National: Counter vs. Emerald Club Counter

[BrianBWV]

Hi,

Our family had a great rate with National booked for August using the Emerald Aisle, but then the Delta/Song changeover took place last week, and I had to change our eight-day National reservation (full-size) to nine days because of the times of the new Song flights we've been assigned to.

We modified our existing reservation on the National web site, and still have an excellent rate of $154 with all the fees and taxes for the nine days for the full-size car. But now we've moved to Emerald Club Counter status. Is this the regular counter or something separate? Any clarifications would be greatly appreciated.

 

[beattyfamily]

Whenever you make a change to an existing reservation, it bumps you to counter.

I believe I read here that you can call them to have it be non-counter but I'm not sure.

 

[lquack]

Not sure if this is the reason it switched but... I got an email today from National stating they changed how Emerald Aisle works as of 3/15. The only cars 'officially' available for Emerald Aisle service are intermediate size. You might get lucky and find another type but as a default expect an intermediate. They have now added another feature to Emerald Club called Emerald Reserve..

"National’s Emerald Reserve Service allows you to bypass the counter when reserving any car type (excluding intermediate). When you arrive at the location, simply bypass the counter and go directly to the row of the car class you reserved. Then choose any car and drive away"

If you reserved a fullsize (and you NEED a fullsize) you should create a new reservation and see if you can choose Emerald Reserve and keep your current rates. Only delete the old reservation once your satisfied with the new one. I did this today on my reservations for June and ended up with a lower rate!

Also, if you belong to the Disney Club, there is a $20 off coupon for weekly rentals.

 

[dtk'smom]

Is there a $50. fee for Emerald Club?

 

[DebbieB]

There is a $50 fee to join Emerald Club, but many people, including myself, have free memberships. Disney Club offers free membership (at least they did in the past).

National has a new service called "Quick Rent" where anyone who makes a reservation with a credit card can skip the counter and go straight out to their size aisle to select a car. You don't need to be an Emerald Club Member. There is info on their website:

http://www.nationalcar.com/

Brian - I would call National and see if they can change your reservation to Emerald Reserve so you don't have to go to the counter. They may not want to change it to Emerald Aisle since you reserved a full size.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by DebbieB
National has a new service called "Quick Rent" where anyone who makes a reservation with a credit card can skip the counter and go straight out to their size aisle to select a car. You don't need to be an Emerald Club Member. There is info on their website:

fyi...a difference, though, between "Quick Rent" and an "Emerald Club" reservation is if you have a coupon. If you have a coupon with Quick Rent, you still have to go to the counter. You only bypass the counter if you have no coupon. If you have a coupon with an Emerald Club reservation, you still can bypass the counter.

So as of now, one of the only benefits of an Emerald Club member(now that they've made all these changes) is that you bypass the counter regardless of whether you have a coupon or not. The benefits of being an Emerald Club member have certainly dwindled away...