MilesBuzz! - National Car Rental Emerald Club- No wonder they are giving it away!

I have previously posted my praise of the National Emerald Club.

I reverse my praise.

You used to be able to reserve a cheap car, then go pick up any car you want at the aisle and cruise out. Was a great deal and very convenient.

Now, guess what happened when I tried this 2 weeks go in Boston. I called to reserve a car, and asked for the cheapest rate, as I had done in the past. They told me it was $287 or something like that for a week. That seemed awfully high for the lowest rate. Not only that- I was told it was a "special" for emerald club members. They insisted this was the lowest rate.

I couldn't believe it, so I got on the internet, on expedia, and sho'nuff, I could get an economy car for $176 or so for the week. I called to get this rate, and was told I couldn't rent this car and get Emerald Aisle service or any other Emerald benefits. I had to rent a full size car for that.

(Shaking my head)

I'm glad I didn;t pay for this. I guess you get what you pay for. In my opinion, this "benefit" is now worthless, and deceptive.

Bye National! I had previously devoted my business exclusively to them. No more.

End of rant.

I get my EA from the firm I work for. I am able to use it for personal travel as well and think its the best of the programs out there. The one thing going for me is that we have an established rate so I just give them my club # and I pretty much know my rate, albeit BOS, EWR are a bit higher but still reasonable compared to other chains. Now occasionally you have a bad experience, ie. slim pickings on the lot but overall I sure enjoy it better than Gold Club or Preferred at Avis. Even when I check Nat'l prices at random on personal trips, I end up with National b/c of their rates

I have only used National once or twice in the past year. Even then the EI rates were too high then so I rented the old fashioned way full-sized cars for 50 dollas less than the weekly EI rate. National once had 75% of my rentals, but no more since they downgraded the EI and raised their rates.

MisterNice

BoSoxFan45- Was your rental near the Independance Day Holiday?? That may have been the cause of high rates. Have you checked the rates outside of the Holiday?? From what I was told...the rates get higher as the number of vehicles available ..becomes less. How much notice wwre you giving?

I haven't found anything deceitful about the program. The Emerald Aisle service requires you to pay the Intermediate car rate - and then choose what is in the aisle, which will be intermediate and higher. You can always get an economy car for less that the intermediate rate - but you'll be driving the economy car. I've also found that you can sometime reserve a Full Size, Premium or Luxury car - not as part of the Emerald Aisle service, but with the Emerald Club discount, and do as well, or close to the aisle rate, with a confirmed car class. So I always ask for it to be quoted both ways. But if you're looking for the cheapest car this is not the program for you, and its not advertised as such.

You pay for the convenience. I use EI most of my personal trips as well. There are many times I found cheaper rates elsewhere but considering time saving and pressure to buy CDW & etc, I rather pay the difference for fast hassle free checkout for most of time. I can use coupons with EI rentals to bring down the cost but they delay the checkout.

Because of Emerald Club, National is my first choice. Don't get me wrong, there were times when service was poor too.

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This may be a case of of a mistake on my part. I was unaware that one had to pay an intermediate car rate. Other times I had rented, my rates were so low, that I presumed they had just given me the lowest rate. I figured that they had switched something about the program. I guess I was wrong.

Yes the rental was the first week of July. That may also have had something to do with it.

BoSoxFan45 -- With all due respect, I don't believe your beef is justified. BeantownFlyer is absolutely correct, you have to reserve an intermediate car to use an Emerald Aisle, those are the rules.

Hmmm...I always go to the National website, log in as Emerald Aisle, request the car class I want, get a quote for that class (which is universally better than Avis' or Hertz' price), and book.

When I get to the airport, the class I ordered is rarely in the EA (took me some time to figure out how this works), so I'm free to take any car I want. EA's advantage: They already have my credit card and FF #, so I drive to the exit, show my card and license, and I'm outta there! Plus I don't have to refuel - I get a market price for it.

Sorry...I don't see this as a scam. If you don't anticipate the price of the vehicle you're gonna take, then don't be surprised by the price you get charged. I have always been very pleased with the service, and I rent from them every chance I get.

(I must add that I can't remember the last time I took less than an intermediate car in North America. Perhaps if I were going economy, I'd be more peeved, but I've found the prices and the service to be best among the market leading companies.)

Count me squarely in the corner of the National Emerald Club. I've found everything about their program outstanding!

