VWang1111

Had a 4 day FCAR reservation from a couple days ago and was initially offered a Corolla but after some hesitation was given a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee without any upcharge.

m907

What was the trim level?

azepine00

Was offered tundra, rogue (new), or sedan at 1 am recently - took rogue for 4 of us with bags.. pleasantly quick and uneventful for non-aisle location

GW McLintock

I test drove a new Rogue earlier this year (for a gift card, not that I would ever consider buying a Nissan). Compared to even 2019 Nissans... I was shocked. It was actually very pleasant. They also had me test drive a Rav4 on loan from the Toyota dealership down the street, and that was as boring as I expected.

I still wouldn't buy one. But I for sure would not immediately turn one down as a rental in the future.

-J.

benfro6

Arriving next week with a Standard SUV reservation as an Executive status. One-waying to FAI.
Have heard some horror stories of other providers recently, any reason for concern that my vehicle type will not be honored or available?

m907

No.

DCAview

I had no issues picking up my reserved car at ANC earlier this month. The counter agent was even able to get us into our car about two hours earlier than our reservation time (our flights had changed after booking; normally not something I'd be concerned about, but this year it did cause me some angst). I reserved an intermediate and got a Toyota Corolla that was nearly new (~2,000 miles or so) but a very plasticy, base model version. Nevertheless, it got the job done.

My only frustration was that the counter agent gave me the choice of the Corolla or a Nissan Quest; when I told her that I'd take the Quest, she tried to charge me an SUV upgrade rate that was several hundred dollars more than my reserved rate. I told her that I thought she was offering me a free upgrade akin to what you'd experience when reserving an intermediate car at a location with an Emerald Aisle (I've got Executive status) and she said essentially "nope, we're not doing that." So we took the Corolla at the reserved rate. Not a significant complaint, since I got what I reserved at the rate that I expected, but it did leave a slightly bad taste in my mouth.

GW McLintock

That isn't very nice I would be upset if they tried to bait-and-switch me like that. She should have told you the upcharge up front.

-J.

m907

I've heard some other anecdotes like that. I'm guessing it's Enterprise-trained employees who don't realize that Enterprise sales tactics don't fly with National customers.

camk500

Any recent reports here? Are they likely to upgrade an EE or are you pretty much getting what your reserve

LouNanne

Any recent list of their fleet? I will be there later this summer and looking at either a full size or premium suv.

I have EE but it looks like that is irrelevant for this location.

Tony King

Been to this location multiple times. It shares with Enterprise and has that mentality. You will get what you reserve unless they are out of that class. If they're out, they may first try to upsell you to a higher class. If you decline, you'll probably get that same vehicle.

ANC RED-EYE

Not my experience at all, though I haven't rented with them particularly recently. I live in ANC, and rented with them several times for work needs. Every time I had a National reservation with them (reserved full size for midsize rate), they literally asked me what I wanted, and/or gave me the choice among several options, always including upgraded options. One time my rental was during a rather significant storm and I had a long drive ahead of me. I requested something with AWD and they happily obliged. And no, my rentals were not often enough for them to recognize me as a regular - I got the impression that this is how they treated elites. YMMV.

I also had several Alamo reservations at this site (for personal reasons, when my personal vehicle was in the shop, etc). Alamo is serviced by the same employees, and my experiences on those rentals was as the OP described - I got the car class reserved (although even then they typically listed several options among which I was allowed to choose).

jackal

FWIW, up until about ~3 years ago (but my sense of time has been wildly skewed by COVID, so it could be a bit further back than that), Alamo/National at ANC was franchised (owned by Alaska Sales & Service, the local GM dealer). EHI corporate bought the franchise and has since merged back-end operations with Enterprise (don't know about front-end--haven't been in the ANC CONRAC since before COVID).

mudpuppy

My mileage definitely varied. I've only rented there once, but I was given no options, reserved a mid-sized SUV and given a Tahoe (which I didn't really want). Questioned on my insurance deductibles, questioned on my corporate rate code and rudely told the CDW wouldn't apply unless I paid $35/day extra. The Tahoe ended up having an 8 inch crack in the windshield so I told them I wanted something that wasn't damaged. They tried to tell me I wouldn't get a ticket for a cracked windshield because "it's Alaska," so I had to insist on getting an undamaged vehicle. I'll give them some credit because they didn't have many other vehicles on the lot (maybe 4 at most) due to the extreme rental car shortage in Alaska last year.

Nothing was particularly egregious about these interactions, but it was definitely not the same kind of service I've received at most other National locations.