Customer Stories

A

Andre yoonUnited States

When I dropped off the car in New Orleans on around February 21 in the morning, I felt pretty relaxed. Return was smooth and the bill was clear. I suddenly remembered the moment when I made the booking and it felt kind of cool. At the start I was checking cars on QEEQ. I did not have much cash and I was still waiting for my pay day. I was also afraid the car would be gone if I waited. Then I saw a plan called One-Dollar Freeze. It said I only needed to pay 1 dollar first to lock the car and the rest would be charged automatically before the rental started. I thought to myself this is nice I can lock the car now and worry less later and I clicked confirm. When I booked it this way the pressure on my card was much lower. I did not need to pay the full amount at once so my credit card limit did not get hit with a big payment. Close to the pick up day I got a text that the rest of the money was already charged. I opened the bill and checked. The amount was correct and there was no extra interest or weird fee so I felt safe about it. When I arrived at New Orleans airport to pick up the car I just showed my documents and my booking info. The staff at the counter gave me the car pretty fast. In my head I kept thinking that if I did not have this 1 dollar lock option I might have waited and maybe not booked at all. With this whole experience I think this way of paying is really friendly for students or young people like me.

C

Chu Chek De BiasiUnited States

This trip to the US kind of started with a small one dollar story. I booked a car on QEEQ for my drive from San Diego to Los Angeles. I was still counting my money for flights and hotels and my credit card limit felt a bit tight. I was a bit worried about it. Then I saw a payment option called One-Dollar Freeze. It said I could pay only 1 dollar first to lock the car. In my head I was like is this real. Will they charge some extra money later. That night I sat at my computer and chose the car. It was a Hyundai Venue with Avis. Automatic, four doors and five seats. It looked good for my plan. I finally clicked the one dollar option. When the payment went through my phone only showed a message for a one dollar charge. I let out a breath and my little inner voice said nice I can keep more limit for flight tickets and hotels. For the next few days I almost forgot about this booking. I only remembered that I would arrive in San Diego around February 13 in the afternoon and pick up the car the next day. A bit before pickup I suddenly thought of it and opened my email to check. The booking was still there and I started to wonder when they would charge the rest. A little later I checked my credit card bill and saw the remaining rental amount already charged. The number was the same as I saw when I booked. No extra fees. That made me feel safe. As an overseas traveler I am most afraid of hidden charges and big holds on my card. With One-Dollar Freeze I only paid 1 dollar at the start. When they charged the rest there was no interest. The bill looked very clean. I even did some quick math in my head. If I had paid the full amount at the beginning I might feel more pressure when buying my flight. With this way it felt lighter. When I arrived at San Diego airport I went to the Avis counter with my booking info. The staff checked my booking number and my driver license and started the paperwork. They did not ask anything special about payment so I knew the system already did all that. In my mind I was glad I tried this one dollar thing. If I had paid a big amount at once before the trip I think I would feel more nervous. For me the most special part was this pay one dollar first and then auto charge later. It really lowered my money pressure before the trip. I did not need to remember a day to pay the rest by myself. I did not need to worry about strange interest or extra fees. My plan for the trip could be fixed first and I could sort out flights and hotels slowly. As someone driving in the US for the first time this feeling was pretty important. It made me less stressed before I even got on the plane.

S

Serene PassarettaCosta Rica

When I gave the keys back at the counter in San Jose airport, I was still thinking in my head that it was so nice that I only paid one dollar at the start. I returned the car a bit earlier than planned, maybe on the morning of February 21, and my trip budget felt kind of tight, so I was really glad my credit card was not hit hard on day one. I booked the car on QEEQ when I was planning my Costa Rica trip. I liked the Suzuki Jimny from Routes, a small manual SUV, which looked pretty fun for someone young like me. When I saw the total price for the whole rental from around the morning of February 14 to February 21, my first thought was that if they charged everything right away, my card might feel a bit heavy. Then I noticed an option called One-Dollar Freeze. It said I only needed to pay 1 dollar to lock the booking and the rest would be charged automatically before the pickup date, with no interest. I stared at the screen and talked to myself a little. I said “Really, just one dollar?” I felt it was kind of unreal, but also thought that even if it was only a test, 1 dollar was no big risk. So I clicked confirm. When the payment message came, it only showed 1 dollar, and I even opened my statement twice to check. I felt a bit amused and also relaxed, like I had reserved the car with just a tiny first step. In the days before the trip, I sometimes remembered this and started to count my other expenses. It felt good that I did not have to pay the full amount at once. My cash flow felt more free. One night I was chatting with a friend and he asked me if I had already paid everything for the rental car. I answered with a little pride that I only paid one buck and the rest would be charged by them later. He asked me if there would be any interest. I told him no, the info said it clearly. After I said that, I felt this way of payment really fit people like us who are still students or just started working. On the morning of February 14, when I went to pick up the car from Routes in San Jose, I was a bit nervous on the way. I was worried that maybe the rest of the payment did not go through. When I gave my name at the counter, the staff checked in the system and just started to prepare my paperwork. That was the moment I knew the payment was all fine and there were no strange extra charges. I felt relieved and thought to myself that it was good nothing weird happened. During the rental days I drove the Jimny around the city and nearby areas. Sometimes I thought about how I had locked this car with only one dollar in the beginning and I felt kind of proud. It was like I booked it early but my wallet did not get empty all at once. For me this way of paying only 1 dollar first and then letting the rest be charged automatically made the whole thing much less stressful, and I did not have to watch my bill all the time, so I could enjoy the drive more.

