Emerald Aisle vs Emerald Reserve

[Leigh123]

I know this has been asked a million times but I want to make sure I have grasped this concept. At the moment I am holding both and emerald aisle for and inter car and a emerald reserve for a full size car.....the diff is only $6....my big quesiton is since its only $6 I am leaning towards keeping the reserve if the following is true;

I can walk over to the full size car aisle and just get in it and drive to the usual place....if there is nothing there that thrills me I can canvas the emerald aisle line and still pick one from there if they have something I like better...is this correct?

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

 

[beattyfamily]

No.

If your reservation is Emerald Reserve for Full size then you are ONLY allowed to pick from the FULL size aisle.

BUT if your reservation is Emerald Aisle, then you can pick from the Emerald Aisle and if there's nothing you like then you can check the Intermediate Aisle as well.

Since Emerald Aisle is basically Intermediates now, there would really be no reason for you to want to check out the Emerald Aisle if you have a Full size reserved anyway. It would be a downgrade.

 

[n2mm]

well said beattyfamily, a perfect description.

The only real advantage to emerald aisle now is the free reward points you receive when you belong to EA and rent through them. I just returned and since the program is new the points are doubled until end of July. After returning last week, I have enough points for TWO free days. You can use ALL of your free days toward your next rental. I actually did that for my July trip and since my next trip is during the same promotion I will earn double points again. I do like that you can use as many of the FREE days as you have in your "bank", but it can not be combined with a coupon--(yes I tried). So if you have FOUR free days you can used them ALL at one time--a nice perk! I used my TWO and it took $60 off of my balance, along with the usual 10% contract discount too (just no $20 coupon).

I used EA and picked out a FULL size car. There were several full size cars, along with PT cruisers, pick up trucks, and some strange looking SUV.

Please, when you hold TWO ressies, make sure you check the fine print. I had one once for a minivan and noticed at the bottom that it said I would be charged a $50 fee if I did not cancel within 5 days of arrival and not pick up.