AXA Full CoverageThat trip to Switzerland started pretty smooth for me. I booked a car in Zurich through QEEQ and picked it up around the morning of May 24, 2026 at the Budget counter. The car was a Skoda Scala with automatic gear and four doors. It felt easy to drive and I was pretty excited. When I booked it I also added AXA Full Coverage. I just thought it might be safer. I did not really think I would use it.
On the first day when I drove out of Zurich, the weather was great. There were mountains and a lake on the side of the road and I felt very relaxed. After two days, I was driving in a narrow street in the city. I was trying to reverse and I did not notice a pole behind the car. I heard a short hard sound and my heart jumped. I got out and checked. The back bumper had a clear scratch and a small dent. It was not super huge damage but it was very obvious and I knew I could not escape a fee.
On the return day, around the morning of May 27, I drove the car back to the Budget office in Zurich. I was quite nervous. The staff at the counter checked the car very carefully. They took many photos of the scratch and told me there would be a pretty high damage charge. When I saw the amount I was shocked. For a young person like me it was a lot of money. My first thought in my head was that I was really lucky that I bought AXA Full Coverage. If not, this would break my travel budget.
After I went back to my place, I contacted their customer support. I told them what happened and sent the damage invoice from Budget and also the photos I took of the car. I was a bit worried they might delay things or ask for many complicated papers. The experience was not like that. The person from support explained in a simple way what they needed. I just collected the files and sent them. They kept telling me they would follow up with the insurance company and with the rental company.
At one point they asked me if I could receive the payment in US dollars. I wrote back and said it was fine. The feeling was quite relaxed. It was just a normal confirmation. I thought I might need to wait for a long time for the result. But after a not very long time they told me that the insurance had already approved my claim. The amount was 940.51 US dollars. When I saw that number I finally felt calm again. It meant the big damage fee that Budget charged me could be covered by AXA Full Coverage.
After that I just waited for the money from the insurance company. My feelings changed a lot from being scared by the scratch at first to feeling that buying this coverage really saved me. During the whole thing the clear point for me was that I did not need to fight with the rental company and the insurance company by myself. They stayed in the middle and kept tracking it. I only had to send photos and documents. For a young person renting a car alone in Europe for the first time this kind of backup gave me a lot of confidence.
Price Drop ProtectorI was booking a car on QEEQ for my family and my head was full of kids stuff and luggage and car seats. I can still see the scene. I sat on the sofa in the living room. Travel papers were on the table. On my phone I was looking at a Volvo XC90 that we would use in Zurich. I only wanted a big and safe car. We planned to pick it up around midday on July 17 and drop it off in Zurich in the evening a few days later. The plan already made me tired. I was also counting money in my head. Switzerland is not cheap. I told my husband, "If the car price goes higher, we will break the budget." He just laughed and said I think too much.
A few days later I was checking my bank app. I suddenly saw a refund. The amount was not small. My first thought was, "What is this? Did the card charge go wrong?" I asked my husband, "Did you return something?" He said no. I went to my email and saw a message from them. It said that because I had Price Drop Protector, the price for the same car became lower and they made a new booking with the cheaper price and sent the difference back to me. Then I remembered that when I booked, I saw this service. To be honest, I just turned it on and did not think about it again.
I showed the email to my husband and said, "Look, we did nothing and we saved this money." He looked and said, "This feels like free money." My kid was next to us and did not really understand. He only asked, "Can we buy one more ice cream then?" I felt it was funny and also a small surprise. I did not know money could come back by itself like that.
If I think back to the booking day, I was a bit nervous. I had to choose the right car and I was afraid the price would change. I even talked with customer service for a bit to make sure my booking was fine. They told me the booking was confirmed and I felt calm. I did not expect that when the price went down, they would not even ask me what to do. They just fixed it and sent the price difference back. I only got the notice later. It felt like someone was watching the price for me all the time, so I did not need to check every day.
