Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.
National Car Rental, the premier car rental brand for frequent airport travelers, is offering complimentary Emerald Club (pop-up) Lounges at select U.S. airports, including Denver (DEN), San Jose (SJC), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), St. Louis (STL), Oakland (OAK) and Houston (IAH). All airports were selected based on the percentage of passengers who travel for business.
National named the lounges after its Emerald Club loyalty program– which expedites the rental process by offering counter bypass as well as 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-sized car. They developed the Emerald Club Lounge to provide a convenient place at the airport where travelers can relax and recharge.
These pop-up lounges are featured post security in one terminal per airport and are open 24/7 with a National staff member on duty from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The pop-up Emerald Club Lounge that I visited at IAH is located past security near gate A1.
The pop-up lounge is out in the open and available to the public so you don’t need a special membership with National to get access. We visited the lounge before heading out to begin our month-long, round-the-world trip and thought the lounge was a well-placed and equipped pop-up lounge perfect for anybody looking for a free place to relax and charge up their electronics.
The Emerald Club Lounge offers free Wi-Fi, charging stations and access to tablets and TVs to check flight status and get the latest sports, weather and news updates.
In addition, you can also get information about the National app, watch National’s new TV commercials featuring actor Patrick Warburton and enroll in National’s award-winning Emerald Club loyalty program.
There are also some games that you can try out if you’re looking to pass the time (I gave the football game a try but wasn’t very good).
The staff member attending the lounge during our visit was very friendly and made sure we knew all about the different features of the lounge, such as the Wi-Fi and how the tablets worked. I took some time to relax in one of their reclining chairs and found it quite comfy. If you’re not interested in the reclining seats there are also a handful of stools that you can utilize (with chargers nearby).
Final word on the Emerald Club Lounge
Overall, the Emerald Club Lounge is a not a full-service lounge that will provide you with showers, alcohol, and food. However, it’s still a great place to relax and charge up your devices without having to worry about paying for a membership to enter a lounge.
- You can click here to register for Emerald Club.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
Are these even still around? I saw one of these back in December, probably earlier, in ORD. Pretty sure it’s since disappeared. To call it a lounge is kind of a stretch. It’s an immersive and interactive advertisement for the brand, that gives you a place to sit down, but is still in the open airport next to boarding gates.