Is National Car Rental Always This Awesome?!?

By: Ben Schlappig

Updated: October 20, 2023
Published: May 7, 2021

91 comments

Several weeks ago I wrote a post about how I find renting cars to be so frustrating, and also shared my concerns about an upcoming car rental in Hawaii, given all the reports of car rental agencies in Hawaii running out of cars.

For once it’s time for me to write about a positive car rental experience. I’m not sure if I just got lucky, if National is actually usually this awesome, or if my expectations are just way too low (I suppose those things aren’t mutually exclusive).

In this post:

Why I was worried about our Maui car rental

There have been widespread reports of car rental agencies running out of cars and not honoring confirmed reservations. During the pandemic car rental agencies sold many of their cars to raise cash. Now that people are traveling again on a widespread basis (at least in the United States), there have been lots of disappointed car rental customers.

I’m on a special trip to Hawaii with my family, and had reserved a large SUV for us. Based on the reports I had seen, what were my concerns?

I worried if the car rental company would have any cars at all, given reports of car rental companies not honoring reservations
Even if they did have cars, I worried if they’d have the type of car we reserved; I was fully expecting to have to strap our luggage to the roof of the car
Even if they did have our type of car, I worried if there would be a really long line to get it, given reports of waits of several hours at car rental companies

My awesome Maui car rental experience with National

Many readers have shared positive experiences with National Car Rental, particular with National’s Emerald Aisle, which Emerald Club Executive members have access to (you can get this status just by having a premium credit card).

I figured I’d give National Car Rental a try (originally I reserved with Sixt, but changed my reservation). I reserved a large SUV for under $100 per day (obviously that’s not cheap in absolute terms, but for Hawaii it was a bargain), and I finally registered for National Emerald Club Executive status, so that I could skip the counter.

When I arrived at National Car Rental at Kahului Airport (OGG) in Maui, I headed to the car rental center. There was a sign telling Executive members to head straight to the lower level. A friendly agent asked for my name, checked my name off a list, and walked me over to the area with SUVs.

“Pick any car you want, and then just drive up to the exit and present your ID and credit card.” I had my choice of an endless selection of Chevrolet Suburbans, and the whole experience was kind of fun. I went up to several to see which had the fewest miles and was in the best condition, and then drove off with one.

I didn’t have to sign a dozen pages of contracts, I wasn’t endlessly upsold, and I didn’t have to spend 10 minutes marking all the damage on the car. As a matter of fact, there were no signatures or paperwork required.

It was less than five minutes from the time I arrived at the car rental center to when I was driving off. I had left my family in the terminal area and warned them that it could be a while and that I might show up hours later in a U-Haul. Suffice to say that they were shocked when they saw me less than 15 minutes from when I initially left the terminal.

Perhaps my praise for this rental experience is just a reflection of how low my expectations of car rental companies are. I got the car that I reserved and didn’t have to wait for a very long time. That shouldn’t be worthy of praise, but sadly I don’t remember the last time I had such an easy car rental experience.

Bottom line

With all the negative reports of car rental experiences in Hawaii, I figure it’s worth sharing my awesome experience. I was grateful to not only get the car that I reserved, but to have the entire experience be so seamless.

Is National Car Rental always this awesome, or did I just get lucky? If this is how renting cars with National usually is, then I’d totally pay a premium to rent with the company over a competitor in the future.

More discussion »

Support OMAAT

Conversations (91)

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Comment as a member

Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.

Loading comments…

Recent Comments

The latest from the OMAAT community.

Robert Guest

May 16, 2021, 4:06 pm

National is fantastic. I flew regularly to DFW and they cycled through cars like crazy. Don't see a car you want? Wait 10 min and the next batch came out. I can't count the number of times the aisle got me a BMW. I have to be forced to rent anywhere else

‼ 0

Annie Guest

May 15, 2021, 11:12 am

I have been booking with National exclusively for the last four or five years. I have rented with the Emerald Aisle (Sacramento, and Portland), and Salt Lake City (no Emerald Aisle) and been happy with the selection of cars and the check in and check out process. I have had a few smaller SUVs (Hyundai Santa Fe, and a Nissan Rouge) and sedans (Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Impala, and a Toyota Camry). Customer service wise in 2019 when in Wyoming we had a rock shatter the windshield of the car we were renting and I was super nervous about returning the vehicle (because we didn’t do the LDW through National because we have AmEx) but I returned the car like normal and made sure I took a picture of the license plate and the damage. I waited for two weeks or so for a call from National requesting insurance information and then a month and now almost two years later I still haven’t heard a thing. I would assume that they fixed the cracked windshield on their own and classified it as a road hazard incident. If that isn’t customer service I don’t know what else is. We have National booked this summer (6/12 to 6/20) for a Philadelphia to Pittsburgh road trip and we will be paying $587 (after taxes and fees) for 8 days with a standard SUV (Ford Edge is what they listed as the comparable car). It was about the same price as a small SUV (Rav 4) and $100 less a week than using the Emerald Aisle. I just had to edit the reservation because our flight times changed (only an hour later arriving and 30 minutes later dropping off) and there was no change to the price, which was great as well. Of course we are paying a bit more because we are dropping off at another airport but I am happy with the rate and hope to have the same positive experience with National that I have had in the past.

‼ 0

Larry Guest

May 10, 2021, 7:30 pm

Had the same experience in Maui with a suburban with one exception, 5 day rental was free except $30 tax. You need to discuss the rewards program. With executive status you get a free day with every 5th rental very little if any exclusions. No other company does that.

‼ 0

Mike Guest

May 10, 2021, 12:03 pm

National has done it this way for a looooong time (I think my first time was almost 20 years ago?), but Hertz and Avis have done it for a number of years as well. I don't remember the last time I waited in a line to get a car. Granted its mostly at larger airports, but that's normally where I'm flying anyway. Even back before Hertz and Avis had car choice they had the system where you just looked your name up on the board and went to your car and drove off. The thing that's changed in the last 5ish years or so is that Hertz and Avis have car choice.

‼ 0

Flieger Guest

May 9, 2021, 10:25 pm

You´re doing it wrong, Ben. With National you book a standard car and then you pick whatever you like. As an Exec or Exec Elite you can usually get a nice SUV or a Camaro or something fun. I rented on all the islands of Hawaii with National and the cars were great every single time. Jeeps, Musle cars, Pickup Trucks... Fun cars and I paid the standard rate for a car. National is just on another level as the whole dirty rest of rental car companies...

‼ 0