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Not to mention something I've been running into lately when renting cars: They will only rent to you if you are from out of state, and oftentimes you have to show them that you have a valid flight ticket. They don't like renting cars to people who live in the local area, and they're getting more and more strict on not doing it.

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Where are you and what rental agency are you using? Is it at the airport?

I got refused a rental in the middle of Manhattan once because I wouldn't show them a return flight ticket (I actually did have one, but it's none of their business).

I charged the company back via my credit card provider, and have never even considered doing business with that company again.

What company?

That one was Hertz. I use Avis pretty much exclusively now. They're mostly "ok" but certain pickup locations (SFO for example) are notoriously terrible at actually having a car ready like they are supposed to.

The most recent one for me was in Chicago at Routes Car Rental, and yes it was near the airport. It has also happened to people in my group in New York and New Jersey.

This is very strange. I rent cars routinely from a few blocks away and it's never been a problem. (I don't own a car and occasionally will take a day or weekend trip with a rental car...).

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