Customer Stories

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Alexander MereckaUnited States

My name is Alexander and before this Long Beach trip I was quite stressed about money. Flights and hotel were already a lot and I still needed to rent a Jeep Compass. I kept doing math in my head and it did not feel good. Then I saw the One-Dollar Freeze option on QEEQ. It said I only needed to pay 1 dollar first to lock the car. I thought to myself this looks pretty cool and I wanted to try. When I made the booking and saw the prepay amount was really 1 dollar I checked the page a few times. I was a bit worried there might be some hidden cost. I still clicked confirm in the end. At that moment I felt much more relaxed. I did not have to put the full amount on my credit card right away and that felt lighter in my mind. I kept an eye on my card before the trip. Some days before pickup I saw the rest of the money charged automatically. It looked normal and there were no strange extra fees. That part made me feel safe because the plan worked just like I expected. When I arrived in Long Beach around mid May I went to the Thrifty counter to get the car. I was pretty calm because the payment was already done before. I just showed my documents and booking info and then got the keys for the Jeep Compass. I remember thinking that it was really nice that I could lock this car earlier with just 1 dollar. If I had needed to pay the full amount at the start I might have kept thinking about it and maybe delayed the booking. For me as an overseas traveler this kind of payment plan feels very friendly. The thing I like most is the low pressure at the beginning. I do not need to pay a big amount right away so my mind feels more relaxed.

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Fady JEANNERETUnited States

I还记得是在计划去 Hilton Head 的时候开始的。那天我坐在家里，一边看地图一边算钱。机票在那边闪，酒店在那边跳，油费和吃饭的钱在脑子里打架。我还想租一辆像 Chrysler Pacifica 这样的七座车，带家人一起去海边玩，心里有点紧又有点兴奋。然后我在 QEEQ 上看到一个选项叫 One-Dollar Freeze。页面上写着只要先付一美元就可以把车锁住，剩下的钱会在租车开始前自动扣。我盯着这个数字看了很久，一美元，感觉就像买瓶水的价钱。我有点不太敢信，怕后面会突然来一堆乱七八糟的费用。手停在鼠标那儿，心里在想我要不要先试试。最后我还是点了确认。只付一美元的那一刻，我真的松了一口气。我的卡上没有突然出去一大笔钱，我还可以继续订机票、看酒店，不用担心额度马上就顶到头。画面一下子跳到五月，离出发只有几天。我打开账号，再次确认订单。上面写着 Budget，车型是 Chrysler Pacifica 自动挡，四门七座，取车地点是美国 Hilton Head，取车时间是 5 月 15 日下午两点左右，还车时间是 5 月 21 日中午一点。我看着这些信息，心里很安稳，好像这次行程真的被我抓在手里。我还是有一点点担心扣款的问题，会不会突然多扣钱或者扣早了。后来我检查信用卡账单，发现只在一开始扣了一美元，过了一阵子，在接近出发的时候才扣剩下的金额，而且数字就是我当时看到的报价。中间没有乱七八糟的费用，也没有多扣。对我这种从加拿大飞去美国玩的海外游客来说，这样的付款方式真的压力小很多。我不需要一下子把大笔钱压在卡上，也不会影响我安排其他项目。到了 Hilton Head 那天，阳光很刺眼，空气里有一点海水味。我拖着行李走到 Budget 柜台，心里还是有一点点紧张，想看看现场会不会有什么差错。工作人员查了我的预订，说已经付好了，只要再刷一下卡做押金就行。当他说一切都正常的时候，我心里的那块石头就掉下去了。我感觉整趟行程的预算都还在我计划里，车子、房间、机票都没有因为提前付款出问题。开上那辆 Pacifica 的时候，车里空间很大，坐七个人也不挤，行李也能塞好。我在路上开着车，看着旁边的树和阳光，会突然想到一开始只用一美元就把这辆车“拿下”的那一刻，心里有点偷偷高兴，感觉自己这次安排得挺聪明。到还车那天，大概是 5 月 21 日中午一点左右，我把车开回 Hilton Head 的还车点，检查油表和车身，把钥匙交给柜台。后来我对着账单看，没有奇怪的费用跳出来，全程都在我预期里。在这次租车经历里，我印象最深的不是车有多新，而是那个一美元的下单方式。对我来说，这种安排让我可以先把行程定下来，又不用马上扛起很重的金钱压力。