I am not good at playing with price tricks and things like that. I am already very busy with the kids. After I booked the car I just forgot about it. When I saw the refund, I saw the picture in my head of that car in Zurich and my two kids in the back seat making noise. I felt like we were taken care of a bit. The money we saved is not huge, but for a family with kids it is still nice. With that money we can have a better dinner or buy some extra tickets for the kids.
I also thought about myself on the sofa that day when I worried about the price going up. I had to laugh. They already thought about this problem for me. Using Price Drop Protector this time was like getting extra travel money without doing anything, and for a mom who must think about many small details, that really helps.
One-Dollar FreezeDo you know that feeling when you really want to lock in a car but you do not want a big charge on your credit card at once? That was me when I booked my car in Basel, Switzerland. I was at home at my desk, checking cars on QEEQ on my laptop. I finally chose a Volkswagen Polo in Basel. It was automatic with four doors. It looked perfect for driving in European cities. I stared at the screen and thought to myself, should I pay the full amount right now? My card limit was a bit tight and I still had other travel plans to pay for.
Then I saw an option called One-Dollar Freeze. It said 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. My mind relaxed right away. It felt like someone next to me was saying, you can calm down and just reserve the car first. I checked the info a few times to make sure there were no hidden fees. When I was sure, I chose this plan. On the payment page it only showed 1 dollar. I actually smiled and said to myself, so booking a car can be this easy.
I set my pick up time to around nine in the morning on June 9 at the Europcar counter in Basel. That morning the air was cool. I pulled my suitcase and walked into the office near the parking lot. I showed the counter staff my confirmation. He checked my name and booking details. Everything went smoothly. There was no pressure to buy extra stuff. In my head I was thinking, good thing I only paid 1 dollar at the start. My card still had a lot of space. Some days before this I had already seen the normal charge on my credit card. There were no extra or strange fees, so I was not worried at all when I reached the counter.
They gave me the key and told me to find the Polo in the parking lot. The sun was shining on the rows of cars while I walked over. It felt like the start of a new little adventure. The car was automatic and not big. The color was simple. I walked around it once. It looked clean and well kept. When I sat in the driver seat I suddenly thought that if I had needed to pay everything at once when I booked, I might have kept thinking about it for days and maybe even delayed the booking.
I planned my return time for around six in the evening on June 9 at the same place in Basel. I parked the car and went back to the counter. The staff checked the fuel and the outside of the car and said it was all good. I did a little money check in my head. The trip was over but my credit card did not feel like it was hit by a big one time bill. Because the payment was taken automatically some days before, the return day was just about giving back the car and not about money stress. My mood was very calm.
The moment that stayed strongest in my mind was still the first time I used One-Dollar Freeze. That feeling of paying just a small amount to secure the booking was very friendly for an overseas traveler like me. I had flights, hotels and other transport to plan in different countries. If every single thing needed full payment at once, the pressure would be huge. This way it was like they held the car for me first then slowly took the rest from my card so I could use my money for other things at the start.
When I pulled my suitcase away from the Europcar location I was already thinking that next time I go to another city and need a car I will probably look for the same one dollar type plan first. For me it is not only about saving money. It is more about how relaxed I feel when I plan everything. The whole booking experience felt lighter and it gave me more courage to fix my plans early.
AXA Full CoverageI have to complain first. If I did not buy AXA Full Coverage this rental in Zurich would scare me away from self drive trips for a long time. The story ended okay but I was really stressed in the middle. I booked the car on QEEQ. I picked up the car around the evening of May 15 in Zurich. It was a Mercedes Benz Vito from Hertz. I was on a business trip with several people and a lot of luggage. So I decided to take stronger insurance and I added AXA Full Coverage. I just thought I pay more and feel safe. I did not know I would use it so soon. The damage happened one or two days before return. I saw a scratch above the right back wheel. I froze when I saw it. My first thought was that I was in trouble. I kept thinking this will cost a lot of money. I stood by the car and in my head I was changing Swiss francs into Korean won and it felt really painful. At return the Hertz staff checked the car very carefully. They saw the scratch and started to write a report. Then they gave me a bill with repair cost and also a big administration fee. I only had one question in my mind. Do I need to pay all of this by myself. Back at my place I remembered I had AXA Full Coverage. So can I claim this. I went through my documents one by one. I prepared the contract the final invoice the damage report and photos. I was on a business schedule and it was tight but I still sat down and filled in all the information slowly because I was afraid a small mistake might cause a problem with the claim. In my head I kept asking myself. Did I match the right driver info. Did I write the right name. Will they reject it because of small details. After I sent the documents they emailed me and reminded me that the information must match the main driver and that I should fill in everything in English. I felt nervous again but also a bit safe because I felt someone was checking my case. The whole process was not as hard as I imagined. We just confirmed the documents a few times and I could feel they were following my case. When I finally got the message that the claim was accepted and would be paid I felt a big stone fall from my heart. The repair fee and the administration fee from the rental company were covered by AXA Full Coverage so I did not have to take that big extra cost. When I think about this trip the thing I am most glad about is that I ticked AXA Full Coverage at the start. Without it that one scratch above the wheel could break my whole business travel budget.
