One-Dollar FreezeI want to say first that this car booking felt much easier for me as a parent traveling with kids. I booked the car on QEEQ. I chose a Toyota Hiace in Bangkok so our family and all the bags could fit. When I think about paying a big amount at once I usually feel nervous because we have many family costs. This time I used One-Dollar Freeze. When I placed the booking I only paid 1 dollar. When I saw the small charge I felt so relaxed. It was like I could just lock the car first and worry less. That evening I was at the dining table using my phone to book. My kid was next to me asking me to play. I was trying to think about money and look at cars at the same time so my head was a bit messy. When I saw I could hold the car with only 1 dollar I booked it right away. I knew the rest would be charged automatically before the rental started and there was no interest so my credit card would not feel heavy all of a sudden. A few days before the trip I got a notice about the payment. I checked the amount and it was fine. I went back to packing and getting my kid’s stuff ready and did not worry about when to pay or if I would forget. On the day to pick up the car I reached the airport counter about half an hour later than I planned because I was busy with my kid. The car was ready and I only needed to handle the luggage and the child. I did not stand there thinking about money anymore. For me this way of paying only 1 dollar first is very friendly for families. I can secure the car early and then manage the rest of the cost more easily.
One-Dollar FreezeAt the start I felt pretty relaxed about this rental because I booked it on QEEQ. I had a business trip in Los Angeles and I needed the car from the morning of January 9 until around February 23. That is a long time and I thought my card limit would feel very tight if I had to pay everything at once. When I made the booking I saw the One-Dollar Freeze option and it said I only needed to pay 1 dollar first. I felt a big relief in my head. I thought to myself this is nice I can lock the car now and think about the rest later. I checked the price on the page and it really only took 1 dollar at the start. I even joked with my colleague and said I used just 1 dollar to hold a car for almost a whole month. A few days before the pick up date I checked my credit card bill. I saw that the rest of the money was taken automatically. The amount matched my booking. There were no extra strange fees and no interest or anything like that. It was just the normal charge. For a business trip like this I need to keep some budget for hotel food and some client costs. If the full rental price was charged to my card at the start my card limit would feel very tight. With only 1 dollar first and the rest charged later I could plan other spending more easily and I did not feel much pressure. On the morning I picked up the car at Los Angeles airport I went to the Dollar counter. The staff asked which card I wanted to use. I already knew the price very clearly so I just confirmed it. The whole thing felt simple and easy. I did not have that feeling that a big amount suddenly disappeared from my card. For someone like me who flies to the US often for work this payment style fits me very well.
One-Dollar Freeze"Did you really book the car with just one dollar?" My wife asked me in the kitchen. I was picking up toys with my kid and I said, "Yes, I booked it on QEEQ."
At first I did not really trust it. I could lock an Audi A5 in Frankfurt by paying only 1 dollar. My first question in my head was if they would charge more later. I also wondered if there would be any interest.
I asked myself again. Would my credit card get hit with a big charge at once. We already had tickets, hotel and daily costs for the kid on the card. I was worried. On the payment page it said very clear it was One-Dollar Freeze. They only take 1 dollar first. The rest is charged automatically before the pick up date and there is no interest. I thought for a few minutes and then clicked confirm.
A few days later I opened the booking again. The car was still there and all the info was the same. I asked myself what that 1 dollar really did. Then I felt that for a parent like me it gave me some safety. The car was booked but my credit card did not feel heavy yet.
Around mid February I checked my bill again. There were only a few days left before our pick up day in Frankfurt airport. The full payment was taken automatically. No extra fee and no strange charge. I asked my wife if this felt better than paying everything at once. She thought about it and said it made it easier to plan other costs.
Now when I think about it the biggest difference is that booking the car did not give me big stress. I could keep more cash ready for the kid and the card limit was still okay. I just remember when I clicked to pay that 1 dollar I had one thought in my mind. I just want to lock the car first and let the rest be charged later. One-Dollar Freeze feels pretty good for a family that travels with kids.
One-Dollar FreezeThe first thing on my mind was money. I was booking a car in Lisbon for my work trip and planned to pick it up around the evening of February 19. It was a Volkswagen T cross with manual gear from Waygo. For a business trip this was fine for me. I kept thinking about my company reimbursement and how it takes time. I did not want my credit card limit to be fully used at once. So what should I do.
I saw an option called One-Dollar Freeze and I got curious. Is it really only 1 dollar to lock the car. I checked the price again and again. I was worried there might be some extra interest or hidden cost. I still decided to try it and I paid that 1 dollar first. It felt like a small test and also like I was leaving some space for myself. If my plan changed I would not have a big amount frozen on my card.
A few days later I was planning my Lisbon schedule and I suddenly remembered the booking. I checked it again. The car was still there. The price was the same. My card did not get any strange charge. When it was close to February 21 when I would pick up the car the rest of the money was charged. Everything was smooth and the amount was the same as what I saw before. At that moment I was really glad I chose this option. The pressure on my credit card was much lower and I did not need to lock a big payment weeks before.
