Thrifty Car Rental

Normally, I wouldn’t bother writing a review for an airport car rental place… they are all usually the same: Wait in a line that’s too long, put up with a little attitude, etc.
But my two experiences at this location were FANTASTIC. Cars waiting, quick in and out. Good pricing, and my last car had less than 1K miles on it!
Thanks for the great service.

Great car, great price, the only reason they did not get 5 stars was the long line in check in.

Three stars is when you get what you expect, four is when expectations are exceeded and five is a «wow» kind of experience. Well, with the amount of money I spent ($ 61 for two days, all included), I was not expecting red carpet service and a 7 series BMW.
I got a nice & new Hyundai Elantra, timely service, polite associates and easy pick-​up and drop off.
Taking one star off because of the pungent pot smell the car was pretty much «infused with». Then again, I rented the car at SF, that probably is not too big of deal in the area.
In short, affordable but not «bare-​bones» service. Until an experience proves otherwise, I’ll be renting from Thrifty going forward. Good bye National!

Returned a very small thrifty Rent-​A-​Car at 5 AM near the Albuquerque airport. We could not find a gas station open so the car needed three quarters of one tank to be full. We were charged not a $ 1.78 per gallon which was offered when we got the car. We were charged $ 10 a gallon. $ 103 for total expenses. We called there was no help.

Thrifty charged me over $ 1,700 when I agreed to only $ 220. They are scam artists. I rented a car for less than 3 days for 75 a day, and I’ve been charged a total of 3 times. Thrifty is a scam, they never inform you of where the charges come from and once you return the vehicle, they start to charge you a crazy amount of money. If I don’t get my money back, I will be even more livid. Thrifty is not good. Do not do it!!! It was all good until the car was returned and they took my money. Pissed off customer. If I could, I wouldn’t even give you 1 star.

Qick and easy rental and return. Rates were the best of all comers.

I read a dozen of the «1 star» reviews. and I get it. And I still give it 5 stars. I have flown into SFO at least a dozen times in the last 3 years and I always use Thrifty because they are ByFar the least expensive. I stood in the line from hell my first time, but what the other reviewers don’t tell you is that at certain times of day the entire floor of the rental building (all the rental companies share one big lobby they use for registration) is one huge scary maddening sardine can.
And standing in line you hear it all. The customers all want to chitchat like they are at Starbucks. What color is the car? I didn’t know I needed a credit card. Hmm, Honey, should we buy the additional insurance? Call our agent and see if we need it. Do we have enough gadgets with map programs or should we rent a gps unit from these guys. So? I’m from Boston, what’s a good Italian restaurant in Chinatown?
Or you can join the Blue Chip priority program, which costs nothing extra, answer everything online, read all the rules and check all the boxes, register your credit card… and guess what? When you get to the rental pavilion, you squeeze past all the newbies, walk straight to the elevator, and press 2 (and if you still feel squeezed take the stairs– it’s only one floor). Then look on the board, see which car is yours, and go get in it. Yes, it is that simple. If there is a problem, and sometimes there is, the agents on the pick up floor will resolve it.
You know, it’s a rental car company, not a taco stand. When was the last time somebody showed up at your door, you threw them the keys to your $ 25k car and said, try not to hit anything, put some gas in it if you feel like it, park it any olé where, and see ya when you get back?!
As long as the prices stay good, the cars stay good, and the Blue Chip program stays good, I can’t imagine using a different rental agency at SFO.

These folks really exceeded my expectations. I was on a tight schedule to fly-​in, get luggage, rental car and make it to a family dinner. The quick service and Blue Chip system really worked for me — got the car and on my way! I was the first one to the restaurant!
On return I was rushing because of a medical emergency and effort to fly out early — Thrifty’s fast check-​in helped get me to the counter where airline was able to get me on an earlier flight!

–Understaffed and poorly trained
–VERY long lines (25 people in line @ 12am)
–VERY long wait times (waited 2hrs @12am to get car)
–Unresponsive Customer Service lines
–You have to show proof of refueling within 10 miles of rental drop off. Cant just show up with full tank.
–You’ll save $ 100 – 150 over the other companies there, but you’ll pay for it with a lengthy wait and bad service. Plus you’ll be nickel dimed for surcharges. Avoid if youre a tired traveler.
–Our 2015 Toyota Yaris with 19k miles had such poor alignment that the steering was constantly pointed 10 – 15 degree off center (i worked as Auto Tech)

I was obviously nervous about renting a car in USA having heard stories of hidden charges and insurance costs however having gone to thrifty through
— i am pleased to report a decent experience.
We hired a midsize SUV — obviously not the one advertised as a ford so a slight mark down.
The insurance costs were reasonable for 19 days the only other insurance to take covered breakdowns, tyres and windscreens came to 140 $ or so.
The car was new, the service was quick at SFO and the drop off was really quick.

