Strictly Hypothetical Question

[Medic981]

I just leased a new vehicle and was able to place the $500 down / first-month payment on a credit card. That was a wonderful feeling knowing I had the ability to do so and knowing I would pay the $500 off the next day.

This got me to wondering. If a person wanted to put the purchase a new car for $25,000 on a Citi Bank Cash Back 2% card to get the potential $500 reward. Would someone be able to turn around and refinance the car to pay off the credit card? I can't make it work in my head. Does anyone have any experience doing this?

[Epcot]

Most dealerships cap the amount they allow to be placed on a credit card. Usually between $500-$2500. Finding one willing to eat the merchant fee on a $25,000 swipe will be extremely difficult.
But if you do find one and purchase the vehicle on your credit card you will then have the title and just need to apply for a vehicle loan and forward the title to the financial institution. (Unless you go through Lightstream and they approve with no collateral lien) Years ago I did it with a local bank, just brought the title to the branch and picked up the check.

[Medic981]

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@Epcot wrote:
Most dealerships cap the amount they allow to be placed on a credit card. Usually between $500-$2500. Finding one willing to eat the merchant fee on a $25,000 swipe will be extremely difficult.
But if you do find one and purchase the vehicle on your credit card you will then have the title and just need to apply for a vehicle loan and forward the title to the financial institution. (Unless you go through Lightstream and they approve with no collateral lien) Years ago I did it with a local bank, just brought the title to the branch and picked up the check.

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I did not realize there would be a limit a dealership would be willing to place on a credit card. It makes sense now that you say it. 

I remember as a kid talk of a few people going to dealerships, purchasing a car, and paying with an Amex card. This was during the oil boom in the late 70s and I don't even know how much truth there was to such stories.

[Save-n-Invest]

American Express has a car buying service. The service is essentially the True Car interface with the caveat that the dealer must accept at least 2k on the card. Some dealers accept the entire purchase on Amex per Amex website. I tried it two years ago. My info was sent to the two most annoying hardsell dealers in the area. Neither had the car I specified on the software. Both phoned me incessantly after I told them no deal. They continued to call me for six months after I purchased a car elsewhere at a better price. 

American Express spammed me with endless emails demanding to know when, where I bought the car and did they put the entire purchase price on the card. If not, why not? My Amex credit limit is less than half the cost of the car. That should be self explanatory. Amex is a major PITA IMNSOHO.

 I had to phone Amex cs again yesterday for an unrelated matter. The matter was resolved per the verbal of the rep but time will tell. I spend more time on the phone with Amex errors than all other issuers combined in all my years of using cc. 

[Medic981]

Yikes!

I will never use TrueCar again. When I was looking for my current car I ended up getting calls from multiple dealerships with the same story as you. None of them had the specific car and options that I was looking for, yet they kept calling me even after I leased my current car. TrueCar is nothing but a lead generator and I won't be using them again. TrueCar is more trouble than it is worth.

[Anonymous]

I bought a used Grand Cherokee last month and asked the dealership...their cutoff is $2500 on plastic.  I have to imagine that wouldn't apply on a large repair, just purchase.