Last Updated on December 27, 2023 by Kristin
Changing travel plans can be a hassle, especially when the process involves cancellation fees or other penalties. If you plan to rent a car from National, be sure to check out the National Car Rental cancellation policy to see if there are no-show fees attached to your reservation. Here’s what you need to know.
Cancellation Policy Overview
National Car Rental and its sister companies, Enterprise and Alamo, tend to offer more flexibility for cancellations than many other car rental companies. That’s because, in general, National does not offer prepaid reservations except in some locations. In most cases, if you rent from National you won’t be putting in any credit card information and can cancel your reservation without penalty.
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If you end up booking a prepaid reservation and later need to cancel, you’ll generally have to pay a cancellation fee. The terms will be disclosed at the time of booking.
Fee Breakdown
According to the National Car Rental cancellation policy, unless you prepay, you generally won’t have to worry about a cancellation fee.
Reservations without credit card: If you are booking a reservation without a credit card, you will not pay a cancellation fee on your National rental.
Prepaid reservations: National recently changed its cancellation policy for prepaid rentals, offering a no-fee cancellation policy for those bookings due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it’s best to call ahead to make sure this policy is still valid. Generally, National charges $100 if you prepaid and cancel less than 24 hours before the schedule pickup time. If you cancel at least a day ahead of the pickup time, the fee is $50.
Third-party reservations: If you book through a third party, you may end up paying a penalty if you have to change or cancel a booking. IBe sure to read the fine print before booking so you are aware of any potential charges.
How to Cancel Your Reservation
Go to National’s dedicated webpage to view, modify or cancel a booking. You’ll need to provide your first and last name plus the confirmation number. Members of National Emerald Club can log in with their password to display the reservation.
Once you’ve logged into the page showing the details of your reservation, click the “cancel” link. The page will ask you if you really want to cancel. Once you do, you’ll see a confirmation that the reservation is cancelled.
If you do not have your confirmation number handy, you can call National at 844-382-6875.
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You can also use this page to modify your pickup and dropoff dates instead of fully cancelling. If modifying the reservation after you have already picked up the vehicle, call the branch where you picked up the call to see if it’s possible to change the return time without a penalty.
In most cases, you will not have to pay any cancellation or no-show fee when renting a car at National, unless you find a prepaid option on the website. In that case, look closely at the cancellation policy when booking to avoid additional charges.
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