One problem with Emerald Aisle:

I'm not a member. Last year, I flew into LGA in a Saturday afternoon. Went to the counter, did the paperwork, got my car and went to exit. There was only one exit lane open. The fellow in front of me thought he had an EI res, but the gatekeeper didn't have it. I, along with a half dozen others, had to sit and wait while he walked inside to resolve this.

Is this common?

To answer the question above. You need a reservation to rent off the aisle. Try taking a car without a reservation and you described what will happen.

This was my first bad experience. I would up paying $170 for an intermediate at Alamo, instead of about $100 more for Emerald Aisle service. National's rates were markedly more for Emerald service than were Hertz's and others' rates for the same car.

Maybe I'm just cheap. - I just thought $100 for Emerald Service was absurd. I would have thought it was even more absurd had I paid for EC membership.

Maybe this is an abberation.... I'll give them another try, because all other times, it's worked wonderfully.

And, per usual, just by asking, I was put in a nicer car at Alamo. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif So I drove happy. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif




[This message has been edited by BoSoxFan45 (edited 07-13-2001).]

I have found the quality of the rental car programs to vary wildly depending on the airport. I do most of my rentals at Hertz EXCEPT at rare places where Hertz has incomplete Gold Service AND National has an EI. The main reasons I've never felt comfortable committing more rentals to EI are the inconsistency. I usually don't care what car I get - efficiency is the only thing that matters. I got stuck at an empty EI one night about two years ago, and from that day forward I do not trust National except in specific locations.

The trade-off between #1 Club Gold and the EI is being able to pick your car vs. knowing absolutely positively sure that a decent car will be sitting there with your name on it.

Price-wise, the EI usually gives a competitive midsize car rate. $287 for a week is obviously about the top rate you can find for a midsize, so perhaps they were almost sold out. It's hard to predict what a holiday will do to rental car demand - I've seen rock-bottom cheap specials over some holiday weekends because few biz travelers are on the road, and I've seen other times when even big places like Hertz and National that usually have 100s of cars sitting around are completely sold out.

I am surprised to hear that the available rates for Emerald service are different from the regular rates. I do not use National, but have been using Hertz Gold and Avis Preferred for a number of years. I have never found a rate available for general rental from either of these companies that could not be used for express service. Thus, as far as I can tell, there is no premium or surcharge for any express rental service from either Avis or Hertz.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by BoSoxFan45:
This was my first bad experience. I would up paying $170 for an intermediate at Alamo, instead of about $100 more for Emerald Aisle service.....And, per usual, just by asking, I was put in a nicer car at Alamo. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif So I drove happy. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
</font>


always a good idea to compare companies, especially National and Alamo, as they are both owned by the same company. Alamo, to me, is the cheaper, fewer frills little brother.
I often drive one-ways, and National offers the best deals for this,usually. Often no Emerald Aisle service, though, as it's usually at 'in-town" locations.

I have just returned from a two week vacation rental with Emerald Aisle. I reserved an intermediate car, as has long been the requirement with Emerald Aisle, and with the club discount the cost was only a few dollars more than a compact rental. I've used National on many rentals, and have often compared prices and found that the Emerald Aisle rate for an intermediate is frequently as low as the regular compact rate. I also have often found full size cars in the Emerald Aisle, and never been charged extra when I have taken them.
The quick selection and getting out of the airport has also been a big plus.

The one time I needed to rent a car one-way (Houston to Dallas), I pretty much had to rent from National since they don't charge an outrageous amount for one-ways.

Well, the car I ended up with, the largest one out of a whopping FIVE cars left on the lot (@IAH!), seemed a lot smaller than the "full size" I thought I was going to get. Hertz and Avis "full size" cars sure are a lot larger than National's idea of "full size".

If I were to rent from someone else, and they didn't have my car size available, they would charge me less, for the size I actually get. Not with National; pick it out yourself and that's that.

No thanks! Next time I'll buy a one way air ticket, or make it a circle trip, or whatever it takes to get away from National!

What car did you get?? I've had nothing but the opposite experience...I go for the Emerald aisle and usually get a LeSabre or SUV for the price of intermediate...what a bargain...it has been as low as $31.99/day at EWR. In fact...the SMALLEST vehicle that I've ever gotten has been a Regal with leather interior....not bad....I have never had problems with National. I would like to hear what car they stuck you with and which location.

