The back of my National Executive Elite membership card has a toll-free number that connects me directly to an agent, without the need for phone trees.

However, after several years, I am struggling to understand why they even exist. They can not help you with anything related to current rentals (changing drop off for example), roadside assistance, customer service issues related to past rentals, or pretty much anything that is not a new reservation. I have a travel agent for that. I need a direct number to someone at National that can resolve my problems quickly and efficiently-- not a service that will transfer me to an offshore call center 98% of the time