The other reason I haven't seen mentioned here for requiring non-Gold customers to go to the counter is so that they can check photo ID matches the person physi

The other reason I haven't seen mentioned here for requiring non-Gold customers to go to the counter is so that they can check photo ID matches the person physically there and matches the name on the credit/debit card. Hertz even makes Gold members go to the counter one time after changing your profile card to get it validated with a photo ID comparison + swipe.