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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I love picking up a minivan that nobody wants, but would have cost twice as much to reserve.
I like being able to choose the vehicle. My last rental with National I chose a hybrid Chevy Sierra Pickup that got 22 MPG. My current GMC pickup gets around 12. Guess what I’m buying when I replace it. I use rental’s to do test drives on vehicles that I might consider down the road.
Wow I didn’t know that much about National. Good article!
The less waiting in line, the better. I want to get off my flight and right into my car.
You rock, Gary!
Offer a more streamline service with technology. Long lines are often common for me as I do not rent cars a lot.
While I like the car being ready for me on arrival, a tip at the check in desk always gets me an awesome upgrade… 😉
Covered pickup areas
Best improvement would be changing some car rental company’s policy of charging you for etoll transponder usage for every rental day even if you use it just once.
Cleaner car interiors.
A little bit of leeway when you return the car five minutes after you are supposed to.
They should have a sign with the mileage in the Pick Your Own Car place, like at used car dealers
Thanks for the contest, Gary!
Waiting in line to rent the vehicle. Also, another irk is that a second driver usually costs $10day extra at most car rental companies.
A clean car (inside and outside) goes a long way towards making me a happy renter. Also, if there are ‘hidden’ tools that are needed, figure out a way to let us know before we waste time trying to find it. Wasted 30 minutes in Frankfurt trying to figure out how to turn the built in GPS on in the Volvo SUV they gave me. The button was literally hidden on the BACK SIDE of the steering wheel. Ridiculous not to tell me when I paid for the GPS because I needed to use it.
A friendly customer service agent!
Easy check-in/pick-up and return process like Silvercar
Expedited pick up and return would make the rental experience better.
Have a prominent car return street address on the contract so you can use your GPS to get to the car return location.
Easy in and out.
Easy check in and check out and as much online preregistration as possible
Reduce the time I’m stuck waiting in line.
Some chocolate can definitely make my car rental experience better.
I like National because I don’t have to pay extra for my spouse as a driver.
Sometimes when I rent there’s tons of paperwork, which I filled out already online or with my account for an earlier rental. I don’t want to fill out paperwork and I don’t want to wait for the people in front of me. At the very least let me scan my driver’s license and my insurance card.
I’ve found that status is often helpful when renting from EuroCar
I’ve never rented from National — if I’m picked as a winner, I’ll be happy to compare them with my experiences with their competitors. I wish their TV commercials weren’t so obnoxious, though…
I just wish all cars were hybrid or energy efficient
More consistent check out process
I’m an Avis renter and enjoy the premium status/treatment but having status at national would certainly change my habits.
Fair charges for extra hours
Hi Gary. Would be mighty useful for my upcoming trip to the UK and also let me try National from an elite perspective.
Thanks for all the great work 😉
Instead of prepaying for a tank of gas, prepay to bring it back to the level you left with at the start.
Emerald for me!
Thanks Gary! I enjoy reading your blog.
Post mileage on hang tag viewable from windshield at every rental location.
Rental locations that are quick and easy to get to from the terminal (unlike ATL!)
Available upgrades.
Being able to choose my car, and getting upgrades to larger cars! 🙂
like driving small cars when i travel so i dont need to worry about parking!
I like national in past experiences
No surprises in the final bill.
I could really use the status and gift card.
Thank you Gary.
Very quick checkouts!
Less issues with toll pricing with all electronic booths
100% availability of the car you reserved, or being upgraded 1 class at no extra charge if unavailable.
What really matters to me is actually having the vehicle I reserved on-site! I recently spent 2 weeks traveling through the Kalahari Desert and of all the (car rental) companies in Upington, ZA that I reserved a vehicle through, only National had the SUV available on my date of arrival at the airport. The rest of the other company cars were “in the shop” (lots of clutch problems while driving through the bush)or “the website was wrong”. Thanks to National there was actually a vehicle waiting for me at the airport.
We travel with our kids quite a bit. Having car seats available for free or a reasonable cost would certainly make the plane rides and getting luggage easier. 🙂
Fast check-in and check-out.