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 would love to win a gift card! I rent a lot of national but just missed out on elite status last year.
National usually offers a better rate than their competitors.
quicker check in
Option of selecting the car of choice while picking it up
Cool–thanks. Didnt know AA card got status.
Good one way rental rates
Choose your own car (like the executive aisle). Drive out with only having to checkout at exit booth. (No waiting in a line inside). And then upon returning vehicle, have a consistent email receipt.
National,s exec aisle is great sadly missed the cut last year
The one thing I would like is an option to have the car meet us at baggage claim w/ a driver who could help with luggage. Then I’d drop the driver back at the rental office. I’d pay ~$50 extra for that option. This would be great for times when traveling with a disabled person.
It would be like a limo greeting, but just to take us to the car rental office.
great, thanks
Speed! Getting off transatlantic flights >1/mo th you just want the car quickly so you can get to your hotel.
less waiting in line
Quick pick up.
Love National. Thanks Gary!
airport rentals with no airport fees and knowledgeable emoyees
I have been renting from National for 8 years now. I love Emerald Cub. I have gotten tons of great cars all over. But I have never qualified for elite status. Maybe this offer will get me there.
Easy checkouts!
Shorter queues @ check in!
if you pick me i will eat my hat
No waiting… gotta be
Thanks Gary!
I have President’s Circle status with Hertz, which to date, has done nothing for me. Would be interested in comparing Emerald Club Executive benefits
Love their new commercial!
Just rented with them at ktw, good service great price, but was tod that they will nm of honor upgrades!?
It would be nice if they did not cancel your reservation when your plane is one hour late.
After very poor experiences with thrifty at SFO and ATL, I have switched almost 100 percent to National for rentals. It’s well worth it.
of course skip line & straight to car is fantastic. LA trip coming up would be great for it!
Bottles of water in the car would be nice. I get thirsty in the summer!
When they understand you don’t want the additional insurance.
Providing a subtle indication on the exterior of the car whether it has USB charging capability.
I would like a full map, like the A-Z style, so that I stop getting lost. GPS isn’t always reliable and it doesn’t show me where I am in the grand scheme of things or where I want to go “as the crow flies”.
Thanks for the chance to win this great prize! I have some trips coming up that this could definitely be useful for 🙂
Straight to car would be helpful and also not charging too much if dropping the car from one location to another (say less than 300 miles).
No lines!
usually get free upgrade.
No lines and upgrades
please choose me…national status will help…
Faster check outs would be great.
I would love to try national. Never have and would like to compare them to other rental agencies.
Wish they’d stop storing cars in the Executive section. Looking at you, LA. 🙂
quicker checkin
In!
Sat radio in every car.
Easy access to and from airport
will help me with my coming trip to Hawaii.
i love the convenience of avoiding the lines and having my choice of cars depending on my mood of the day!!!
having not wait in the line, and go directly to the car is worth a status.
I just want the car rental process to be predictable. Get the car I reserve, at the price reserved, with no surprises, charges, changes, or hassles. My experience is that it’s only a 50/50 chance of that happening.
Best improvement for me would be reasonably priced gas fill-ups, so I don’t have to gas up the car on the way to the airport.
The way many (all?) car rental companies expect customers to pay tolls on highways using electronic toll collection is a scam (aka white collar crime). See
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/nyregion/fighting-back-on-toll-fees-for-rental-cars.html?_r=0
(For the record, I developed the reconciliation network that connects all the E-ZPass customer service centers so that E-ZPass looks like one big homogeneous network to drivers – even though it’s dozens of independent agencies.) Scams like this give the toll agencies (and me by extension) a bad rap! Rental companies: clean up your act!