If you’ve read my blog, you know I have elite status with a handful of airlines and I’ve played the game long enough to know how to beat the crowd. Even so, I wish flying could be half as easy as renting a car from National Car Rental as an Emerald Club member.
Imagine this alluring daydream – my fictional account of a trip report from an Emerald World:
Emerald Airlines is my go-to airline, and this evening I had planned to fly from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Advance ticketing is not a necessity and the prices are competitive – quite reasonable when compared to the other guys.
But my brother, who works in the Bay Area and was never gifted with the planning gene, sent me a text message invite to a last-minute lunch at my favorite seafood joint on the Wharf. It’s not often I get to see kid bro anymore, so I quickly accepted before he could change his mind. It was now 8am and I had three hours to get San Francisco.
With Emerald Airlines, this was not a problem – I simply used their mobile app to modify my reservation, finished packing and left for the airport.
At LAX, Emerald Airlines does something differently than other carriers if you are part of its loyalty program: you just go right to your plane.
Emerald Airlines makes your travel experience as seamless as flying private. Of course, there are friendly Emerald staff on hand to direct to you your gate or even give you the old-fashion full-service check-in experience if you so desire, but time is money and I prefer to breeze through from the curb right to my plane in mere seconds.
The cool thing is that Emerald always is available to go where you want to go – its route network is unparalleled and frequencies are so regular you can even pick the aircraft type. Today, thanks to my loyalty club membership, I had the choice of a variety of aircrafts to take me up to San Francisco—a fuel-efficient ERJ-170 with onboard connectivity, a 737-800 hybrid with blended bio fuel, or an exotic European A319. But for me, the queen of the skies is the Boeing 747 and I could not pass up the opportunity to fly my favorite aircraft type.
Once onboard, we quickly took off and I sat back and relaxed to the sound of soft music – enjoying the onboard amenities and knowing that I was earning valuable points toward future flight awards. We landed in San Francisco early and I enjoyed an incredible lunch with my brother. Thanks to Emerald Airlines for another great experience!
Oh, what an airline that would be. But while Emerald Airlines is just a dream, National Car Rental’s Emerald Club is not. Free to join and an invaluable tool to own your travel experience, Emerald Club is an incredible program for anyone looking to rent a car.
I’ll admit – I don’t rent a lot of cars – only 4-5 times per year. And to be quite honest, I generally don’t like dealing with car rental companies – seems they are always trying to nickel and dime you. So when I first heard about the Emerald Club, I was admittedly skeptical.
Then I joined Emerald Club and rented a car – it sure made things easier. I didn’t even have elite status in Emerald Club, but I still just arrived on an airport shuttle, found the Emerald Aisle, chose a car (there were about a dozen choices), and got on the road. No tedious paperwork, and the keys were already in the ignition – a quick ID check and credit card swipe at the exit gate and I was on my way, bypassing the misery that we call long lines.
Is it a perfect solution for renting cars? Pretty much. I cannot actually think to how it could be any smoother, especially in airports in which the cars are located in-terminal. Arrive, choose, leave – there’s a simple process! And earn points toward future free rentals or airline programs, to boot.
How would you imagine living in an Emerald World?
Post sponsored by National – all opinions are my own.
I am sure it’s not available in the countries I rent most though, specifically Israel. And I doubt it’s available in the small airports I travel to in the two Virginias to visit my parents. However, it sounds great, and I’ll definitely try it if I travel to a city where they operate and need a car.
The Emerald Aisle is what kept National Car Rental as my number one choice for years, Matthew.
Whenever I would explain why I like the process of how it works, the response I receive is either “Wow! I have to try that one day!”; or a look of disbelief like I just said something which was impossibly insane.
Despite the Emerald Aisle process in the United States, National Car Rental is not available in some parts of the world; and it does not always have the best rates or partner deals — so I will sometimes rent from Avis as an alternate; and I will also occasionally rent from Hertz.
What would be nice is if Emerald Aisle service was available all over the world. Now there is a daydream — if only for renting vehicles…
Hi, I’m traveling with Donna Chazen to Mongolia in July 2016.
She thinks you are great, so since we will be traveling together & I want to use United miles she suggested I contact you.
Can you let me know what details you would need from me please.
I will very much look forward to hearing from you!!
Thanks, Jean
Hi Jean, I have sent you an e-mail!
National is by far the best rental car company in the US. Too bad they don’t keep the same standards on their budget brand Alamo. Those are pure scam and will rip you off of every penny you have!!!
It would be tough for me to ever part with the Emerald Club, this post is why I just can’t imagine leaving.