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Divya LeeCayman Islands

"You are going to Cayman Islands alone?" My friend stared at me on video call when I was looking at cars on my laptop. The booking page from QEEQ was open. I laughed and said, "Yeah, but my budget is really tight now. I just paid for my flight and my card feels a bit heavy." It was a few days before mid May. I planned to reach George Town around the 14th and then pick up the car the next day in the afternoon on the 15th. I was traveling alone. I was not so scared of getting lost. I was more scared that I would lock too much money in bookings before I even left home. When many bills pop up at the same time, it makes me nervous. I kept staring at this Europcar Hyundai Creta. It was automatic, four doors, five seats. It looked perfect for driving slowly around the island by myself. I was thinking if I should pay everything at once. I was worried I might need the money for something else. While I was still thinking, I noticed an option called One-Dollar Freeze. I clicked it to read. The idea was very simple. I only needed to pay 1 dollar first to hold the car. The rest would be charged automatically before the rental started and there was no interest. In my head it felt like someone pressed a pause button for me. I did not need to push a big amount of money at once and I could still lock in the car. That moment I felt very relaxed. It was like someone told me, "You can save your spot first." I clicked confirm and only paid that 1 dollar. When my phone showed the charge, I checked it again. It really was just 1 dollar. I felt a small sense of victory. It felt like I found a friendlier way for my student style budget. In the next days I planned my trip and did other things. One time I suddenly remembered that I had not paid the full rental yet. I got a bit worried and opened my email and booking page. I saw that my order was confirmed and the car was still there for me. I read the payment note again. It reminded me that the rest would be charged automatically before the start date. I felt calm again. Soon it was the week I flew to Cayman Islands. I arrived around the 14th and went to the Europcar counter in George Town in the afternoon on the 15th around two. Before I left my hotel, I checked my card bill on my phone. I saw that the remaining amount was already charged some time before. The number looked correct. There was no extra or strange fee. I felt safe about it. When I walked to the pick up spot in George Town, the sun was very bright and I could smell the ocean in the air. I pulled my suitcase to the Europcar counter and showed the staff my booking. They found my order quickly and told me the car was ready. Inside I thought, "Wow, that was so smooth," because the payment part before had been so easy that I almost forgot about it. The staff took me to see the Hyundai Creta. The car looked clean from the outside. When I opened the door there was a light new car smell. I sat in the driver seat, tried the seat and the mirrors, and started the engine. A thought came to my mind. If there was no way to book it with just 1 dollar at the start, I might have waited much longer to book, or picked a cheaper car that did not really fit my plan. On this trip, the part I remember the most is not how the car drove. It is the feeling when I placed the order. My bank card felt very tight at that time. Because I only had to pay 1 dollar first, I did not panic. I could wait for my salary and other bills to clear and then let the system charge the rest. There was no interest and no pressure to pay everything all at once. During my days driving on the island, I almost did not think about money. Near the end of the rental, on the 22nd in the late morning, I drove the car back to the return spot in George Town. The staff checked the car, asked me to sign, and that was it. I stood next to the parking lot and watched them drive the Creta away. In my head I saw again the moment when I locked that car with just 1 dollar. If there was no such payment plan, I think I would have spent a long time fighting with numbers, closing and reopening the browser again and again. Now when I look back, this way was like breaking a heavy stone into smaller pieces. I could focus on preparing my trip instead of staring at my card limit all the time. For someone like me who travels alone and has a tight budget, using One-Dollar Freeze felt special. There was nothing complicated. I just remember clicking a few times and it was done. The whole thing showed me that booking a car can be light and simple and I do not always have to carry all the pressure at the first moment.

