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!
- You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Having a reasonable gas refill option so you don’t have to worry about filling up at the end (especially if you are running late) and not worry about being gouged on the price per gallon!
Speedy pickup and drop off service.
Most important: quick in and quick out. National is great, but I waited an hour at a hertz location. After that, I said “never again” to hertz.
Keeping the aisles well stocked makes the experience better. Having a choice of vehicles only makes sense when there are different models to choose from. Still, National is miles ahead of everyone else.
Not having Exec/Emerald selection run out on peak days/holidays.
Not much of a choice when all you have is choice of color in taurus!
To be able to skip the counter and the associated line when picking up a car
Have always enjoyed the aisle access as they are generally well stocked
To be able to bypass the line when picking up a car.
Have your driver information in the rental account, it makes pickup much faster.
Specifically for National (my preferred rental car agency): more local rental locations. I am sometimes forced to Hertz since they have more local locations.
No offsite airport locations, or pickup/dropoff service at the terminal.
Being able to bypass the counter to go to whatever car I want.
I love having the choice of cars…although I hate when I forget to use the free days that I had earned through the year, left two on the table at end of 2014! grr..
No lines so I can straight to the car.
I sure would be willing to give National a try.
To not be harassed to buying additional insurance cover. I have been misled by many agents throughout the years 🙁
Ditching the franchise locations, and making all of the corporate, e.g. National at SLC, in order to make the experience more consistent.
The one thing rental car agencies can provide in the car is an adapter for my phone to charge the battery!
what is the one thing that can make your car rental experience better? – Friendly agents at the desk!
It has to be making the wait time shorter. I would love winning this for my anniversary trip!
Rental car employees, from the shuttle driver to the desk agent to the rental lot security guard, who are courteous, pleasant, smiling and treat me as an individual.
Big fan of National. Got a great rate recently in Mexico with no hassle.
Rentals would be much better if the cost of gas refills were lower. It’s always stressful to try and find a gas station in a city you don’t know, especially if you’re rushing to catch a flight!
OMG; what a great giveaway! I have always like National but their prices haven’t been competitive the last few times I needed a rental. The 1-2-free promotion makes rentals very attractive.
Here a couple of things to make it better for me off the top of my head:
1) More on-site locations or more frequent shuttles if off location – nothing worse than adding on significant amount of time while returning the car
2) Toll pass fees – eliminate these as this should be a standard, convenience benefit. That is especially the case as more locations start to introduce camera billing – these isnt even a cash option! These can be significant when added up.
Big fan of National Program. Much better program then Hertz and really helped me to save on one-way rental.
Scrutinize the car before you leave the lot.
Being able to leave the keys in the car and leave when returning the vehicle.
I love being able to pick my car in the National Emerald Aisle.
Have an Emerald Aisle at ALL airports. I just rented from ANC and they didn’t have an aisle. Made me appreciate the Aisles at other airports!
Had a nice Ford Mustang my last holidays, anything nice for my next one would be great. Route 66, I’m coming!
The biggest benefit for me is being able to get through the rental pickup process as quickly as possible. It helps to have status so you can walk right through.
A vehicle equipped with XM radio certainly makes for a better rental
I would love to see an improved return process that embraces the use of a smartphone app. Perhaps using the GPS feature, it knows when you are back on the lot and can start the check in process with me entering the miles and gas level through the app.
…there were more premium car options in the EA.
clean cars!!!
The one thing to make the car rental experience better is a shorter line at the airport.
Customer service at rental car companies varies widely. I’ve always been pleased with the service I get from National. Thanks for the giveaway!
A shorter wait when I return the car!
Worth keeping in mind the high premium you pay for rental at the airport. There are definitely instances where it’s cheaper to Uber to an off-airport location and rent there.
I like choosing the Kia Soul.
I wish the cleaning crews would be a bit more thoughtful in prepping the rental cars. That is, returning the passenger seat to a normal position (i.e., not fully forward) after vacuuming, leaving the auto climate controls at a reasonable temperature (hint: setting the thermostat to 85 degrees and fan to full speed doesn’t heat up the car any faster), and turning off the radio. While I understand that car cleaning crews are often under considerable time pressure, hotel maids would never get away with such a lack of attention to detail.
An upgraded car always make the experience better.
Greater clarity/disclosure/plain language of insurance options. Yes, credit cards often/usually cover CDW, disclose that (but in some places, e.g., Italy, insurance is required, I believe). Clarification in advance can speed the process. Pressure at the counter is never a good thing.
Id love a good reason to switch away from Hertz, the quick route to free days sounds great!
Something as simple as deleting the previous renter’s bluetooth info as the car is being vaccumed would go a long way. (I’ve rented a few cars where I had to delete upwards of 5 people’s phones before I could add my info.)
Quicker pickup. Sometimes it takes 15-30 minutes after arriving to finally be driving away in a car.
Lower rates are all I need!
The most important thing for me is best value for the price being paid. I want the best car for the money!
Not having to take a shuttle between the rental car lot and airport terminal.