wahooflyer

If you live in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic US (Maine to Virginia corridor) there is a little-known startup called FINN that offers short-term car leases. Terms are generally 6 months or 12 months. The vehicle selection is primarily GM, Chrysler and Nissan; prices range from roughly $600-1000 per month, including liability and collision insurance, with no down payment.

The best part of FINN is that you can autopay with a credit card without incurring additional fees. I use my Citi AA card and the transaction posts as a "rental car." So I get an extra 659 AA miles every month for my 6-month lease. As far as I know, no traditional leasing or financing companies allow credit card payments, so this is a nice bonus. However, I don't know of any credit cards that have a bonus for rental car MCC codes so hard to get more than 1 or 2% back on these transactions.

I have been a FINN customer since February - got a 6-month lease on a Buick Envision for $599 monthly including insurance. In Virginia this is considered a rental transaction, not a traditional lease, so I have to pay 10% sales tax but no property tax (which would be about $1300 a year in VA on a $35K vehicle - VA is odd in that they assess property tax on the full value of the car even if leased). After the 6 months is over, you have to turn the vehicle in - no purchase option or extension is available.

I did the math before I signed up with FINN and the monthly cost is roughly equivalent to a traditional 36-month lease, but without the long-term commitment. I already own another (old) car that I paid cash for, so I probably won't replace the FINN car with another at the end of the 6 months - but my company allows me to expense part of the cost of the FINN rental so it's not a big out of pocket expense.

If you're looking for a flexible lease option and the opportunity to earn a few miles from paying by CC, FINN is a decent alternative. I'm generally happy with them so far.

mia

Here are two:

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® = 2X
AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® = 2x

Cards with a general Travel category bonus should recognize rental cars:

EXAMPLES:
3x American Express Green
3x Chase Sapphire Reserve
2x Chase Sapphire Preferred

wahooflyer

Thanks! This explains why I earned more miles with my Citi AA card than I expected (it's the Platinum Select version)

Did not think about rental cars coding as general travel. I used to have a CSP and an Amex Green but dumped both over the years.