briantoronto

Hertz Pearson, yea. Was in too much of a rush last time to ask the up-sell. They had a XC90 on display as well. Not that far a walk at T-1 to compare the two.

iluvdoco

National has been ordering the '18 XT5s in Premium Luxury trim in the States, and they're very nice rentals.

manohman

Wow. I am going to book Hertz for January and hopefully get a XC90 or S90. I'll send an email and see what they can do if anything...

I know they status match National/Enterprise.

SKYEG

+1 thanks for the heads up w/ Hertz.

I made a Luxury SUV reservation at Hertz along with my National specifically to see if I can try the Volvo out.

If I get assigned Durango...... LOL

What does Full Size Elite (BMW 3 series+) mean for YYZ National? I could book that instead of aisle for $30/day more but I have only used ES aisle since switching over to National and I don't know if this is good value(since if I don't like any ES premier upgrade section costs only $25/day usually)?

Appreciate your insight
SKYEG

Closingracer

National's full size elite cars that I know of is :
Infiniti q50
Mercedes c-300
Bmw 330i
Volvo S60
Lincoln contiental ( I think it was)

SKYEG

Hmm thanks! So probably just cheaper to reserve the aisle and buy the upgrade for $25(which is the usual price for most those car). And with the potential new discount for EE, maybe it would be cheaper.

Besides the S60 I'd probably want to take an SUV anyways due to weather... I'll report back in a week!

manohman

Have never seen a Volvo S60 before at YYZ. In fact the only Volvo S60s I have seen before under Enterprise brands were in British Columbia.

Perhaps you mean V60? They also don't upgrade fee for it, it's always in the Emerald Aisle or tucked away somewhere if you ask for it.

Unless the S60 is a new one National has recently acquired.

YYC traveler

For the second time this year we arrived at T1 on Dec 23rd early afternoon with aisle service (Emerald Club) to find only one car available, 300S, plus a small number (3?) of pickup trucks. Both times we were traveling with our adult (i.e. tall) children, so were expecting a somewhat reasonable (i.e. more than one) choice of vehicles. Isn't the the whole point of aisle service, choose any vehicle, not choose the only vehicle. The executive aisle was equally devoid of vehicles as well. The staff didn't seem to indicate they thought it is problematic, just the usual "more vehicles are coming if you want to wait".

For those interested, we took the 300S and it was OK, although rear seat room was a bit tight when you have two adult children who are 6' 2" and 6' 4".

What is the purpose of having a reservation and proving flight details if National is unwilling or unable to keep inventory levels stocked to accommodating incoming Emerald Club reservations? Is National managing their fleet to YYZ T1 that tightly that they cannot provide at least some level of choice to their Emerald Club members.

briantoronto

What did you book? I know they were sold out because Christmas, so I booked my SUV early. They had it hidden off-site for me but decided to take a smaller SUV instead (it was only me) and I didn’t feel like waiting When I was there there were three SUVs, those pickups, and a 300.

YYC traveler

Booked it around the end of November. We regularly fly into YYZ and always have booked via National. I understand Christmas can be a busy time, but it also happened to us earlier this year (August).

In the case of the August booking, there were no cars at all available in the aisle and we had to wait about 20 minutes or so before a car was made available.

This type of treatment kind of defeats the whole purpose of being an Emerald Club member and having the advantage of "any car in the aisle" type booking that they heavily advertise.

manohman

I'm honestly grown tired of the Emerald Aisle. It feels very gimmicky. Rarely see any cars that are exciting or better than average budget cars. I'm a Platinum member with Enterprise and an Executive Elite with National.

90% of the time I go to the Aisle which is nearly every week, I see the same cars. Hyundai Sonata, Kia sedan, Dodge Charger and a bunch of SUVs.

The selection is absolutely boring and dreadful. In the past 9 months, I've seen a Volvo V60 2-3 times, a BMW-3 series once and a Cadillac XT5 once and the XT5 was an extra $30 a day. Probably gonna jump ship to Hertz. They'll status match me and they have a bunch of flashy and high-end cars available.

I don't even find status with National or Enterprise matters. Nobody even mentions it, doesn't thank you for being one or even acknowledges it.

SKYEG

Being a long time Hertz PC member that switch to National this year:

1. Rent Hertz if you want a nicer car and willing to pay for it. If I want a dream car for holidays, I'll rent with Hertz. There's no question that Hertz has a nicer fleet.

2. If you have EA/ES, National has 1000000000% a better selection. Gold board with Hertz is garbage, you get a camry MAX. The new Ultimate choice is OK but still needs a lot of improvement. National has MUCH better selection. Trust me on this. I have had a couple times in YVR where they were sold out, but they were still able to pull a fully loaded BMW 5 series for me. SUV's are usually plentiful with National.

3. If you plan to upgrade premier section of Hertz or National, it's about the same but Hertz has a lower daily rate than National almost 100% of the time so you will probably save with Hertz. They both have similar BMW 3 series, Mercedes C300's, etc for $25-$35(depending on your status).

Overall as top tier with both, I love National as they have WAY more SUV's in general than Hertz. Almost guarnateed I can get one off the ES aisle. Plus their cars are newer, fully loaded and I've been very happy with their customer service! I feel like they value my status more, Hertz doesn't really care about PC. I actually got thanked for my loyaty for the first time EVER by a car rental company this year(National T1 YYZ ) I still rent with Hertz if I want a 911 or C63 AMG, but for anything else I'll go National 110%

manohman

I don't have kids so I don't need an SUV. If I need to haul stuff, I'll rent a pickup truck. SUV in my eyes are nothing more than a gas guzzler.

Like I said I normally get crap cars on the ES/EA. Might as well pay less for the same crap at Hertz and feel less sour about it.

National Premier Upgrades has mostly Infiniti SUVs. whoopty doo........ yawn.

SKYEG

Trust... If you're basing this on availability and FREE upgrades, the grass is not greener with Hertz. It's the opposite.

You seem to be picky with your cars. Just pay and book the one you want and you will be happy every single time

EX: I booked a full size elite for tomorrow morning on top of an aisle reservation in case there is nothing good on ES/EA, so I won't be disappointed either way.

manohman

I've never had National upgrade me. Enterprise tends to do so if they're short on cars, i.e. booked an intermediate class, got the choice between a Dodge Charger SXT V8 or a Cadillac XTS at no additional cost.

But yeah I am picky with my cars. I want something fun to drive! National is charging premium prices ($70-90 a day) for the EA/ES when not using a corporate account and giving budget cars.

I spoke with Hertz and the S90 and XC90s are paid upgrades at $35 extra a day. The S60 is under the luxury car category.

Using promo code, 203663, I have gone ahead and made two reservations for the future at two different time slots. One is for luxury class and one is for midsize cars. On a Friday to Monday rental, you get 1 free day. The price difference between the two classes is $133.

So worst case scenario, I get stuck with a Cadillac, S60 or a similar luxury car. Best case scenario, I save $133 and use it to upgrade to a S90 or XC90