What a rip off! Returned car with tank FULL.
Was charged $ 33.00 for gas because I filled up 12.2 miles from the return rather than 10. Rude employee at return. Even ruder employee at customer service number.
Hope Thrifty enjoys the $ 33 because it is the last penny of mine they will ever get.

They were the cheapest option by far for a full-​sized rental for 7-​days (less than $ 200!), so it was an easy decision. The rental experience was perfectly ordinary, 3-​stars because of the wait to get a car.
Arrived on a Saturday in August 2015, long lines everywhere, but Thrifty’s line moved particularly slow. Took 30 – 45 minutes to get a car. I declined all additional coverages and had no hassles doing so. Was given information about how to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge (apparently its complicated), which I appreciated. Got a Mazda 5 which was perfect for us.
Drop off was easy enough, did not get charged anything extra. Bring your gas receipt with you to avoid any headaches, there are signs saying to do so but just don’t forget.

Why 1 star? Because I waited an hour and 20 minutes for a car.
— — —
This is review #1054 for me, and only the 7^th time I’ve had to compose a 1-​star entry. I try to be as positive as possible in these situations, but I really can’t offer more than the minimum rating here.
After flying coast-​to-​coast, I was excited to get on the road and begin my San Francisco adventure… and then I ran into a line so long, I thought it was a prank. There were literally 40+ people in front of me, and TWO people behind the counter. What?
As I’m stewing in frustration, the guy in front of me beats me to my idea, and calls the 1 – 800 number to ask if there is any alternative that they can offer, or a discount for the trouble. When he hangs up, he tells me that they wouldn’t do anything whatsoever. Great.
So fast forward an hour, and I’m still 7^th or 8^th in line, and they have a shift change. A couple new people sub in for the morning shift people who are leaving for the day. But this was possibly the most appalling thing about the experience: the laissez-​faire attitude of the employees as they were swapping out. The casual conversation between them, «so what are you up to this weekend?» «How’s so and so?» Myself, and my fellow line-​waiters were all just looking around at each other in disbelief. Are they actually treating this moment like they don’t have an angry mob of 40 people in line waiting on them? Baffling.
When I finally get to the front of the line, I asked the associate if we would be getting some kind of future discounts. He said customer service would be contacting me.
Two weeks later… no call from customer service. So I call them.
I get the most robotic person of all-​time. I tell her what happened, and she says she will mail me two $ 25 gift certificates to my home address and that they will arrive in the next 10 days. Zero emotion. No apology that I recall. Simply a person reading me a pre-​meditated response.
It has been 11 days, I have not received said gift certificates. Even if I had, this experience was awful from start to finish.
I had never used Thrifty before, and really had no opinion of them. I will absolutely never do so again. Atrocious and embarrassing customer service.

If possible, I would give them 0 stars. Once we got to the rental counter, we waited about 2+ hours in line even though we already had reservation. There were about 3 people working the counter and they had no sense of urgency. While we were finally at the front of the line, I overheard the person on the counter talking about chocolate to a customer. Really?! You have 50+ people waiting in line and you’re going to have a conversation about chocolate?!
We finally got to the counter and the guy straight up lied to us about the tolls and gas. He wanted us to get Thrifty’s toll pass which was about $ 11 each day and pay for a full tank of gas. He told us gas was about $ 3.90 a gallon outside and that toll would cost $ 25 (which they will mail to your house because they dont accept cash) if you didn’t have a fastrak pass. Both were incorrect. If you’re going on the golden gate bridge, southbound into SF is only $ 7, bay ridge toll is $ 5 and you can pay cash. Also we used up about 60% of the gas and only ended up paying $ 20 ($ 3.49 a gallon) thank goodness we didn’t get both those options. Because there was another hidden service fee of $ 25 we had to pay there even though we already paid in advance and had a reservation.
DO NOT USE THRIFTY. THEY WILL TRY TO MILK YOU FOR EVERY SERVICE YOU DO NOT NEED.

If there was a rating scale that went into the negative, Thrifty Rent A Car is worthy of a NEGATIVE 5. This has been the worst car rental experience ever. From the moment of waiting in line to pick up the car rental to returning the car early, I have never experienced any worse possible customer service ever.
I was basically forced to upgrade my car for an additional fee and was not informed that if I were to return it early that there would be a penalty as in this case I had only had the car for only 2 days as opposed to 6. Upon returning the car the car attendant says if u have a issue with the charges take it up with the office. I proceeded to the office only to be told that there are no concessions on the fees charged and that it was my FAULT for returning it early. I had asked if I could take the car back and he said no coz the contract has been closed and that’s that. Gah!!! He was not at all helpful and blamed it on me for my stupidity. Sigh, looks like customers are rated to the bottom of their priority list. Gosh how can a biz survive when their sole reliance on its existence is on their business???

