We picked up the car from a store at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, which was very close to our hotel. BUDGET and Avis share the same location. Though we originally scheduled to pick up the car at 10 a.m., we asked the staff if we could delay it a bit because we needed to return something at Union Square. The staff agreed without any hassle. However, the downtown location had very few cars available, and we were given a Hyundai. My husband doesn't like Korean cars and wanted to switch or pay for an upgrade, but both were denied, which made us quite sad. Friends who picked up their car a day later at the San Francisco airport got a free upgrade to a JEEP, which made us very envious. If you want more options, it's better to pick up the car at the airport where there's a wider selection. We returned the car at the Los Angeles airport. There are a few gas stations a few blocks away from the rental company, so you need to navigate. The return process was very quick; the staff briefly inspected the exterior and checked the fuel level, and we were done.