National/ Alamo FAQs and Questions

Old Mar 16, 2018, 4:14 pm
  #1096  
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Originally Posted by ginmqi
The way the agent explained was that my DL# is attached to my name/emerald club account. (When I signed up for EC in the first place and made my online profile) And that when I checkout at the gate, as long as my DL# is attached and when I hand the DL over at the checkout the computer will automatically associate the reservation/rental to my emerald club account and the benefits/perks will pop up even if I reserved it using a 3rd party website that could not tell national I was a EC member when I initially booked it.

I guess if someone doesn't put in their DL info then it could be an issue?......
Right, but at what point did your DL# get attached?

When you book without a frequent renter profile, all that's transmitted to the rental office is your name. (And maybe your phone number, depending on the booking source.) Unless you book with your EC number, the rental office has no further information about you other than your name.

You'd have to speak with someone at some point to add either your EC# or your DL#, I would think.

I'm actually wondering now if the agent you talked to at the counter actually did process your rental. You said it was less than one minute, but Odyssey (the computer system Alamo/National uses) is very fast and efficient, and someone who has worked there for a little while and knows what they're doing can easily rent a car to someone who already has a profile in the system in well less than a minute. It's literally type the DL# in, hit a couple of tabs and arrow keys to select the profile, and then hit tab a bunch of times to skip through all the pre-filled fields and then hit save to process the contract. And then for an EC member there's nothing to print, so it's like literally 10-15 seconds of work to save the contract and send you on the way. It's quite possible the agent did that without you really realizing he/she was actually opening a rental contract for you.
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Old Mar 16, 2018, 4:42 pm
  #1097  
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I think you're assuming it somehow got attached before the OP got to the exit gate, when in actuality it happened after. Here's the theroretical timeline:

1. OP books with Chase UR portal. No way to add his EC# there, so no possible way it could be on there. All they have is the OP's name, email and maybe phone.
2. OP arrives at location and picks any car from the aisle corresponding to his status.
3. OP drives to gate and hands gate agent his driver's license. He either tells gate agent he's am Emerald Club member renting on a prepaid res, or National's system is smart enough to put one and one together when the gate agent scans his DL and auto-associate the res with his EC profile (yes, I'm aware that the likelihood of this is pretty small).

In short, the working theory is that you can have your cake and eat it too by booking a prepaid res without your EC credentials attached and have it done as you exit the lot--AND without stopping at the counter first. Someone here needs to test it, or I'll ask someone at AutoSlash to take one for the team to find out.

Last edited by AutoSlash; Mar 16, 2018 at 5:55 pm
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Old Mar 16, 2018, 4:53 pm
  #1098  
 
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Hmm...yeah not sure how all that process works on the back end. Maybe someone has to test it out in the field and report back as AutoSlash mentioned....
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Old Mar 16, 2018, 5:53 pm
  #1099  
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Originally Posted by AutoSlash
I think your assuming it somehow got attached before the OP got to the exit gate, when in actuality it happened after. Here's the theroretical timeline:

1. OP books with Chase UR portal. No way to add his EC# there, so no possible way it could be on there. All they have is the OP's name, email and maybe phone.
2. OP arrives at location and picks any car from the aisle corresponding to his status.
3. OP drives to gate and hands gate agent his driver's license. He either tells gate agent he's am Emerald Club member renting on a prepaid res, or National's system is smart enough to put one and one together when the gate agent scans his DL and auto-associate the res with his EC profile (yes, I'm aware that the likelihood of this is pretty small).

In short, the working theory is that you can have your cake and eat it too by booking a prepaid res without your EC credentials attached and have it done as you exit the lot--AND without stopping at the counter first. Someone here needs to test it, or I'll ask someone at AutoSlash to take one for the team to find out.
I had that thought, but AFAIK, gate agents can only look up active rental contracts. They don't have the ability to interact with unopened reservations.

A contract gets created one of two ways:

1) automatically by the system on the day of rental if a valid EC profile is attached and the credit card authorization goes through, or
2) by an agent at the rental counter

If neither of those happens, then I don't think the exit booth agents can see the record, and their default reaction would be the same as any other non-EC member trying to leave the lot without an active rental contract and to send you back inside to process it.

