Price Drop ProtectorI发现这次帮我省钱其实是在看信用卡账单的时候。那天晚上我刚结束一个视频会议, 人还在准备去希腊出差的资料。我一边喝咖啡一边随手看账单, 突然发现租车的金额好像有点不一样。我第一反应是有点慌, 以为被多扣钱了。我就盯着那几行数字看了几遍, 结果发现多出来的那一笔不是扣款, 而是退款。那一刻我心里一下子就轻松了, 还挺惊讶的, 原来QEEQ真的帮我退了一部分钱。
这次行程是去雅典出差。我订了Budget的Toyota Aygo, 自动挡的小车, 四门四座。对我这种在市区跑来跑去开会的商务客来说已经够用了, 停车也不会太麻烦。大概在五月二十三号上午, 我人在办公室, 夹着笔记本电脑到处跑会议, 回邮件, 改方案, 头脑里都是时间表和客户名字。那时候我只想一件事, 就是先把车订好。我不想到了雅典机场才开始找车, 那样行程完全会乱掉。
订车的时候我想起同事之前跟我说过他们有一个服务, 叫 Price Drop Protector。意思就是如果后面价格降了, 系统会自动帮你换成更便宜的价格, 然后把差价退回来。我当时心里想, 反正又不用我多付钱, 多一个保护也不错, 就顺手选上了。点完确认, 付完钱, 我就继续去忙工作, 开会, 回电话, 根本没有心思再去盯那点价格。
后来我只记得自己计划是五月二十四号上午在雅典取车, 六月一号晚上还车, 其他的就没再想太多。直到那天我看到账单, 才发现中间原来价格真的降过一次。他们已经帮我自动换成更便宜的那一档, 然后把十一欧多一点退到我的卡里。那一瞬间我有点好笑, 想着如果没有这个服务, 我肯定完全不知道这次的价钱其实可以更低。
老实讲, 十一欧对整趟出差来说不是一个很大的数字, 但感觉很不一样。有点像突然多了一杯咖啡或者一顿简单午餐, 而且是你什么都没做就多出来的。我平时出差的时候, 时间被各种会和飞行打得很碎, 以前也试过为了找更便宜的价格, 每天去刷几次网站, 心里挺累的。现在这样就简单很多, 价格变了他们帮我调, 我只要记得哪天飞, 哪天取车就行。
我还挺在意一点, 就是他们退差价这件事没有弄得很复杂。不需要我去写长邮件申诉, 也不用截图证明哪里更便宜。对我来说, 少一个步骤就少一件麻烦事。我看到账单那会儿, 就有一种“哦, 好吧, 原来这次是真的在帮我省”的感觉。对一个经常拿着电脑在机场和会议室来回跑的人来说, 这种省心的感觉比省多少钱更打动我。
如果我没有开这个服务, 我百分之百不会抽时间回去查这辆车后面有没有降价。出差的时候, 精力都在客户和项目上, 不可能再花几个小时为了几欧去刷价格。现在我等于什么都没做, 却白省了一点钱, 这感觉其实挺不错的。以后再去欧洲别的国家出差, 需要订车的时候, 我应该还会继续用这个服务。对我来说, 有人帮我在后台盯着价格, 比收到一堆促销广告有用多了。每次出门在外, 能少操一件心, 行程就顺一点, 而这次就是这样默默帮我把预算压下来了一些。
Price Drop ProtectorI have to complain a bit first. I thought this car booking would just be another time where I only spend money and never save it. Then I ended up getting some money back for nothing and it felt kind of unreal. I was planning a trip to Athens with my kid. There were so many things to book. Flights and hotel and tickets. My head was really full. For the car I booked through QEEQ. I chose a car to pick up in Athens in early June around ten in the morning and return it the same day around nine at night. The schedule was tight so I only hoped there would be no problem with transport. When I first booked I picked a car that looked right for us and the price was ok. With a kid the budget is always tight. I did not think the price would go down later. I did not even think anyone would give me money back if it did. One day I was checking all my trip costs. I was looking at flights and hotel and I opened my email. I saw a mail from them. It said that my order used the Price Drop Protector service and they had rebooked my car with a lower price and sent the difference back to me. My first reaction was to doubt it. I thought maybe it was some ad mail. Then I looked at the number and it was a real refund. It was not a huge amount but as a parent every small saving helps. At least it is extra money for ice cream for my kid. The funny thing is I did nothing. I did not bargain. I did not watch the price every day. I did not even know the price had dropped. They noticed the cheaper price by themselves and rebooked it for me and kept my pick up and drop off time in Athens almost the same so my plan was not broken. In that moment I felt a small surprise. I was already stressed by all the costs of this trip with my child. When someone suddenly tells you that you can pay less it feels like you can finally breathe a bit. Before this I always felt this kind of price protection sounds a bit fake. Now I really tried it. I was just sitting there with my kid making trip plans and the money came back to me on its own. This time booking with them through QEEQ this little refund story really changed my mood for the whole trip. The sun in Athens is strong and things are not so cheap. When I can save some money without even moving I am really happy to have more small surprises like this.