One-Dollar FreezeI was a bit worried at first about using my credit card to book a car overseas. One big charge at once always makes me nervous. Switzerland is not cheap and I was going to stay in Zurich for a while so my budget was tight. I booked the car on QEEQ and saw a payment option called One-Dollar Freeze. It said I only needed to pay 1 dollar first to hold the car. The rest would be charged automatically before the rental started. This sounded perfect for me because I needed to plan my money and card limit carefully.
When I really made the booking, the amount on my phone screen was just 1 dollar. I stared at it for a few seconds because I thought I might read it wrong. It was around the middle of May. I told myself that locking the car first was important. I still had to arrange flights and hotels and I had to split my money for different things. Not getting hit by a big charge right away made me feel a lot more relaxed.
Time passed fast and soon it was the week I was flying to Switzerland. Around May twenty fourth or twenty fifth, I saw the rest of the rental fee on my credit card bill. The number matched the booking price and it looked normal. There were no extra interest charges or strange fees. At that moment I finally felt fully safe about it and I felt this payment style was really honest.
On May twenty seventh in the evening I arrived at Zurich airport with my luggage and went to the Europcar counter to pick up the Volkswagen Tiguan I booked. Since the money was already charged before, the staff checked my booking and it was smooth. I only needed to show my license and my card. I was a bit tired after the flight but I felt pretty proud of myself. I paid just 1 dollar first to lock this car and then the rest was taken later. It felt like smart planning.
The most important thing for me was that my credit card limit did not get squeezed all at once. I still had to pay for other transport and hotels. If I paid the full rental fee at the start, I might have needed to call the bank and change my limit which is annoying. With One-Dollar Freeze I just used 1 dollar to hold the car and let them charge the rest later. Since there was no interest, I could keep my money on the card and use it step by step for other things.
As a tourist flying from Hong Kong to a country I do not know very well I already had many things to think about. Being able to spread out the payment for the car helped me a lot. When my days in Zurich were over and I returned the car, I thought back to the whole thing. This way of paying 1 dollar first to lock in the car felt very friendly for travelers like me and I was glad I saw this option when I booked through them.
Price Drop ProtectorCan a car booking really give me money back when the price drops? At first I did not really believe it. I just saw this service called Price Drop Protector on QEEQ and I checked it because it did not cost me anything.
A few days later I was on my way to school and I checked my email. I saw a new confirmation from them and saw they booked the same BMW X3 in Geneva again for me. The price was lower than the one I saw before. I was a bit confused and I thought maybe it was a mistake. Then I checked the amount and it was really cheaper than my first booking.
The funny thing is I did nothing. I did not call customer service and I did not change any setting. They just made it cheaper and showed me the new total price. I felt a small surprise in my heart. It was like I earned a simple dinner for free. For a young person like me this kind of saving feels pretty nice.
Later I talked with my friends about my plan to go to Geneva. I told them my car booking became cheaper than before. They thought I used some very complex tricks. I said I just booked as normal and when the price went down they handled it for me and I saved the difference. My friends said this kind of feature is good for people like us who always want a good deal but are too lazy to watch the price all the time.
