Last January, I had booked a car for my trip back to JFK and told reservations that I would be paying by credit card. When I was finally deposited at terminal 7 and proffered my credit card, the driver put up a stink because he had been told it was a cash trip. I gave him the choice of accepting the credit card and bringing me back to midtown and he backed down.

So in order to use your trick, I guess the thing to do is tell the driver you'll be using a credit card once you get in the car.

For the record, I usually do not have to wait very long for Tel Aviv. However, one additional trick I would like to pass on is that, in terminal 7 at least, you should ask the driver to pick you up at DEPARTURES. In early July, I had arranged to meet the driver by arrivals (the default) and it took him about a half hour to get to me. The traffic in the immediate arrivals area was absolutely immobile; complete gridlock.