Price Drop ProtectorCan you really book a car and still kind of earn some money back? I did not really believe that before, but this time with QEEQ and my Crete booking I changed my mind.
So how did it start? I was planning a trip to Crete in Greece at the end of the month and I booked a Citroen C3 Aircross with Lets Drive. It was automatic, 4 doors and 5 seats. I planned to pick it up around noon on the 26th and use it for a few days then return it. When I booked it the price looked fine to me and I just paid and felt okay.
What happened later? One day I was checking my email and I suddenly saw a new booking confirmation. It showed the same car and the same rental days but the price was lower than what I remembered. I thought maybe I read it wrong and I felt a bit confused.
I looked again and then I remembered that I chose a service called Price Drop Protector. The price went down after my first booking and they booked the same car again for me with the new lower price and gave me back the difference between the two bookings. I felt kind of excited at that moment and I thought it was nice that someone helped me save money.
I did a quick check and I saved about five or six euros. It is not a big number but it feels like a free coffee or a simple meal. It is like a small surprise that just appears. The best part is that I did nothing extra. I just made a normal booking and they watched the price for me.
I also compared the details of the two bookings. The rental company was still the same and the dates were still the days I chose. Only the total amount changed and went lower. That made me feel safe and also happy about the deal. Before this I was always scared to check prices again after I booked because I did not want to see a cheaper one. This time I kind of hoped the price would drop more.
For someone like me who is still very much like a student and needs to watch the budget this auto refund on price drops feels really friendly. It is like someone is quietly helping me take care of my wallet.
Price Drop ProtectorOn the day I returned the car, I was standing in the small parking lot at the Crete airport. The evening wind was a bit cool and I closed the door of the Volkswagen Polo. I asked myself one question in my head. Did I control the cost of this business trip well. The answer was kind of simple. I actually spent a little less than my first budget. Why did this happen. I had to think back a few days. I booked the car on QEEQ and my main idea was just to get a car on time. The price looked fine so I did not think too much. Then one day I was checking my email and I saw a notice. It said the price had changed. My first thought was that maybe the price went up. I opened it and read it slowly. It said the price went down and they already made a new booking for me with the lower price. I started to think more. What did I do for this change. I did nothing. The car was the same group. It was still a manual Volkswagen Polo type car. The time was almost the same. Only the price was lower and the difference would go back to me. I asked myself again. Is this like free money. For a business traveler it really feels like that. The money was not a huge amount but it went straight into my cost sheet. When I fill in my expense report the numbers look a bit better. I care about this because my company also checks if I try to control the trip cost. Then I asked what is the difference if I did it by myself. The difference is that I did not have to check prices every day. I did not cancel and rebook again and again. It was like someone was watching the price for me all the time. When the price dropped the system switched my booking and this is what Price Drop Protector felt like to me. On the evening before I returned the car I was driving along the sea back to the hotel. The sky was getting darker and the lights from the road looked soft. I asked myself one more question. If I come here again will I book in the same way. My own answer was yes because this kind of auto saving feels very useful for someone who travels for business a lot.
Price Drop ProtectorI will start with the result. Before I even fly to Athens, the rental price went down once by itself and I ended up saving some money. This was a bit of a surprise to me. I booked the car on QEEQ for my family. We plan to pick up the car at Athens airport in the evening around nine on a day in mid June and return it four days later around eleven in the morning. The car is an Opel Crossland from Avance with automatic gear. I chose it because I will have kids and luggage and I want a car with more space and easy to drive. When I booked it, I already felt the price was okay. My main idea was to lock in a car early. When you travel with kids, the worst thing is to find out near the trip that there is no good car left, so I placed the order quite early.
