Hello all,
Had a quick question regarding the "Guaranteed Upgrades" Executive Elite perk from National.
Usually I just book Midsize and head to the executive area, but this time I'm looking specifically for a luxury car and thought about reserving from that class.
I was wondering how the free upgrade works. The FAQ contains the following chart:
Emerald Club Members
Reserve ECONOMY. Pay ECONOMY. Choose ER-ECONOMY.
Reserve COMPACT. Pay COMPACT. Choose ER-COMPACT.
Reserve MIDSIZE. Pay MIDSIZE. Choose EA or ER-MIDSIZE.
Reserve STANDARD. Pay STANDARD. Choose ER-STANDARD.
Reserve FULLSIZE. Pay FULLSIZE. Choose ER-FULLSIZE.
Reserve PREMIUM. Pay PREMIUM. Choose ER-PREMIUM.
Reserve LUXURY. Pay LUXURY. Choose ER-LUXURY.
Executive/Executive Elite
Reserve ECONOMY. Pay ECONOMY. Choose ER-ECONOMY.
Reserve COMPACT. Pay COMPACT. Choose ER-COMPACT.
Reserve MIDSIZE. Pay MIDSIZE. Choose ES, EA or ER-MIDSIZE.
Reserve STANDARD. Pay MIDSIZE. Choose ES, EA or ER-STANDARD.
Reserve FULLSIZE. Pay MIDSIZE. Choose ES, EA or ER-FULLSIZE.
Reserve PREMIUM. Pay FULLSIZE. Choose ES, EA or ER-PREMIUM.
Reserve LUXURY. Pay PREMIUM. Choose ES, EA or ER-LUXURY.
What To Do
“RESERVE”: After you’ve entered your trip details, you choose your car from the Step 2: Select from these available cars screen. (If you’re Executive/ExecElite, don’t worry about the rate you see on this screen.)
“PAY”: After you’ve selected your car, you’ll see the base confirmed rate, plus discounts and coupons, on the Step 3: Select rental options and calculate total screen. Executive/ExecElite members will see their one-class-lower rate here.
“CHOOSE”: When you get to the pick-up location that has Emerald Reserve (ER), Emerald Aisle (EA) and/or Executive Selection (ES), you can pick any car from the appropriate section. Of course, in places where you are assigned a car at the counter, the agent chooses for you.
On the car selection screen the price for a Premium reservation is $
136.85 total and the price for a Luxury reservation is a staggering $309.95. If I select Luxury, the final "total screen" still shows $309.95.
The above quoted portion of the FAQ says the final checkout screen should show the one-class-lower rate. Elsewhere, the FAQ says you won't receive the discount until you've completed the reservation. It looks like the FAQ hasn't been updated for over 10 years, so I just want to make sure I have the current/correct information. Obviously with that price differential I want to make sure I pay the cheaper rate.
How does the free upgrade work? Should I reserve Premium and expect to be upgraded to Luxury on pick-up? Or should I reserve Luxury at $309.95 and expect to pay the lower Premium rate of $136.85. I appreciate any and all advice!