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Marinela BrunUnited States

I want to start with how I felt. When I used QEEQ on my phone to book the car, I suddenly felt much more relaxed, because I saw an option called One-Dollar Freeze. I was taking my kids from Nashville to Orlando and the whole plan already cost a lot of money. I really did not want my card limit to get hit by the full rental fee at the start. That night my kids were doing homework next to me while I was choosing the car on my phone. The page showed that I only needed to pay 1 dollar first to lock the car and the rest would be charged automatically before the pickup date. I looked at the numbers again and again because I was afraid I read it wrong. In my mind I kept thinking that this way my credit card pressure was much lower, because I still needed my limit for flights and hotels. I chose the car in Nashville and the pickup date was around May 15 at noon, a bit earlier than the final trip plan. At that time I only paid that 1 dollar. After the payment went through I got a confirmation email. I felt that at least the car part of the trip was safe. Many weeks passed and I almost forgot about it. When it was close to the travel date, I checked the booking again and saw that the payment was ready to be charged. I did not worry at all. There were no strange fees and no one asked me to pay more in advance. Everything was simple, just like the first description I saw. When I arrived in Nashville with my kids, we went to the Avis counter. The staff checked my details and my card went through normally. There was no problem just because I only paid 1 dollar at the start. At that moment I felt happy that I did not pay all the money at once and I did not feel nervous about that amount during the past weeks. When we dropped off the car in Orlando, I realized that this way of paying only 1 dollar first and then being charged later is very good for parents like me who travel with kids and have to plan many costs. For me the whole payment experience was simple. First I booked the car easily. Then the rest of the money was taken automatically when the time came. I just needed to show up to pick up the car and return it. There were no surprises. For me this was more relaxing than any other car rental I had before.

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YUAN BenallyItaly

I want to start with the moment I was most nervous. When I was in Naples returning the car, I stood next to the Jeep and a thought just hit me. If the full rental fee had been charged at the start, my budget for this trip with my kid might be totally broken. Then I remembered that for this trip I used QEEQ One-Dollar Freeze. The booking was made a few weeks before. That night my kid was next to me asking me to play, and I was checking the plan from Rome to Naples on my phone. I saw a Jeep Avenger with automatic gear. The space looked good and it had enough doors. I felt it was nice for a family with a child and luggage. But my card had just been used for other travel costs that week. To be honest I felt a lot of pressure. In my head I was doing the math again and again and I was worried my limit would not be enough. Then I saw the payment part that said I only needed to pay 1 dollar first to lock the car. My first reaction was to not really believe it. In my mind I was like maybe there will be some hidden fee later. It said the rest of the money would be charged automatically before pickup and there was no interest. I thought about it for a while. It was only 1 dollar so even if something went wrong it was not a big loss. I clicked confirm and my phone only showed a charge of 1 dollar. At that moment I really felt relaxed and I said to myself at least my card can still breathe for a few days. Before the trip started, I had to pay for my kid’s ticket and hotel deposits and many other things. Then I really felt how helpful it was to only freeze 1 dollar at the start. If the full rental fee had been taken at once, I think I would need to cut some plans. With this way, the big payment was only taken close to the pickup time in Rome. I could plan for it and I even checked the bill again. The amount was the same as the price I saw before and there were no strange extra fees. When I went to the Europcar counter in Rome to get the car, holding my kid and our bags, I felt quite calm. The main payment was already handled so I did not need to worry about my card at the desk. The staff checked my info and it was smooth. They did not ask me to pay anything extra. It was just normal papers and then I could drive away. On the road my kid fell asleep in the back seat and I thought if there was no 1 dollar booking way I might keep worrying about money and maybe choose a smaller car. When I parked the car in Naples and walked to the counter, I remembered that night when I made the booking. I felt that clicking confirm was a very good choice. As a parent who travels with a child and has many costs, this way of paying only 1 dollar first and having much less pressure on my credit card fits me very well. It made the whole booking with them feel a lot easier for me.