All About National Car Rental's "One Two Free" Promotion

One part of travel that most people overlook until the last minute is a rental car. If you haven't traveled recently, you may not know that rental car companies are experiencing car shortages. This makes it more difficult to rent a car, and increases the daily rate of even super economy cars. There are some tips and tricks for getting a free National Rental Car upgrade, and DoNotPay is here to walk you through the steps.

National is Part of a Car Rental Behemoth

National is owned by Enterprise Holdings, which also owns Enterprise and Alamo. In that corporate structure, National is more focused on business car rentals, while the other two specialize in personal rentals. Even though their focus is the business customer, National has the reputation for offering the best overall customer service.

If you want to rent a car through National, you can do it online, over the phone, or in person at a National rental counter. For an in-person rental, you usually have to be at an airport.

Join National's Emerald Club

One of the benefits of using National is that they have a good loyalty and rewards program, the Emerald Club. When you sign up as an Emerald Club member you automatically get some member perks. There are three levels of Club membership.

• Emerald Club
• Executive
• Executive Elite

Your member status boosts when you hit certain levels for using National, for car rentals, hotel bookings, or airline tickets with company partners like Delta and Hilton.

1. Rewards: you can choose between frequent flyer miles, hotel rewards, or Free Rental Days
2. Earn with Enterprise: when you rent at a participating Enterprise, you can accumulate points for Free Rental Days, and higher status in the Emerald Club
3. No Second Driver Fees: Members don't have to pay a second driver fee, so your companions can drive the car without extra costs

Executive and Executive Elite members get additional benefits, like guaranteed upgrades from a midsize car in the US and in several European countries, special pricing on Premium cars, and vehicle delivery at some private airports in the US and Canada.

Emerald Club Membership Perks

Any midsize car is yours at the same rate, regardless of the bells and whistles of your chosen car. This includes things like satellite radio, navigation, or all-wheel-drive.

Credit Card Benefits

Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great card to have in your wallet when you travel. Aside from getting you into airport lounges and airline upgrades, when you use your Chase Sapphire card to book with National, there's a built-in damage waiver so you don't have to purchase National's insurance if you're concerned your auto policy won't cover rental car damage.

Other cards also get you Emerald Club benefits. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card, American Express' Platinum Card, and the Citi Prestige card all get you Executive level status with the Emerald Club.

Tips for Asking National for an Upgrade

It's common sense that when you book a rental car, you ask for the cheapest car they have in hopes that you'll get an automatic upgrade if they don't have an economy car available.

Here's how you can upgrade after you've made a reservation.

• With a coupon: Travel websites and magazines often have upgrade coupons, so if you see one for National after you're booked, call and ask if they will honor that coupon. Be prepared to give them the promo code.
• With a credit card or rewards membership: Call National and let them know that you have a card that guarantees a free upgrade, or that you are a member of a partner loyalty rewards program.

• With a good story: Sometimes, you can get an upgrade by explaining why you want one--it's your grandmother's birthday, you've got guests in town--and by being really nice on the phone. Customer service people are so used to jerks that when you're simply kind, that may get you the upgrade.

DoNotPay Can Help You Get an Upgrade

If you want to get a free upgrade on your reservation but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 4 easy steps:

1. Choose which rental company you booked with.

2. Enter your reservation confirmation number.

3. Tell us the details of your reservation, such as the pick-up date, pick-up location, car model, etc.*

4. Indicate whether you are a rewards member or special credit card holder.

Click below for more information on specific agency policies:

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