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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Made the mistake of picking an “off-brand” rental company on a recent trip to Miami. Made it out without any issues, but it just reconfirmed that if I want a smooth rental experience that makes me feel comfortable with the agency and the way they’ll treat me, I need to go with one of the major outlets.
My car rnetal experience is always better when I don’t have to worry about paying tolls.
I need to be able to receive my rewards while using my company’s direct billing. (Hear me Hertz!? Thats why we all switching from you to National to start with)
not getting the hard sell for insurance, prepaid gas, etc. make it a better experience
I AM IN!!! 🙂
Do business like you value the customer – I’m always worried I’ll get charged for damage I didn’t see when I picked yup the car or will get blamed if something breaks. That said, I do prefer national as they don’t have as much of a “We’re here to screw you” attitude as many of their competitors.
Love the Emerald Aisle!
Having better rates for those under 25 would make my experience better. It’s hard to fathom some of the surcharges especially since I’m equally insured just like anyone over 25
I would like to be charged normal rates for gas based on how many miles I drive and the size of the car I rented (algorithm) instead of the usual extortion.
Having more choices, like luxury and hybrid.
I dig National for car rentals, would love the status!
I like when they don’t push the insurance and additional things like prepaying for gas and upgrades.
GPS included for free!
The hassle free experience is paramount. Not aggressively upselling insurance,etc makes the check in experience better. Not sticking a bs up charge at the end for “7/8 tank of fuel” makes paying the bill much more fulfilling (looking at you, b@dget).
I’m satisfied with both retrieval of the vehicle at check out and the ease of checking back in. The variation of availability of offerings and upgrades (loyalty-based complementary, in particular) at airports (I travel to a great many smaller fields) offers an opportunity for improvement (consistency), in my opinion.
Satellite radio. I’m regularly traveling for work approximately 6 hours away by car, and it’s a bit more by plane due to lack of a direct connection. Sometimes I drive and satellite radio is a must.
Quicker returns.
Get me to my car and out of the airport much faster on both ends(arriving and departing).
Choice of cars, satellite radio, and fast and easy returns
Not having to wait a long time to check in to return the car and not having to wait long for the return bus trip to the airport makes things easier when renting a car.
Fast check-in and check-out procedures with no pushy insurance sells…
National Car Rental is hands down best in the business. They have terrific service and it’s hard to come up with improvements since I have no complaints. If there was one suggestion I could give it would be to create another status level above Excutive Elite for those customers who have been loyal for so long. This new status level could give more reward days or better upgrades.
Tying loyalty programs with branded credit cards in order to open up new opportunities to earn with the company.
No insurance or prepaid gas upsells, just get me in the car right away.
Being able to get through the check-in and check-out processes as fast as possible. Sometimes it seems like they use computer systems from decades ago.
Lower prices and being able to have multiple drivers without paying extra would make renting so much better for me.
I’m tired of Hertz’s poor service. I’m a 5 Star member. Is National any better?
Going to check out National now for some vacation rentals!
It would be ideal if car rental companies would pick you up at the airport and everything was automated and digitized so there was no paperwork and you could get in and out quickly – this has worked for us with Silvercar and we LOVED it!! If National/Alamo/Enterprise could do it too, we’d be even happier, since Silvercar is only in select airports.
The one thing that would be nice is to not have to stop at the exit, before leaving any of the airport locations.
At airport locations (which is 100% of my rentals), you stop at the exit and have to show the paperwork, license, etc. It just slows the process of the elite status down, especially when there is a line.
I’ved used NCR as my own preferred car rental company when it was my employer’s preferred company and later when my company switched to another. Although retired and my status coming to an end, I will still rent from these people. They have been too good to me. Most recently in BUR for an entire year.
No waiting in line and quick checkin and out experience.
Quick in and out. I just traveled, I don’t want to wait for a car
Easier to change between corporate credit cards and Chase Sapphire for personal rentals.
My rental car experience would be better if I didn’t have to take a boatload of pictures both pre and post rental to prove I didn’t damage the car.
Less selling of Insurance/Gas plan.
Skipping the line and going straight to your car!
Since I like to experience a different car at each rental, I almost always have to spend a while in the car to figure out where the switches for the trunk, the gas tank, the cruise control, the lights, the radio, the temperature control, etc., are. It’d be great to have a quick way to learn them.
A courteous and pleasant counter agent is always a bonus!
Picking my own car from the upgrade line!
The one thing would be loosing the hard sell on insurance services.
The ability to “check-in” for a rental online, just like
airline tickets.
A more seamless and quicker check-in and check-out experience with less paperwork would be great!
Having a completely clean car (including windows) every time.
Fun to pick your favorite… almost like childhood game.
Being able to see what cars are on the lot through a mobile app as you are walking towards it.
Definitely the speed of picking up the car and getting on the move…
A two-fer at check-in: (1) Having an agent waiting to examine and prepare the receipt for the checked-in rental car (so I don’t have to go try to find one, and/or wait for one); and (2) Not being nickeled and dimed by the check-in agent for small scratches or other minor blemishes that I didn’t cause.
Ability to select the car from the phone app or browser (similar to how national does it) but available in more places and with better selection
I appreciate skipping the counter and going straight to the car!