Several members of the FM Team are big fans of National Car Rental, partially due to the great benefits that can be had through its Executive elite status (which you can get for free from the Hilton Aspire, Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards).
When you’re an Executive member, you get one free rental day for every six rentals that you pay for. That free day is then valid all the way until December 31st of the following year…which means that there are lots of them that are about ready to become pumpkins when apple drops at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
But they don’t have to.
Dan’s Deals recently found out that National will extend expiring free nights for another year – simply by asking them to. They reached out to @NationalCares on the social media app formerly known as Twitter and, sure enough, National was willing to extend the free day award for another year, all the way until December 31st of 2025.
Quick Thoughts
Morale of the story: you never known until you ask. National free day awards can be extremely valuable. They cover any size car and, often more valuable, can even be used for one-way rentals. Being able to extend them so easily is a great tip that will undoubtedly come in handy for many National members at the end of the year with certs about to expire.
I’m not certain if DD was able to do this because they were an elite member or if National will do it for anyone, regardless of elite status. If you don’t have status but have a data point, either positive or negative, let us know in the comments.
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My son doesn’t have status. He tried to use up his free night in December, but couldn’t make the trip because of work. He called and asked if they would extend it to a rental in February and they said no problem. So I think they’re pretty good about extending even without status.
Are we talking about getting Executive status or Executive Elite status from the credit cards? These are two separate status levels at National.
I’ve been doing this for years with National. I don’t use Twitter but easy enough to call them. Never an issue. (I assumed everyone knew this; I should have said something earlier).
And for those of you who haven’t yet taken advantage of Executive Elite status with National, it’s a no-brainer. Walk onto the lot and pick [almost] any car you want even if you’ve reserved a subcompact (you are supposed to reserve a mid-size to be able to get your choice, but that’s never enforced). And if what you want isn’t in their Executive Elite selection, they will usually give it to you if you ask. In my experience, customer service is exemplary across all locations, something unheard of in that industry. Makes it easy to stay away from the scummy vendors (are you listening, Hertz?).
It works. Blessed you. Extended to end of 2025