That said, it's possible that if you tell them you're an Emerald Club number, they can look it up and process it into a rental quickly or that the system will automatically associate the account and quickly/automatically process the rental contract and credit card authorization right then and there. If so, I'd be impressed, but I have a hard time attributing that much competence to any entity in the rental car industry.
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Old Mar 16, 2018, 6:03 pm
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Heh, you'd think with the power of modern technology and incentive to provide great customer service, especially to loyal/business account renters....and with the resources available at a large corporation such as EHI...you'd think that would be very possible process to do.....
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Old Mar 16, 2018, 6:19 pm
  #1101  
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Originally Posted by ginmqi
Heh, you'd think with the power of modern technology and incentive to provide great customer service, especially to loyal/business account renters....and with the resources available at a large corporation such as EHI...you'd think that would be very possible process to do.....
Alas, there are many things in the rental industry that should be possible or commonplace, but unfortunately always seem just out of reach. We still find it shocking that even though Hertz acquired Dollar/Thrifty back in 2012, both brands still process prepaid reservations made on their own websites through a 3rd party (Cartrawler) 6 years later.
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Old Mar 16, 2018, 6:26 pm
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Originally Posted by AutoSlash
Alas, there are many things in the rental industry that should be possible or commonplace, but unfortunately always seem just out of reach. We still find it shocking that even though Hertz acquired Dollar/Thrifty back in 2012, both brands still process prepaid reservations made on their own websites through a 3rd party (Cartrawler) 6 years later.
Dang, interesting to know. (No idea that those two are owned by Hertz...)

I guess there are somethings that just appear irrational to the customer at the point of service. But maybe up in the board rooom where decisions are made there are always reasons that certain things are done/not done.....
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Old Mar 18, 2018, 8:24 am
  #1103  
 
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Good discussion here. I'm out to OGG Wednesday on my 3rd party rental so I'll see what happens and report.
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Old Mar 22, 2018, 1:35 am
  #1104  
 
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Flew into OGG tonight and trying to stay up for the time change so I thought I would post an update...


we rolled up to the national location and skipped the counter completely. When we got to the lot I told them my name for the reservation and that I was EC, but it wasn't on the res. They didn't even raise an eyebrow Ann's said to pick whatever. I told the guy at the booth the same and he didn't say anything either.
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Old Mar 22, 2018, 5:05 am
  #1105  
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Originally Posted by jeeden
Flew into OGG tonight and trying to stay up for the time change so I thought I would post an update...


we rolled up to the national location and skipped the counter completely. When we got to the lot I told them my name for the reservation and that I was EC, but it wasn't on the res. They didn't even raise an eyebrow Ann's said to pick whatever. I told the guy at the booth the same and he didn't say anything either.
So I assume the booth agent asked for your driver's license only (no credit card) and then handed you a rental contract and you drove off?
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Old Mar 22, 2018, 4:44 pm
  #1106  
 
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Agent asked at the booth for my license and a credit card for file, but said there was currently a $0 balance.

was not handed a rental contract but kind of had one from the TA anyway with terms

checked my national account and it showed up automatically with the car I got
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Old Mar 22, 2018, 6:26 pm
  #1107  
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Originally Posted by jeeden
Agent asked at the booth for my license and a credit card for file, but said there was currently a $0 balance.

was not handed a rental contract but kind of had one from the TA anyway with terms

checked my national account and it showed up automatically with the car I got
Thanks for the feedback! This is a big help. I would say that based on the (albeit limited) reports in this thread that it is possible to skip the counter and choose your own vehicle if you are an EC member renting on a prepaid reservation without your EC member number attached.

If anyone has any further experiences pro or con, please do report them here.
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Old Mar 22, 2018, 6:31 pm
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Originally Posted by AutoSlash
Thanks for the feedback! This is a big help. I would say that based on the (albeit limited) reports in this thread that it is possible to skip the counter and choose your own vehicle if you are an EC member renting on a prepaid reservation without your EC member number attached.

If anyone has any further experiences pro or con, please do report them here.
I wonder if it would be useful to create another thread to address this very specific topic? Large, FAQ threads like these get replies lost in the masses and people may not notice or read the posts.

Could be useful for future if a separate thread is created so in future if people search they can come to a thread to discuss this interesting/somewhat rare issue.

I've got ton of rental credits accrued from the 1-2 promotion but if I book another rental through Chase UR without my EC number I'll be happy to report with more data points!
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Old May 11, 2018, 3:36 am
  #1109  
 
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Hi all, I've got a rental at IAD, Emerald Exec level. I've ordered a toll pass which I understand is delivered at the exit gate, but I haven't ordered a navigation device, hoping perhaps the car I pick will have a standard one. If this isn't the case can I order one at the exit booth? Do they keep them in stock? (I'm aware there's a list of cars with included navigation but if there's something special in the aisle I don't want to miss out) Thanks.
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Old May 27, 2018, 11:05 am
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Ok here's another DP:

Picked up a car from FLL. I did stop by the counter to mention the fact I was on third party booking (Chase UR) but I am EC EE. I told her I had a Standard car reservation (it was less than Midsize for some reason on Chase portal) but I need a minivan or large SUV because my sister is visiting from out of town. She said for third party booking, I wouldn't be able to choose from the Executive aisle but she walked out to the lot with me and pointed at a Nissan Pathfinder which I gladly took. I gave my EC number to the gate agent.

Now even though I stopped by the counter, at no point did I mention my name, reservation number or anything to the lady at the counter. So I guess your Executive status is tied to your DL # which is a fantastic feature with National and another reason why I love National.
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