This was reported by MilesTalk on the 1st of January but I only tested it out for myself the other day.
As the title suggests, you can receive National Car Rental’s Top Tier status in their Emerald Club program as long as you have ANY American Express. This tier is known as Executive Elite and the best part of this is that the status is good until February 28, 2022, a full 2 years!!!
The Benefits
The key benefits of the Executive Elite status are related to convenience and the ability to quickly earn free rentals. Here are the highlights but I suggest you check out the program in its entirety on your own here.
- Bypass the counter – to me this is a HUGE benefit because I have wasted countless hours standing in line at a car rental counter – it’s painful. With status, that’s a thing of the past.
- Pick any car from the Executive area – National has some very nice luxury cars in their Executive area and so long as you pay for a midsized vehicle, you can pick any car in that area OR the Emerald Aisle. The Emerald Aisle tends to have less luxurious cars but you have the choice if you want it.
- Free Car Rentals – once you earn 5 credits (5 rentals), you receive a free car rental – compare that to the standard 7 that folks with no status get.
- Cheaper Top End Rentals – if you reserve a full-sized or luxury vehicle, National will charge you the cost of a rental one category lower.
- Free Secondary Driver – as long as the secondary drive lives in the same or is a business associate, you don’t pay second driver fees.
The Process
It’s really quite simple. Just follow this link and sign up for Emerald Club by clicking on the Executive Elite Enrollment button by February 29, 2020.
I had some initial troubles because I had been enrolled in National previously with the same Driver’s Licence number and I had forgotten the password. The email I had used to register no longer exists so I could not reset my password.
I got around this by creating a new account with a fake Driver’s Licence number and then fixed it once the account was created.
You are asked to register a credit card on file. I’m not sure if it is optional or not but I used my American Express Platinum Business Card.
The Result
I received a confirmation email that my status was ready 4 days after I signed up, but immediately after completing the form, my status showed as Executive Elite.
Conclusion
You would be a fool not to sign up for this status because it’s easy and it’s free (as long as you have an American Express).
From what I saw, rentals are reasonably priced and there’s an added benefit that Mid-Size, Standard, and Full-Sized cars all price the same for Executive Elite members!
Don’t wait. Go now. Sign up! This offer expires as of February 29, 2020. Also, don’t forget to status match to your preferred car rental agency if you so choose.