National Car Rental has what I believe is the strongest promotion in the market each year, “One Two Free.”
You earn a free rental day for every two qualifying rentals (mid-size or larger for 2 days or longer). And when they run the promotion, they do so for long periods of time. The most current offer is for a five month stretch which concludes at the end of January.
I’ve been renting regularly from National for the past couple of years. The unique selling proposition to me isn’t the rewards, though I’ve earned plenty of free rental days. It’s the ‘Emerald Aisle’ where being a member of their Emerald Club program means you walk out to the lot, take your choice of cars from the designated row(s), and just get in and drive to the exit.
Sometimes I’ll take whatever is closest, other times an SUV when I want something larger, and occasionally I’ll get in a bunch of cars to look for the one with lowest miles and features I want. National calls it “speed, choice, and control.” I call it not having to go asking for something other than a Taurus.
As the current One Two Free promotion wraps up, National offered me the chance to interview one of their frequent renters and also give away status and gift cards. I jumped at the chance.
- To be clear, I’m not taking anything from National for doing this — all of the prizes and benefits go to you, my readers.
- I thought if they could put me in touch with someone to interview who rents much more frequently than I do, a minimum of 100 days a year, they could offer a really interesting perspective.
So here’s the giveaway:
- (5) $200 gift cards
- (5) National Emerald Club Executive Elite status upgrades.
There will be (5) prize winners, each to receive a $200 gift card and Executive Elite status. Not only do Executive Elites get to pick from the Executive aisle of higher category cars (as National Executive status allows) but they earn free rental days faster and in my experience are able to redeem those free rental days for premium vehicles.
- Worth noting that WorldElite MasterCard cardholders and American Express Platinum cardholders are entitled to National’s Executive status, which also gets access to the Executive aisle. That’s worth signing up for.
All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post answering the question: what is the one thing that can make your car rental experience better?
Please enter only one time. This contest will run through January 19 at noon Eastern, and I will draw the winners with the assistance of random.org. All of my decisions are final.
Here’s the interview, so you can learn about car rentals from someone who rents more than I do
I had a great discussion with Bruce McNeal who rents well over a hundred times a year, and thought I’d ask how he thinks about his rentals and since he more or less lives in a car how he approaches making it as comfortable and easy as possible.
How often are you on the road, and what leads you to travel so much?
- I am on the road sometimes for 15 days a month. I am part of the store support team on a national retailer. I have locations in ten states.
Are you renting from the same locations over and over, or different locations?
- I fly to 4 or 5 airports and try to know the staff on the Aisle or at the rental counter at the airports. The rest of my rentals come from the great staff at the National located in Naperville, IL. I park my car at that location and drive to areas where I can visit 3 or 4 stores at a time.
How many of your rental days are through National?
- All my rentals are with National, when the Markham location was closed, I tried Hertz local and the cars were inconsistent. I also had an issue with the I Pass ( toll road auto pay)system that they had.
Why do you choose National as your primary rental company?
- Our corporation uses National as a primary car rental company, the special treatment as an Emerald Aisle member and other perks keep me coming back.
How do you book – do you have an assistant, do you book yourself, and if so online/phone/mobile app? Why?
- I book thru a corp. travel site, as required by my company. I used to book on`line and take advantage of the great discounts sent out from National. I do not have anyone assisting me.
When taking cars from the Emerald Aisle what do you look for in making your choice – specific vehicle type? Do you get in multiple cars and select based on features or look at mileage? In other words, do you take the first car to get out quickly or do you use the Aisle to be picky?
- The first thing is a personal matter; I have several family members that either are retired from American car manufactures or are currently working for one; I take great pride in “Buy American” whenever I can. I enjoy SUV’s in the winter when roads can become hazardous. Then I like the great looking cars( in my opinion) like the Chrysler 300. Currently I am crazy about the Ford Explorer especially when it is fully loaded and has satellite radio.
Do you take any accessories or optional items? Why or why not?
- When I am in an area that I do not know and not working, I take insurance, I pass on everything else.
How do you refuel – do you prepay, fill up the tank yourself, or just return the car without a fillup? Why?
