mcio

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:
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!

funnyfarm299

I typically rent from a location without an aisle.

When I book rentals through the National website, I choose fullsize sedan, the rental agreement will say I was charged for midsize sedan, they give me a fullsize sedan or better.

JohnnyP

The price you see is actually for the category below. In other words, $136 is the price for a Full Size (shown to you as an EE as the Premium price) and the $309 is the price for a Premium (shown to you as the Luxury price).

kxc262

Went thru this issue with my colleague recently. Reservation price is not what you will pay with status as the system does not recognize status at the time of booking.

Book luxury and you will pay premium. Do this to guarantee a lux car.

At invoicing or time of return, you will see the correct price.

Nitehawk

Tbe $310 is the correct price and what you'll pay. I've been EE forever, and I book luxury whenever possible. I'd use a free day at that rate depending on how long you need it for. As posted above by JohnnyP the rate shown is already one class lower. You can always try searching without signing in to see the rates without any built in upgrade to confirm.

frogster

I've got a similar question - since we just switched from Hertz I'm not quite sure how things work with national.
I've got my first rental with National coming up but I'm not quite sure I fully understood how the selection/upgrade process works (I've got executive status).

Currently I'm seeing mid-size and full-size renting for the same price, a 3$/day surcharge for premium and 10$ a day on top of that for luxury - all sedan rates and not SUVs (both compact & standard SUV are pretty much the same rate as luxury).
Since we'll have quite a bit of luggage I'll need a full-size car or an SUV with sufficient space in back. I'll be getting the car at EWR so there will be an executive aisle.

If I understand everything correctly renting either mid-size or full-size would get me access to the ES and basically offer the same selection of cars.
How is the selection & the upgrade handled for the better categories?

Ragnarok

Generally speaking, the Executive Aisle have a good variety of cars including full size cars, compact and mid-size SUVs and occasionally higher end vehicles. This forum has threads on many of National locations (esp. major airports) with Flyertalkers reporting back the vehicles available in EA/ES. Here's EWR for example : Cars at EWR - Page 26 - FlyerTalk Forums

There are certain locations and situations that I would recommend reserving the exact class of vehicle you need. e.g., Denver during peak ski season and you need an AWD SUV. In those cases, my understanding is the after booking the specific class of invoice will reflect that you are charged at one-class lower rate.

You can go ahead and make a dummy reservation for a future date to test it out, there is no cancellation fee for a non-prepaid reservation. Just cancel it fast so that you are not messing up availability for others.

AutoSlash

Cars in the aisle are usually at least fullsize so it doesn't really matter whether you book midsize or fullsize. You'll be choosing from the same pool of vehicles either way, so just choose whatever is cheaper.

As far as selection goes, you'll often see SUVs in the aisle, but it really depends on how you hit it. With Emerald Executive status, you'll have a better/wider selection than the average customer, and generally, we've found that as an EE customer, if you don't find anything in the aisle that suits your needs, you can ask and they often will accommodate you, but YMMW.

Note that if you book premium, luxury, SUV, etc. then that's known as Emerald Reserve service and you choose from a different section at aisle locations.

frogster

Thank you for the replies. Sorry for being a bit dense today. The basic process with EA and ES is clear.

What I'm not quite sure I got correctly is the process if I reserve one of the higher categories
-If I rent a luxury car, can I select from a different aisle or is it pick up at the counter (at EWR)?
-Did I understand correctly that I will not be charged the rate of the reservation but instead simply be charged the lower category (instead of luxury the premium rate will be charged). Ís this handled the same way for SUVs and elite class cars?
-if I book luxury and pick up a car from the ES aisle will the reservation be changed accordingly?

Ragnarok

You select from a different aisle. There are overhead banner labeled accordingly.

If you are booking directly on National's website or Mobile app while signed into an account with Executive status, the prices shown during selection are already reflecting the lower class charged.
You can confirm this by trying a booking while signed in vs while signed out of your account.

No. You will be charged per your booking.

hourglass

if you are booking luxury more often than not they will hand you keys to Q5/X3(UFAR). But technically they could give you a Chrysler 300 since that is a LCAR

Nitehawk

Generally if you aren't in a rush, you can express your discontent with whatever is offered when you reserve Luxury (or even a lower class) and they will try to find you something that you want.

If luxury is only a $10 upcharge, I would book luxury then take almost any vehicle I want on the lot on arrival.

m907

Make sure you check the mileage rate on the luxury rate. Once I booked a luxury rate because it was only $10 more only to discover after I returned that it had a per-mile fee. I've seen it a few other times before booking. I'm not sure if it's a quirk of the contract I use.

Auto Enthusiast

That's a quirk of some corporate contracts. Retail rates include unlimited miles.