AVIS is a well-known car rental company, and I've used them before, thinking they should be fine. However, in late March, I rented a car at Los Angeles Airport and encountered an unprecedented situation. Arriving at the AVIS airport rental point around 3 PM, I saw a long queue at the counter, nearly extending out the door. After about an hour of waiting, I finally completed the paperwork. I thought I could just take the contract outside and pick up a car, but was told by the staff there that I needed to wait another 1-2 hours for the car. I was shocked and only then noticed many others waiting for cars. Eventually, I got the car after 6 PM. Not only was the pickup slow, but returning the car also had issues. About a week after returning the car, I found a $102 charge from AVIS on my credit card. Customer service said it was for refueling since the car was returned without a full tank. However, I clearly returned it with a full tank, which was checked by the staff at the return point. After providing evidence and having customer service contact AVIS, I finally got the $102 refunded to my credit card last week. Kudos to the rental service's customer support for their responsibility and efficiency.

Had to wait about half an hour to pick up the car, and was overcharged when returning it

Staff were patient despite my poor English speaking skills.

Why pay again on-site after paying online?

At the Los Angeles airport location, there were long queues and poor efficiency; it took nearly an hour to get the car. On-site, I was informed that only the main driver's credit card could be used for the deposit, not MasterCard UnionPay, and only Visa UnionPay. The reservation was made under my friend's name, who is the main driver and only has MasterCard. I had prepaid for the car and had a Visa. I contacted the rental company customer service to change the main driver to me or coordinate somehow. Despite explaining the issue three times, they kept repeating: 'You need to prepare a MasterCard or Visa credit card. We're sorry, but we can't solve this.' They totally didn't understand my issue! Eventually, the on-site staff coordinated with a supervisor to use my friend's MasterCard, but it added $150 for insurance!