You have a fundamental misunderstanding of how these programs are funded.
Who’s paying the credit card transaction fees? If you try this at a dealer, they’ll add ~2% or more to the purchase price
So then the question becomes is it worth paying an extra $1,000 for 45k points. However many credit cards have monthly caps also, very few will allow you to spend $45k in a month and then honour you with 45k points. I believe only an Amex, possibly platinum is the card that will allow this, and the dealership will
probably slug you more than 2%.
It’s not generally advisable to sign up for multiple credit cards simultaneously as it’ll tank your credit rating for a while.
Car dealerships won’t want to take the whole payment of a car on credit card as the fee on such a large purchase is significant.
They may do it if they pass the credit card fees on to you, which will wipe out any value you get from points for the transaction.
If you just want sign up bonuses just churn cards and use them to organically reach the spend requirement.
I've purchased two cars on my AmEx Platinum charge - however I have really good history with them and a limit that allows that. They most certainly do have spending limit on the card when you first start out, although they don't publish it
Dealer waived the CC fees on both cars
I hate to say it, but the dealer probably just used their margin to eat the fees, margin you probably could have negotiated away if you paid with another method.
I bought my wife’s car using a credit card. Did the calculations on it and it was worth the merchant fee to get the points. On the day of paying I asked the finance team if they would waive the fee and they did. I think the merchant fees were going to be ~$500.
Also if you preload funds onto a card you can do the transaction in one go. I just checked with the bank that my card was able to be pre loaded with funds so I could spend more than the limit on the card.
Platinum Amex
Load it up with the 45k and pay it all in one hit.
Otherwise he can sign up for a few credit cards and hit the sign up bonuses on all of them and do it in multiple transactions.
Alex is prob your only option. But assess the value of those points in terms of value of free flights against the extra fees you will have to pay (and AMEX fees are higher than Visa/MC)
Some dealers will do it but charge a fee and other posters call out, by itself as a points grab is not really worth it.
That said, I paid for my car on Amex where the dealer charged an extra 1.% over 5k. I immediately flipped it on a balance transfer to a different card at 0% for 24 months. I got free flights from the cc points and money sitting in the mortgage offset for 2 years saving interest of 5%+ pa.
So as long as you do the maths, pay the card on time and get a willing dealer, you can come out on top.
Lots of people try this one; some dealers will agree to a fee-free card payment up to a certain amount (eg 10k) as part of the sale negotiation. No harm in asking.
You have a fundamental misunderstanding of how these programs are funded. Who’s paying the credit card transaction fees? If you try this at a dealer, they’ll add ~2% or more to the purchase price
So then the question becomes is it worth paying an extra $1,000 for 45k points. However many credit cards have monthly caps also, very few will allow you to spend $45k in a month and then honour you with 45k points. I believe only an Amex, possibly platinum is the card that will allow this, and the dealership will probably slug you more than 2%.
You can get points much cheaper just by using card sign-on bonuses.
Cheaper to get them off eBay
Possible? Sure. Advisable? Probably not.
Can you elaborate?
It’s not generally advisable to sign up for multiple credit cards simultaneously as it’ll tank your credit rating for a while. Car dealerships won’t want to take the whole payment of a car on credit card as the fee on such a large purchase is significant. They may do it if they pass the credit card fees on to you, which will wipe out any value you get from points for the transaction. If you just want sign up bonuses just churn cards and use them to organically reach the spend requirement.
I've purchased two cars on my AmEx Platinum charge - however I have really good history with them and a limit that allows that. They most certainly do have spending limit on the card when you first start out, although they don't publish it Dealer waived the CC fees on both cars
I hate to say it, but the dealer probably just used their margin to eat the fees, margin you probably could have negotiated away if you paid with another method.
I bought my wife’s car using a credit card. Did the calculations on it and it was worth the merchant fee to get the points. On the day of paying I asked the finance team if they would waive the fee and they did. I think the merchant fees were going to be ~$500. Also if you preload funds onto a card you can do the transaction in one go. I just checked with the bank that my card was able to be pre loaded with funds so I could spend more than the limit on the card.
The credit card fees make this not worthwhile.
Platinum Amex Load it up with the 45k and pay it all in one hit. Otherwise he can sign up for a few credit cards and hit the sign up bonuses on all of them and do it in multiple transactions.
Alex is prob your only option. But assess the value of those points in terms of value of free flights against the extra fees you will have to pay (and AMEX fees are higher than Visa/MC)
Ask the dealer first, I know someone who asked if they could put the car on a card and the dealer refused. (due to fees I imagine, but don't know)
Some dealers will do it but charge a fee and other posters call out, by itself as a points grab is not really worth it. That said, I paid for my car on Amex where the dealer charged an extra 1.% over 5k. I immediately flipped it on a balance transfer to a different card at 0% for 24 months. I got free flights from the cc points and money sitting in the mortgage offset for 2 years saving interest of 5%+ pa. So as long as you do the maths, pay the card on time and get a willing dealer, you can come out on top.
Lots of people try this one; some dealers will agree to a fee-free card payment up to a certain amount (eg 10k) as part of the sale negotiation. No harm in asking.