While booking I saw a service called Price Drop Protector. It said that if the price goes down later they will change the booking to the lower price and give the difference back to me. At that time I did not expect too much. I thought it sounds nice in words but maybe it is hard to really use in real life. Still it did not cost me extra money so I just chose it and moved on. I did not think about it again.
A few days later I was at home working on my trip plan. I checked the route from the airport to the city by car and I searched for gas stations and parking in Athens. Then I opened my email to see if there was any new message. I saw an email that said my old order was changed to a new one with a lower price and I got back about nine dollars. At first I was confused. I thought maybe I made some mistake and created another order or maybe there was some problem with the rental company. Then I looked more carefully at the amount and the dates and I realized it was the Price Drop Protector working. The system basically helped me rebook the same car with a cheaper price and returned the price difference to me. I did nothing extra and I did not need to talk with customer service. The money was already counted and the order was still confirmed.
For a parent traveling with kids this small amount of money will not change the whole trip, but it feels like I picked up some extra travel money on the road. In my original budget this money would be gone. Now it comes back to me and I can use it in Athens to buy my kid a small souvenir or choose a better rated restaurant in the city for a more relaxed dinner. Even more important is that I did not have to watch the price every day and compare sites and rental companies again and again to save this little bit. I am already busy with work and kids and I really do not want to spend my time on this. Now I see that they watch the price for me and when it drops they just handle it. I only need to remember to go to the airport in mid June at night and pick up my car.
I also checked both the old and new orders. The car is still the same group Opel Crossland. The times are the same. Pick up is still at Athens airport. I return it four days later in the morning. It did not change into some strange car or a far away location because of the lower price. This is very important for me. With kids and luggage I really do not want to travel far from the airport just to save a few dollars. From what I see someone on their side found a cheaper option for the same thing without asking me to give up comfort and then they passed the benefit to me. For a parent like me this is quite friendly. I just need to take care of my kids and set the basic times. Some small money saving steps can be handled by them. During this whole thing I did not make one phone call and I did not send any email to complain. The price change started and ended by itself and I simply spent less money.
Price Drop ProtectorThat night I was working late in the office. It was already dark outside and my desk was full of papers and a cold coffee. I was checking emails and using my phone at the same time. I needed to fix my business trip to Athens in Greece. Because it was a work trip my time was very tight so I just wanted to finish the car booking fast. I booked the car on QEEQ. I picked the car group I wanted and set the times. I planned to pick up the car at Athens airport on May 6 in the afternoon around three and return it on May 11 in the afternoon around two. The price looked okay for a business trip so I just paid and confirmed. After I booked it I did not think about it anymore. My head was full of meetings and clients. A bit later my phone showed a new email about my booking. I thought there was a problem and I got a bit nervous. I opened it right away. When I read it I was actually surprised. The email was about Price Drop Protector. It said the price for the same rental went down and they had already changed my booking to the cheaper price and would send the difference back to me. The email showed the new order number and also the old price and the new price. I saved around 5 euro. The amount was not very big but for someone like me who travels for work all the time it felt like I just earned an extra coffee for free. The funny thing is I had no time to check prices again by myself. Without this Price Drop Protector I would never know the price dropped later. I did not need to do anything. I did not need to cancel or book again. They kept the same car group and the same pick up and drop off times. Only the price became a bit lower in a quiet way. I sat in front of my computer and read the email twice. I felt this feature was really made for business people like me. When I book flights hotels and cars I always have the same worry. If I book too early the price is high. If I wait the seats or cars may be gone. That day I booked the car when my brain was already tired and I just wanted to finish it. I thought I might be paying a bit more but at least it was done. Later the price went down and I still got some money back. It really felt like I got free money for doing nothing. The amount was only a few euro but this kind of saving with no effort felt pretty nice. I did not even study this service before. I only saw the option for Price Drop Protector and thought it might be useful so I added it. I did not expect it to really work. Later when I checked my bank record I could see the refund of the price difference. The number was small but it gave me a very good feeling about this booking. I work a lot with budgets so I am very sensitive to these numbers. Small savings add up and they are also part of cost control. My coworker asked me how much I spent on the car in Athens. I told him the original price and also said the price got cheaper later and I got some money back. He thought I called someone and negotiated a discount. The truth is I did nothing. I just picked Price Drop Protector when I booked. For someone who runs from project to project like me this kind of easy and automatic saving is rare. When I finally turned off my computer and left the office that night I thought about this again and felt that booking with QEEQ this time was really worth it especially because I felt they were helping me save money without making things complicated.
