Estate planning as a Emerald Club account holder

National Car Rental Emerald Club is the loyalty program for National Car Rental. Its reward is not a points currency: members earn rental credits (one per eligible rental of up to seven consecutive days), and a set number of credits converts automatically into a "Free Day" — a credit good for the time-and-mileage rate of one rental day, with taxes, fees and optional products still payable. The number of credits needed depends on membership tier: seven for Emerald Club, six for Emerald Club Executive, five for Emerald Club Executive Elite. Free Days are held in the member's Profile rather than issued as certificates. For US members the program is administered under contract with EAN Services, LLC of St. Louis, Missouri, and the National site carries an Enterprise Holdings, Inc. copyright. The 2026 Emerald Club Program Rules and Conditions state that rental credits and Free Days do not constitute property of a member, and on termination of membership they are forfeited and the Profile is dissolved; the agreement contains no deceased-member provision.

Under Emerald Club's terms, free days are not property of the account holder and are forfeited when the account closes at death. No estate planning document—will, trust, or otherwise—can override this forfeiture.

During their lifetime, Emerald Club members can transfer free days to other program members for a fee. This provides a straightforward way to share accumulated value.

What happens at death

The Emerald Club Program Rules and Conditions contain no deceased-member clause. What governs instead is the non-property classification plus the termination rules. Section B.5.2 states that "Free Days earned by a Member do not constitute property of such Member and cannot be redeemed for cash or other value at any time including upon termination of Membership," Section B.5.1 says the same of rental credits, and Section B.6.3 (Additional Restrictions) repeats it for the program as a whole: "Any rewards or other accrued benefits earned hereunder, including Rental credits and Free Days, do not constitute property of a Member and cannot be redeemed for cash or other value." Section B.3.5 provides that on termination of membership, all rental credits and Free Days (whether earned or received by transfer) are forfeited and cease to be valid, the member can no longer redeem them, and the member's Profile is dissolved and is no longer accessible. There is no published estate transfer route and no published claims process, so anything a survivor receives is a discretionary courtesy rather than a documented entitlement.

Frequently asked questions