What National Emerald Club unlocks

National Emerald Club status opens doors to four other car rental programs, most of them a single match away. Executive Elite converts directly into both Avis President's Club and Hertz President's Circle: the Avis match just needs proof emailed to Avis's status-match address and stays valid for about a year, while the Hertz match is free but capped at once every five years, with the resulting status running through December 31 of the second calendar year after you're approved.

Even the lower Executive tier is enough to match into Sixt Platinum, and once that status activates it never expires — it just upgrades over the first year before settling into a normal renewal cycle. The Hertz match also serves as the on-ramp to Enterprise: once you're holding Hertz President's Circle, Enterprise will match that into Enterprise Plus Platinum in the US and Canada if you upload a current Hertz statement or card, though keeping Platinum after that takes 24 rentals or 85 rental days a year.

Of the four, the Hertz and Avis matches are the fastest wins since they need nothing but proof of your existing National status. The Sixt route is worth taking too, given National's own Executive tier already covers it. The Enterprise route is really a second step off the Hertz match rather than its own shortcut — worth doing only if you're already claiming Hertz.