundtrip airline ticket? When National does AZ driveout specials, wouldn't that issue come up more often?

FlyerTalker93851

Alas...you can't use a Debit card on a One-Way...you are correct. Now you might be able to switch method of payment on return to a debit card in the renters name upon arrival. Or pay CASH...you know...Dead Presidents. But you have to have room on the CC shown at time of rental in order to DO the rental in the first place. You can't just show up with a CC.
We have the issue with Debit Cards on a Daily Basis as ppl do not read what is required on a rental. Foreign travelers don't read that we require a Passport in Phx in order to process a rental. Priceline and Hotwire or other Pre-Paid renters don't read that the name on the reservation has to be one one to do the rental at time of arrival and a cc and lic in the name of that person must be presented to do the rental.
Read the fine print...please! It saves a lot of Grief and Hassel and Money!

babyboy754

That sucks. It seems as if they prefer to give money to competion???

jackal

Most agencies have very similar restrictions on debit card usage. No national chain that I know of actively encourages unrestricted debit card use (for good reason, IMHO). All have at least some form of qualification or restriction (pass a credit check, display flight itinerary, have an active/verified insurance claim, etc.).