zhutch

Does anyone know if, through the Drive Alliance, National points/credits can still be earned on Enterprise rentals? If yes, when booking with Costco, do I just put my Emerald Club number on the reservation to take advantage of this?

Thanks!

KevinMD

Yes you can still earn credits for National through enterprise. I just booked through the enterprise site and signed into my national account on there.

muricy1

Hey guys

I have a question regarding insurance for an upcoming rental.

I did not buy LDW from National (quote 820$) but got a CDW from a local (CH) travelling insurance (120$).

When I asked my insurer what exactly their CDW covers, I was told that I would be covered for any deductibles (up to 10'000$) charged by another insurance company.

So are the rental vehicles already insured, e.g. I ding a fender, Nationals insurance (vehicles insurer) charges me ~800$ (deductible?) which my insurance will cover?

In brief, is Nationals LDW actually also just a deductible (I have read in T&C that "LDW is not insurance") cover or would you recommend me to buy it..?

Sorry 4 length of text, feel free to tell my if I posted in wrong place...

Thanks and cheers

AutoSlash

As you stated, LDW is not insurance. It is a waiver of having to pay for any damage to the vehicle. Unlike in the EU, there really isn't the concept of "excess" in the U.S., at least not as it applies coverage purchased directly from the rental company.

If you purchase LDW from the car rental company and you damage the vehicle, then you do not have to pay anything at all, regardless of whether it's a ding to a fender, or you totaled entire vehicle.

If you did not purchase LDW from the rental company directly, then you (or your insurance company if you purchased coverage) is responsible for 100% of the damage. If you are covered up to $10K in damage, then the insurance company will be required to pay out $10K. If you do $15K in damage, then the insurance company will pay out $10K and you'll have to pay the additional $5K out of your own pocket.

You might find this article on car rental insurance from our blog helpful.

muricy1

Hey

Thanks very much for the swift answer, am grateful. Will read the linked article immediately after typing. Since I am already at it, a follow up question:

In the confirmation I have received it's explicitly mentioned that this CDW will just cover excesses charged by an insurance company.
If that product won't be of any use at all it's a rip-off, since they (Allianz) offer a "worldwide" and a "worldwide including U.S and Canada" (which I bought).
- After having read the article, my understanding is that I have bought a secondary cover and still need a primary cover. Checking offers mentioned in article. Allianz is mentioned in it, it's just that the excess mentioned creeps me out, as opposed to Nationals premium offer. Phone inwuiry was not helpful, kept repeating "We cover excess charged ny anpther insuramce, up to 10k"...

Best regards and thx again

SKYEG

I had a couple quick questions:

1. What happens if you no show on a rental? For Hertz they don't do anything, curious about National.

2. Can I make two reservations, one for Aisle and another one for Luxury or something nicer guaranteed in case the Aisle doesn't have anything good?

Thanks for the help

psychoidiot

Dumb question - I have status on National through the CSR. We would need a mini-van for sure for trip out of SEA. Is there anyway to book one level below and still have a good shot at mini-van? (is that how it works?)

jackal

1. Generally nothing. That assumption is becoming less and less safe in the rental industry these days, though.

2. Yes, but your best bet is to cancel the one you don't intend on using prior to proceeding through the exit booth. If you don't, it's possible the booth agent will pull the wrong reservation up, and your charges could get screwed up (i.e. get charged the Luxury rate on your Aisle car, or get charged the Aisle rate plus an obscene upgrade charge to your Luxury car, etc.). Cancellation should be instantaneous but I'd still give it a couple of minutes after canceling before pulling out towards the exit booth. Also, you can't cancel a reservation after its scheduled pick-up time, so make both reservations for a good hour or so after you think you'll be at the rental center.

National's free-upgrade benefit works slightly differently than the other companies'. You book and confirm what you want to drive, and the system charges you for one car class lower. (You'll notice the price will drop when you move from the car selection page over to the final confirmation page.)

I don't believe that benefit extends to minivans, though, and it's not 100% clear what "one car class lower than a minivan" is. (Luxury? Premium? Fullsize? Standard SUV?) I could be wrong, though.