On the afternoon of February 23 when I was getting ready to return the car I thought about the whole thing. My worry when I made the booking and the relaxed feeling later were very different. For someone like me who travels for business a lot this way of paying only 1 dollar first and then being charged later is really helpful. It is simple to use. I just booked it waited for the trip and then picked up and returned the car as normal. I did not have to stress about the bill all the time.
One-Dollar FreezeIs it really safe to book a car with just 1 dollar first I asked myself this when I booked a car in Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. I used QEEQ to reserve a 7 seat Kia Sedona with Budget. I planned to use it with my friends from around noon on February 18 to around noon on February 23. When I saw the One-Dollar Freeze option my first thought was maybe there is some trick or extra fee later.
I checked the info more carefully. It said I only need to pay 1 dollar first to lock the car. The rest of the money would be charged automatically before the rental starts and there is no interest. I felt a bit nervous inside because I am still a student and my credit card limit is not very high. When I spend too much at one time I feel a lot of pressure. So this pay a little first and then auto charge later sounded very good to me.
I decided to try it and I paid the 1 dollar. When the payment went through I was a bit surprised. It was really just that small amount and there were no strange extra fees. In the next days I felt more relaxed. I did not need to pay the full rental amount right away. I felt like my card could still breathe.
One or two days before my trip to Saint Thomas I checked my statement. I saw that the rest of the rental fee had been charged automatically. The amount was the same as what I saw when I booked. There was no extra money taken. At that moment I felt pretty calm and kind of happy. I thought this payment way is really friendly for someone like me who has a small budget but still wants to lock in a car early. The whole process felt step by step. I did not have big pressure at one time and I did not have to worry about any interest showing up out of nowhere.
Dedicated customer serviceIf you ask me how I feel about this whole thing I would say I was a bit surprised. I always thought these rental platforms just reply slowly and push problems away. This time with the deposit and extra charges they actually followed my case quite closely. Why did I feel that way. Because at the start nothing went smooth at all. I will start from the result. Right now all my numbers match. The deposit is clear and the extra money I was charged has been paid back to me by them. So my mood is finally okay. So what happened before that. I booked the car online through QEEQ. In Fort Lauderdale I rented a Toyota RAV4 from U SAVE. It was in the middle of December. I picked up the car around noon on maybe December fourteenth and returned it a few days later around noon on maybe December seventeenth. At pickup the counter staff said they needed a deposit. I am used to that. But when I checked my credit card I saw a pre authorization for around one thousand dollars. My heart sank a bit but I told myself it should be released after a few days. Where was the real problem. When the rental company did the final bill they added some extra charges that I did not understand. There were some extra fees together and I clearly saw on the booking page that taxes and surcharges were already included. I asked myself one simple question. Why am I paying this money. So first I went to the rental counter and asked. What happened. They just said it was charged according to their rules and did not really explain. I checked the contract again. I could only confirm that I really used the car but the detailed items on the bill still did not make sense. So what could I do next. I had to contact their customer service team. From that moment the whole story changed for me. Did I need to repeat everything every time. No. The same person followed my case from start to finish. He knew very clearly which booking I had and what problems I met. Every time I started talking he could pick up from where we stopped last time. As a business traveler this gave me a lot of safety. So what about the extra money. I sent them photos of all my receipts and the contract and explained which charge I felt was not right. They told me they would talk with the rental company. I could not see how they talked in the background. But I could feel that when there was progress they would update me. Later they told me those extra fees actually should not be on me. They already paid that part back to me first. So they kind of took the hit before the rental company agreed. And the deposit. At the beginning when I saw one thousand dollars sitting on my card for a long time I was really nervous. I checked my credit card app every day and kept thinking what if they really take this money. I kept asking their customer service simple and direct questions. When will the deposit be released. Is there any chance the rental company will really charge it. They did not brush me off. They helped me check step by step and told me this was a pre authorization and not a real charge and that it would take some time to drop. They also kept pushing the rental company. What I could see was that every now and then they came back to tell me what stage it was at and if there was any new feedback. I did not just ask once or twice. I asked the same questions many times. Even I felt a bit annoying. But their attitude stayed calm and patient. There was no feeling like they were tired of me. For someone like me who travels and still has to deal with work having one person follow my case is much better than I try to guess everything alone. Did they fix every problem right away. No. Some things did take time. But for me the main point is that someone stayed with the case to the end. They did not just say please wait and then disappear. In the end the bill was corrected the extra money was paid back and the deposit status was explained clearly. When I think about it if I only had to face the rental company staff and all the English terms by myself I would be very frustrated. With this one on one style support it felt like I had a local coworker who knew the rules and watched the details for me. I just needed to give the documents and they handled the back and forth. My stress was much lower. For me the most valuable part of this experience was this continued follow up. It stopped me from worrying every day in a different country about hundreds or even a thousand dollars in deposit and strange charges. Some moments I did feel the progress was a bit slow but since they always replied and kept tracking it I still have a pretty good impression of them now.
