National Car Rental's Emerald Club Marks 25 Years of Customer Choice, Convenience

ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwire - Mar 8, 2012) - National Car Rental, the premier car rental brand for business travel, this month celebrates the 25^th anniversary of the Emerald Club, the car rental industry's first frequent renter program. The Emerald Club launched on St. Patrick's Day in 1987. Throughout the month of March, fans of National's Facebook page can join the celebration by submitting their favorite memories of 1987 -- via anecdotes, photos or video -- for the chance to win a $25 gift card in the "Blast from the Past" sweepstakes.

"Twenty-five years ago, National revolutionized our industry by introducing the first frequent renter program. Today, road warriors choose National for business rentals because we provide their easiest travel transaction of the day," said Rob Connors, assistant vice president of marketing for National Car Rental. "We relentlessly pursue our goal to make the rental experience faster, more convenient and more streamlined for our valued Emerald Club members. That's why our membership grows each year."

Today, the Emerald Club's members enjoy an expedited rental process with counter bypass as well as Drop &Go(SM) service with convenient e-receipts. The Emerald Club program also provides electronic "Arrival Alerts" and access to National's "Emerald Aisle," an exclusive section of the lot where members can select any vehicle as long as they reserve a mid-size car; members only pay the mid-size rate, even if they choose a larger-class vehicle. National offers customers 63 Emerald Aisle locations in the United States and Canada, including the top 50 airports for business travel.

"Vehicle choice, premium service and valuable frequent-renter rewards keep me coming back to National Car Rental again and again," said Buzz Doering, President, Buzz Doering Consulting, a 25-year charter member of the Emerald Club.

In February, National celebrated an equally important milestone - achieving the highest 12-month total NSQI (National Service Quality Index) score in the brand's history. Customer service scores are tabulated and tracked every month for the National brand. The NSQI score is based on customer feedback about the quality of customer service experience.

National earned the "Leading Edge Award" from Executive Travel magazine, recognizing the brand as the top rental car service in the travel industry in 2011. In addition, the Emerald Club was honored as the 2010 and 2011 Best Rental Car Loyalty Program in the annual Editors' Choice Awards by SmarterTravel, the largest online source of independent expert advice for the budget-conscious traveler. National received the honor in recognition of the brand's "Emerald Aisle" service and numerous other customer benefits, including expedited rentals.

The Emerald Club has no membership fees. Visit www.emeraldclub.com to join.

About National Car Rental

Founded in 1947, National Car Rental is a premium, internationally recognized brand serving the daily rental needs of the frequent airport traveler throughout the world. With National, time-sensitive customers in the United States are able to quickly choose their own vehicles, based upon their advance reservation and requested car class, and then simply drive away from the airport. In addition, National's frequent-renter program, Emerald Club, also was awarded a 2010 Business Traveler Innovation Award -- sponsored by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and The Wall Street Journal -- for expediting the travel process and enhancing convenience and efficiency. National is the "Official Car Rental Company of the PGA of America.

St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings owns and operates the National Car Rental brand in North America. With annual revenues of $14.1 billion and more than 70,000 employees, Enterprise Holdings also operates, through its regional subsidiaries, more than 1 million cars and trucks, making it the largest and most comprehensive car rental service provider in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet. National also is part of a global strategic alliance with Europcar, creating the world's largest car rental network. For more information about National, visit www.nationalcar.com or www.facebook.com/NationalCarRental. For more information about Enterprise Holdings' environmental stewardship and long-term commitment to the sustainability of the car rental business, visit www.DrivingFutures.com and follow @LeeBroughton on Twitter. This news release and other National Car Rental announcements are available at the Enterprise Holdings press room.