IM4Travel, I think it was a Chevy Cavalier, definitely a 4-door (I'm not real familiar with car models, but I know it was a 4-door). At IAH, on a Tuesday evening around 6:00 PM.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JS:
IM4Travel, I think it was a Chevy Cavalier, definitely a 4-door (I'm not real familiar with car models, but I know it was a 4-door). At IAH, on a Tuesday evening around 6:00 PM.</font>

FWIW, Chevy Cavalier is a compact at National. Perhaps, you've mixed up the model? And I agree with you, National seems to have the best rates for one-way rentals.

Whatever the exact model was, I know it wasn't full size (pretty sure it was a Chevrolet). I've rented from Hertz and Avis (from DFW if that makes any difference), and the National car was definitely smaller.

If I drove all the time, I would appreciate the fuel savings, but I don't drive unless I'm going to Texas. In fact, I re-fueled at a little gas station in some small town between Houston and Longview (Lufkin maybe?) instead of a place on US 59 because it was the only place I could find that had full serve. Before I return the car at DFW, I always have to re-fuel it myself (is there some law against full serve in Arlington?). I might not care about the price of fuel, but I'm sure as heck not going to pay the rental agency a 200% premium to do it for me!

BTW I never bothered to write National about this because the rest of the trip was a total disaster. If the National car had been missing a transmission it still wouldn't have registered as a "bad thing" about this trip. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

As far as I have experienced you can book any rate and add your EA number into the res and you get the EA services. I've booked internet only discount rates, AAA discounts, etc and taken advantage of the EA and all its benefits.

If you make the reservation online and dont change the Rate Code you will end up being quoted the contract rate and not the best available rate.

I too have had success in booking the cheapest mid-size rate I could find (don't honestly ever remember reserving smaller -- have done it on Expedia, Travelocity, etc.) and getting my choice on the lot. EWR is fantastic with plenty of choices, typically including a lot of SUVs. Smaller choices at RDU and IND, but still satisfactory. The time/hassle savings is the primary reason I use the EI anyway, but always have had good experiences.

What are choices like at DEN? I have a reservation there for early Saturday morning and was hoping to get an SUV but have never used the EA in Denver. I'm usually going into EWR or SFO. What are my chances of getting one?

Personally I like EA. I like being able to pick out my own car,....and if they don't have something I like on the lot,....I stand around a bit to see what shows up out of the car wash. Sometimes the attendant asks me what I want and goes to get it,.....this is usually at EWR, where they are very obliging.

JS....could it have been a Chevy Lumina?? If so...that IS a full-size car at National...and at Avis etc....much bigger than a Cavalier. What are you getting that is so much bigger at the other companies?? I just may book some of those large cars if they are indeed classified as "full size".

Have been using mainly Alamo lately, and a bit of Avis & Dollar, but recently had 2 SUPERB Natl Emerald Aisle rentals in Phoenix(Honda Accord) and SEA (Toyota Camry).
The EA charges the mid-size rate and you select any car on the EA lot. Recently the EA began permitting the Costco discount and also permits using Costco coupons. Slight inconvenience in PHX where the EA lot is off-airport. I'll be back again!

Another Emerald Aisle + - depending on the location, you no longer have to buy gas. You just bring the car back and they charge you the prevailing local self serve rate. Really- not $4.50 per gallon, but the local SELF SERVE price. FIND OUT IN ADVANCE, as this is usually buried in the fine print on the rental agreement. A great timesaver!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by zeazea:
this is usually at EWR, where they are very obliging.</font>

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it...the thought of any employee within 30 miles of EWR bing "ver obliging" is a riot!!

Glad you experienced it! Doubt you were so lucky in the airport terminal!!!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by IM4Travel:
JS....could it have been a Chevy Lumina?? If so...that IS a full-size car at National...and at Avis etc....much bigger than a Cavalier. What are you getting that is so much bigger at the other companies?? I just may book some of those large cars if they are indeed classified as "full size".</font>

I went to www.nationalcar.com (http://www.nationalcar.com) and looked at the various pictures, and the car I got probably was a Chevrolet Cavalier. Amazing how manufacturers have managed to make compact cars look bigger; I remember the Dodge Colt and how it was obviously a compact! ;)

At Avis and Hertz, I've gotten a Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry, and Chevy Lumina.