When I think about this car rental in the US, the first picture in my head is me walking out of Fort Lauderdale after I returned the car, pulling my suitcase and feeling really relaxed. I kept thinking how I only paid 1 dollar when I first booked the car. In my mind I was like, so this is actually real. Later I learned this was their One-Dollar Freeze service. A few days before that, around March 17, I was at home in Great Britain, planning my trip in front of my laptop. The total cost of the trip already felt a bit high. I was a little stressed and kept checking prices again and again, afraid the car would get more expensive if I waited. My credit card limit was already hit hard by flights and hotels. In my head I kept saying, it would be great if I can still rent a car, but paying a big amount in one go would be a lot of pressure. On QEEQ I chose a car from Avis, a Toyota Camry with automatic gear and four doors for five people. It looked perfect for driving in the US. When I was about to pay, I saw a line that said I could use One-Dollar Freeze and only pay 1 dollar first. I froze for a second and thought I read it wrong. I read the note again and again and saw that the rest would be charged automatically before the pickup and there was no interest. In that moment I really felt a big relief. I thought to myself that I should just try it, since I only needed 1 dollar to lock the car. When I clicked confirm, I also checked my credit card bill on another tab and did some quick math in my head. I felt I could still handle it. When I saw the bank record and it really only charged 1 dollar, I was kind of shocked in a good way. I even took a screenshot and sent it to my friend and said I just booked a car with 1 dollar. For a traveler like me with a student style and a tight budget, it felt like I had secured something very important but my wallet did not get hit all at once. On the night of March 18, I received a payment alert and saw that the rest of the money was charged automatically. It was just one day before I went to Naples to pick up the car, and I was packing my luggage at that time. When I saw the payment, I actually felt calm, because I knew the car was really confirmed for me. During those days before the trip, I did not need to worry about my credit card limit getting locked up all at once. I did not need to do anything extra. I just waited and they charged the card by themselves. I only needed to keep an eye on my bill. On March 20 around one thirty in the afternoon, I went to the counter in Naples to pick up the car. The staff checked my booking and I showed them my number. Since the payment was already done before, I just needed to finish some basic details and it was pretty quick. While I was standing at the counter, I remembered that moment when I only paid 1 dollar and I felt a little proud. It felt like I made a smart move this time. For me the most important part is that there was no interest. I did not need to worry about paying extra like when you do installments. The money was just paid at a different time. I used 1 dollar to hold the car first and bought myself some time to manage my budget. Then I paid the rest before the trip started. For someone like me who needs to count every pound and every dollar carefully, this was very friendly. When I finally returned the car in Fort Lauderdale, my bill was clear and I did not see any strange extra charge. Looking back, from paying only 1 dollar, to the automatic payment, to driving and returning the car, this payment plan made the whole preparation much easier. My credit card pressure stayed low, which really helped me as an overseas visitor traveling in the US.
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