National Extends Consumer Options With App
New promotion unveiled after website designed to be more robust
The big picture scenario in the always-changing car rental landscape is dotted with endeavors involving connectivity, consumer and fleet performance data collection to populate the cells and codes of artificial intelligence and boosting app features to provide more flexibility and customer options for its user base.
We’ve heard a great deal of progress in all of this via what’s been coming out of the Enterprise, Avis, Hertz and others, but smaller players are also starting to make some noise on the innovation front. Enter National, a subsidiary of Enterprise Holdings, which announced yet another app incentive, this time aimed at consumers who prefer to be pampered. The company’s Emerald Loyalty program will now offer members a free day of vehicular renting for every two bookings.
National previously offered this program, which they called the One Two Free promotion, but withdrew it, until research on its customer base revealed that the vast majority of them often liked to mix business with pleasure, hence their preference for more luxurious vehicles. Dubbed “bleisures,” this is a consumer group that values a greater quality of life over other variables when traveling, and to that end, the promotion free launch is geared towards meeting those needs.
The program, which started the moment it was announced, allows its Emerald Club base not only a free day of renting, but also promises quicker check-ins and checkouts with its virtual pass. Additionally, depending on the number of loyalty points collected, consumers can also upgrade to higher-end vehicles like the Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator and the Lexus IS250.
“National’s popular ‘One Two Free’ promotion is our way of thanking Emerald Club members for their ongoing loyalty and support,” said Frank Thurman, vice president of marketing for National. “That’s why we offer members more ways to earn free days faster, while experiencing award-winning convenience and efficiency when they’re on the road.”
Points can be earned by using the mobile app, completing a customer survey, adding services like Sirius XM satellite radio, renting any size vehicle in Latin America and Europe and using the expedited check-in and checkout services.
The relaunch of the program comes on the heels of National’s announcement earlier in August that it’s redesigned its website with a more robust platform to make services more user-friendly and accessible. Additional features include more customized language options (much like Bluebird’s Erez), currency conversions and a more powerful search engine to seek out global locations and vehicle classes.
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