San Francisco Pick-Up, Los Angeles Drop-Off

Because I arrived at 8 PM, there was no queue.

Completed car rental in 5 minutes, very convenient through the machine

You can input the information yourself on the self-service machine, swipe your credit card, and go pick up the car. It's very fast.

First, the car pickup. Arriving at San Francisco airport at 9 PM, it was quite convenient to take the blue line AirTrain to the rental car center after getting our luggage. Possibly due to the late hour, there were only 2 staff members at the Alamo counter. Though there weren't many customers, they seemed a bit overwhelmed. We had booked a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but it's rare to get that specific car. The staff offered us a Hyundai Santa Fe (not many options in the same price range, and I'm not a fan of Korean cars). Seeing that I had a lot of luggage, they then suggested an upgrade to a Chevrolet Suburban (a massive SUV almost like a pickup truck; it seems rental car companies love recommending American cars, which are big and gas-guzzling and not very popular). I went to the parking lot to check it out. I thoroughly inspected the car and documents and found there was no registration document. The manager spent nearly half an hour trying to locate it with no success. By this time, it was almost 11 PM. The manager, seeing no other option, finally gave us an Infinity QX60. This car had a spacious trunk that fit my luggage, so I agreed to pay the extra $18 per day to upgrade. The whole process took about an hour. Since I had full insurance purchased through QEEQ, Alamo did not try to sell me any additional insurance. Return: I returned the car at Los Angeles airport, where Alamo has a much larger facility and more vehicles compared to San Francisco. The return process was very straightforward and quick. Once you enter the Return car area, staff will direct you where to park, unload your luggage, and leave the keys on the dashboard. A staff member noted the mileage and did a quick inspection before giving me the final receipt. The whole return process took less than 3 minutes. We then took the Alamo shuttle directly to the airport terminals.

Highly recommend Alamo! When you exit SFO airport, take the escalator on the left or right side and hop on the shuttle train directly to the rental counter, very convenient. We added $5 per day for roadside assistance. It was secured with a credit card, and in about 10 minutes, we went to the parking lot to get the car. The key was inside the car, just ensure you have your driver's license and contract ready, as you'll need it to leave. On the second day in San Francisco, our car window got smashed near the Palace of Fine Arts. We reported it to the police, then drove to Union Square to try to change the car, but we were told we had to go back to the airport. The car change process was quick and hassle-free, and it was free. We got a new car with only 2400 miles on it, which was even better than the one we had before. Great service! We returned the car at LAX, drove straight to the parking lot, and it took about 3 minutes to inspect. Then, a shuttle bus took us to our hotel. This rental company is awesome, and we will choose Alamo again in the future!