- I always refill, the National in Naperville is part of an Enterprise location, so I return with the same amount of gas. The main reason why is that it is our policy not to prepay gas.
How do you use your free rental days? Business or leisure? How do you decide whether to pay out of pocket or use a free rental day?
- More often than not I attach the extra days to a rental when I intend to enjoy a weekend in or near a city that I am working in that week. There have been several times that I let my wife drive my car and use a rental car if her auto in in the shop for several days. I will pay for the rental instead of using free days, if there are great weekend rates in the discount coupons that National sends out. Why use a free day for a nineteen dollar rental?
Any other tips and tricks that my readers should know?
- Being nice goes a long way. There was an airport location, I befriended one of the Aisle attendants; I would call and they would find the best available car for me. Please be pleasant to the people working at the locations, they rent 100’s of cars daily and some things do not always fall together. Lastly a smile means a lot to everybody.
Thanks, Bruce!
Now, leave your comment on this post to enter to win a gift card and status! And take advantage of 1-2 Free while there’s still time!
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Being able to pick any car in the aisle was a great move by National. Love it.
The single item for me, is not having to wait in any line(s) for paperwork
I would put it to good use.
Choose your own car
A car with great gas mileage!
Free GPS.
Built in GPS would be nice
Ferrari.
Avoiding the never ending insurance sales pitch…!
thanks!
I hate waiting in line when I need to pick up a rental car!
I hate when the CSRs try to upsell. I just ant to get my car fast and leave.
Some way to automate both pickup and return to alleviate the long lines at major airports. Longer hours at smaller airports – I’ve come in on delayed flights too many times to find the counter closed and no way to pick up a car.
Good luck to me!
Avoiding various up sells, it becomes tough to remain polite beyond a point….
Less upselling at counter & quicker returns.
The heavy sales pitch for extras can be tough to take.
Executive Aisle is great, try reasonable insurance rate to stand out from the rest!
I like being able to skip the counter/lines and go directly to a car.. so, Hertz, National, and yes even Dollar allows you to print your contract online and drive off more quickly.
If you plan on charging in a 24 hr increment, not billing the customer for an extra day when the customer returns the car in less than 24 hrs but after the time they stated in their reservation, especially if they pick the car up later than the start time of their reservation.
I’d like it if it wasn’t so expensive to confirm vehicles like vans. You can usually get large vehicles on the Emerald Aisle or Executive Aisle, but not always.
How can we avoid the extra driver charges?
Saving time!
Cheaper insurance and better explanations about what things are covered.
Definitely the price
Thanks for this great promotion. Dreaming of a convertible on the Emerald aisle…
A more reasonable way to get Liability insurance
Anything to skip the line and get out the door quicker is better
Thanks!
Love to score top tier in another car program. Count me in as interested. Thanks
I could definitely use the status and gift card for my upcoming trips.
Thanks for the chance
I would love to win this, have not been happy with Hertz lately
Make the quoted price the real price.
Ok “Real” things to change about car rentals.
1) allow the contract with all the addons to be completed Online. If I can order a pizza and party sub nowadays and come pick it up with the condiments I want, I can surely get my car with insurance options chosen and contract ready to go.
2) Stop with the silly refueling markup. It makes your customers feel like you are out to get them.
Have a great year.
A free water bottle would go a long way.
Low mileage cars
No waiting.
No hassle check ins
I like the green color of their membership card.
Quick check-in and check-out
Good reason to switch from Avis
Thanks for chance to win!
Haven’t used National before, would be cool to try.
Their cars are always the cleanest
The one thing that would make my rental car experience better is to stop with the upselling. Sure, I’ll take a FREE upgrade, but there is no way I’m paying for more car than I reserved.
Being able to choose any car is awesome. Thanks for running this contest!
Love being able to pick the car I want. Then I can pick something I will recognize in a parking lot. Little white cars all look alike to me.
Having a car when I show up.
Reduce the amount of time I have to wait to see an agent. There are times where I have to wait a while even if I am a member of the rental car company’s loyalty program.