1. Actually finding the customer service counter was brutal despite there being signs everywhere. Very misleading.
2. They had three customer service reps for a HUGE lineup. Two more people came out and were behind the counter, looked directly at the line, said something to one of the reps and went to the back room. Infuriating after a really long day of travel.
3. Our actual rep was extremely friendly. He tried hard to crack a joke or two to get us smiling after waiting close to 45min in line. He explained that our Visa only offers liability and not collision, so I would have to purchase that. No problem, makes sense. Wish I knew that ahead of time. Also was wondering if he was lying to me just to up sell, but didn’t have the time or the patience to actually call Visa and hold up the line to find out.
4. We purchased a MID-​SIZE car which we were told would be a Dodge Avenger or an equivalent. We were given a Nissan Versa Note. Please Google this — they are the size of a COMPACT car. One suitcase fit in the trunk, one. I would love to see what their Economy car is because honestly, I would say that the Versa Note is comparable to a Corolla or smaller. When I told them that it was not acceptable and we needed something larger based on what we were told we were receiving they told us too bad, they were out of cars. I’m certain that they just gave us what they had on-​site and we overpaid for a Compact car. I was far from impressed.
5. No one told me I had to give them gas receipts, so they charged me for gas despite returning the car with a full tank.
6. I paid $ 245 for one week through Expedia and ended up paying $ 425 instead. Blows my mind how there’s magically little charges here and there that you know absolutely nothing about at the time of booking. Read your contract VERY carefully.
Overall it wasn’t an absolutely horrendous experience. I still feel I got ripped off because I paid for a Mid-​Size, but was given a tiny little thing.

Cheap is not always good.
This is the only car rental place with a line about a mile long at the airport.
Furthermore, I have never been told I have to fuel 9 miles from the airport and show proof of receipt if I fill up the tank?
There is also a big upsale process, insurance and toll fee will change the rate you are quoted on line. Never had this problem with other car rentals in SFO.
The highest fee they get away with is the 50.00 toll to go over the bridge, they charge this to innocent people who don’t know any better.
We fly to SFO frequently and know to call and give our car rental Vin # and plate # over the phone along with a credit card directly to the city for us to be charged 10 dollars vs 50.00 for toll fees.
Do not go here, question every charge and be sure to understand your own rental policy and the coverage.

Longest line of my life. I definitely should have read the reviews in advance. Just pay the extra $ 25 — $ 30 for a real company and start your trip off right. Ridic.

After reading many post of horror stories here, I paid a little more and book my reservation via American Express Travel. At least I have someone to talk to if my reservation is all mess up.
Taking the airport rail to the rental place feels like forever. The Post Office stop, I don’t get it. Why can they just skip that stop.
Anyway, there was no wait at 7:30AM Friday. A gentlemen waved me in and asked for my name with a photo ID. He next asked for my credit card. After validating my reservation, he verbally asked if I want insurance, I say no, American Express will handle it for me. Next, he asked if I want to refuel the gas myself. I say yes, there is a gas station near Millbra BART station that I can go to.
He pointed me to the electronic pad and I again, click decline (like 7 times) to all the insurance and fuel charges. I got my long receipt and went down to level 2 to get my keys.
I show another gentlemen my reservation slip and he handed me the car keys along with the car location.
Totally, I got my car around 10minutes from checking in to leaving the lot. There is no cell signal inside the parking structure, I find that to be a pain when trying to use your phone for directions. So just exit out and input your directions outside the lot.
I’m very happy with my rental. The car was clean. Return was painless. The worker inspected the car and asked if I refuel the tank. I said yes and I gave him my receipt from the gas station. It was quick and easy.
And no, I don’t work for Thrifty.

I needed to rent a car for the day from SFO, and looking online, I found out that I could use my United MileagePlus points for a free car rental. It cost 5,000 for the day for various car types, including economy and mid-​size. I think if I had paid cash, it would have been $ 44.
I decided to go with a Toyota Corolla because I’ve driven one in the past and it was extremely easy to handle.
Booking online was fast and easy, and finding this place after arriving at the airport was also a breeze. Although there were two people ahead of me in line, the line moved really fast, and I didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes.
The lady at the counter was super nice and explained all my options. I decided to add on car insurance for $ 17.
The mileage is unlimited, but you have to pay for gas at a station within 10 miles of the pickup point, or else they charge you $ 9.89 per gallon. As I only had to drive to Belmont, I probably didn’t use more than a gallon, so I didn’t bother filling up the tank because it read «Full» the whole time. Also, I didn’t know where there was a gas station close to the airport, as I’m not familiar with the area.
So they ended up charging me $ 9.89 for gas. Oh well. So my total cost including taxes and fees ended up to be about $ 31 for the day.