J

Jamie Canseco VallejoSpain

Do I really have to pay a big amount first just to book a car when I travel with my kid? This was the question in my head. On February 20th 2026 in the morning when I was at Lanzarote airport carrying my child and dragging our luggage to the Budget counter I felt that my choice before was very important. I just gave my ID and booking info to the staff and they handed me the key for the Volkswagen T Cross. Everything was smooth. At that moment I suddenly remembered that at the start of all this I had only paid 1 dollar. If I go back in time I was still at home when I chose the car on QEEQ. I wanted a car for the whole family. I travel with my kid and we have a lot of luggage so I needed something like a T Cross. It had enough space an automatic gear and four doors with five seats. I wanted it to be more comfortable. I was also counting the cost of flights and hotel at the same time and I kept thinking about my credit card. If I had to pay the full rental price at once would my credit card limit be almost full. We also had other family expenses during that time. I was not really relaxed about money. When I saw the One-Dollar Freeze option my first reaction was that maybe there was some trick. How can I book a car with just 1 dollar. I read the details again and again. Then I saw that the rest of the money would be charged automatically before the rental started and there was no interest. My worry about my credit card being under big pressure became much smaller. I felt that I only needed to lock this car first and I could plan the other costs later. That night I looked at my phone for a long time while my kid was next to me asking me to play. In my head I was still counting. How much did the flight cost. How much deposit would the hotel take. What if some other extra cost appears. In the end I chose the option where I only pay 1 dollar now. I thought that I could check my bill later. If I paid everything at once and then my plan changed it would be a lot of pressure. When the booking was confirmed I really only saw 1 dollar taken from my card. I almost did not believe it and I opened my bank app again to make sure. I checked that there was no big block or strange pre auth. During the next days I slowly finished planning other parts of the trip. I did not feel that stress where a big amount of money is stuck in the car booking. A few times I opened the order again and I thought that if I had paid full price at the start my card limit would already be very tight. Before the trip started they charged the rest of the rental fee just like it said. When I saw the charge I felt pretty calm because by then I had already paid flights and hotel and I had a clear idea of our cash flow. I was not in a panic like in the beginning. When we finally landed in Lanzarote my kid was already tired and a bit grumpy from the flight. I was tired too. If I had paid a big amount long before for the car I think my mood would be worse. At the Budget counter I only had to finish the normal process. I did not need to think things like I should have paid later or I should have chosen a cheaper car. When I picked up the car I fixed my kid’s car seat and saw that the trunk still had space for our luggage. I felt glad that I did not change to a smaller and cheaper car only because I was scared about money. While I drove out of the airport I understood that the thing that kept my mind most relaxed in this whole plan was that I only paid 1 dollar first. For a parent with a kid sometimes it is not about saving a huge amount of money. It is more about feeling that you still have room to move and your credit card is not pushed to the limit. For me this One-Dollar Freeze felt like a small breathing space. It gave me a way to fix the booking first and then slowly handle other bills in life. When I finally held the key of the Volkswagen T Cross I realized that this plan where I pay a little first and the rest is charged later made the whole trip preparation much easier.

P

Paige ChidseyU.S. Virgin Islands

I felt pretty relaxed when I booked this car because I used QEEQ. I was planning my trip to Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and my flight and hotel already took a lot of my money. When I saw I had to pay the full rental at once, I felt a bit stressed. Then I noticed the One-Dollar Freeze option. It said I could pay only 1 dollar first to lock the booking and pay the rest before the rental started. I suddenly felt much better. I was sitting at my desk making my budget. When I saw it showed only 1 dollar to confirm, I clicked book right away. In my head I kept thinking this is so friendly for my wallet. My credit card limit was already used a lot at that time, so paying just a tiny amount felt really safe for me. The rest of the money would be charged automatically closer to the pick up date. I did not have to worry that my card would be hit with a big payment all at once. I booked a Budget Toyota Yaris with automatic transmission. It is a small two door car with five seats. That is perfect for me because I do not have too much luggage. The plan was to pick up the car around February 16 at noon in Saint Thomas and then return it around February 21 at noon. After I booked, I got a confirmation email. I checked the total price and I knew I had only paid 1 dollar for now. The rest would be taken later. So I just focused on planning my island days and did not keep checking my credit card statement. A few days before my flight I suddenly remembered the car payment. Then I remembered they would charge it automatically so I did not panic. When I checked my credit card record I saw the charge went through close to the pick up date. The amount was the same as the price I saw at booking. There was no extra interest and no weird fees. I liked that a lot because I was afraid there might be some hidden cost. When I landed in Saint Thomas and walked out of the terminal with my suitcase, the air felt hot and the sky was super blue. I felt calm because the car was already fully paid and ready. I just needed to follow the signs and go to the Budget counter. For me the biggest feeling about this whole thing is that the booking moment did not feel tight at all. I could pay only 1 dollar first and lock the car. I could handle my other travel costs slowly. Later when it was close to my rental start, they took the rest from my card. There was no interest and the pressure on my credit card stayed low. As a visitor coming from the US this payment plan matched my pace really well and made me brave enough to book the car early.