However, check the threads here with reports of vehicles found in the Executive Selection at SEA. A lot of places around the country, minivans are not an uncommon sight in the Emerald/Executive aisles, and you could get one then for the price of a midsize. While it's far from guaranteed you'll get one, you might try booking a midsize (intermediate) with National and a backup minivan reservation with another, cheaper company. Then, stop by the National aisle when you first get there and see if a minivan is available. If not, go pick up your other confirmed minivan. Make both reservations for a good hour or so after you forecast arriving at the rental car center (so probably more like 2 hours after your scheduled flight arrival) so that you have time to log in and cancel the one you won't be using before the pick-up time passes.

ETA: Adding link to thread about cars in SEA: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/natio...-cars-sea.html

psychoidiot

Well the issue is that the Chase Ultimate rewards portal is almost half the cost of using a normal code (384 for alamo versus 700 for national) for a minivan. The Chase reward portal for National minivan is only $16 more than the Alamo reservation for the minivan, but it's like $100 difference if we try to do the mid-size and try to upgrade using the Executive benefit (the cars available at SEA seem to be mostly minivans?).

What I think i'm going to do is book 1 mini van for sure at Alamo (unless the extra $16 to pick at National is worth it? are they near each at SEA?), and then YOLO for the 2nd car since there is only 5 of us (we can do SUV if worst comes down to it). I searched the threads and it seems no one has a problem using the CSR executive benefit.

jackal

Both Alamo and National as well as all of the other major companies (and most of the minors) are in the single, consolidated rental center a bit north of the airport terminal. The rental center runs a bus between the terminal and the rental facility, and once there, you can easily hop around between all of the different rental lots and counters.

I do not have a CSR, but I assume you have to somehow contact either Chase or National and have them apply your status to your Emerald Club account. If you've done so and you can log into NationalCar.com and it shows your status as Executive, I see no reason why there would be any question about a problem using the "CSR executive benefit."

If National is so cheap through the CSR portal, you might consider booking multiple reservations through there for whatever various car sizes you are considering renting. Just be sure to log in and cancel the reservation you don't intend on using once you've arrived at the lot and have decided which car you'll be renting. If you don't cancel the reservation(s) you won't be picking up, the exit booth attendant might accidentally pull the wrong reservation up, and your rental and rate could end up very different than you are expecting.

gottaluvNW

If I book with Alamo, could I expect any of my National Emerald Executive Aisle benefits if I give them my details? The rate is far lower on Alamo.com vis-a-vis NationalCar.com ...

AutoSlash

Nope. Zero benefits cross over, and they can't even access your National details on your Alamo reservation. In most locations, the pick-up areas are separated and separately designated as well, so you will not even be picking from the same cars. There is no Emerald Aisle on the Alamo side; if you book a midsize, you'll be picking from a Midsize row (at bigger locations) or will be handed keys to a midsize (at smaller locations).

SuperPickyNationalExecElite

Hi all, quick question:

I am an EE with Natl, and seem to recall way back whenever that there was a hidden benefit to the status by being able to call ahead and put a preference for a certain vehicle/class to be held from Exec aisle if it becomes available same day until your arrival. For instance, if I called ahead and said I'm an EE flying in at 8pm and would like an SSAR held if it hits the aisle, they would pull it and hold for the person to arrive, or return it to aisle if overbooked or no show. Does this ring a bell, or am I thinking of another program? I occasionally see a car that is held in advance in some cities for specific customers of status and they are just aisle vehicles but are not available if I request them from the attendants. Even if I point out that they are on the aisle with the hang tags, they sometimes lock them and take the keys for hold. I have never wanted to use such a benefit until now, my upcoming reservation is in SEA that is notorious for not having classes that I like. Lots of silly SUVs and trucks, but nothing appealing to me, and I'm sick of it. I seem to always hit a city that has 428s on the aisle but I take something else, but the 428s are now common and would like one in SEA. Just wondering if anyone knows what to do, or if I'm SOL?

Thanks!

g8rben

I got Executive status with my Barclaycard Arrival+ card. It is actually part of the MasterCard World Elite program. I did have to call the MasterCard travel concierge and have them set up the Executive benefit with my existing National account. Took about a day to show up. I'm guessing the CSR benefit is similar, and as Jackal stated, you need to call CSR and have them apply to your National account. After it went through, Executive showed as my status on nationalcar.com and I received an Executive membership card in the mail from National about a week later. I just used it at RIC where there is no EA or Executive aisle. She just said "Pick whatever you want!" And, BTW, I had booked a midsize.

Closingracer

You got a card lol? I got nothing