I am thinking about buying a GM car but don't have their card yet. The redemption allowance is $1750. Can I buy $35,000 in savings bonds today, generate a 5% GM creit, and use the $1750 towards the purchase of a new car? Any idea on the lag time involved?

Unless the rules have changed, they only allow you to accrue $500 in credit per year...

I do believe they have come out with a version of their card that allows unlimited earning potential... but only allows limited redemptions on certain cars.

Could be wrong..

William

The rules have changed for the "New GMCard".

"There is no limit on the Earnings you can accumulate during each Account Year, but there are new limits to how many Earnings you can redeem per vehicle depending on the GM Brand you choose."

see: http://www.gmcard.com/generic/a_indexearnhow.html
and for redemption allowances:
http://www.gmcard.com/generic/a_indexredemption.html

You can do the bond deal with the new card. The only thing is the GM MC statment has to cycle to build your 5%. The old card was instant credit...if you bought a bond yesterday....the dealership would call GM MC and the credit would be there. Now they give you the money after closing the statment month...I found out the hard way in March 2002....ZZ
I also tried pumping(over paying account) my account this month to buy more bonds and build my 5% rebate faster....My credit limit did not release any extra spending...

[This message has been edited by zz7777zz (edited 08-04-2002).]

I have done this quite a few times, so I'll let you know my experiences.

yes, officially, you have to let the bill cycle cycle. but they have made exceptions for me. I paid off online the same day I made a charge, so I do not have a balance. I then called customer service (and his supervisor), and was turned down. they insisted I had to wait till the bill comes. I called back again a day later, and a supervisor made an exception for me to use the rebates before the billing cycle.

I am suprised you have a $35,000 credit line on a new GM card!! hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies. I don't have a card yet. I guess I need to buy the bonds over several months, or pay online if my limit is not high enough.

Lemon:

I have around $1200 worth of GM Card Rebates from the original card that I would sell you for $350.

I would just have to add you to my account before you buy the car.

E-mail me if you are interested.

We haven't settled on a GM yet. It will be a few months. I will keep you posted.

JustinCredible,

Just so you know, what you suggest is against their rules.... this was a letter I got when asking about transferring my points to a friend (and I was going to do it for free to help someone who just had their car totalled in an accident):

Dear Mr. Harvey ,

Thank you for contacting The GM Card Customer Center.

As the primary GM Cardmember, you may transfer your GM Card Earnings to family members or friends.

In order to transfer your Earnings to a family member or friend, you must call The GM Card Customer
Care Center to authorize the transfer and provide the required information. If the transferred GM
Card Earnings are used toward the purchase or lease of an eligible GM vehicle, your family member or
friend must tell the dealer that he or she is The GM Card Earnings recipient.

GM Card Earnings are not the property of the participant in The GM Card Earnings and Redemption
Allowance Program. GM Card Earnings may not be brokered, bartered or sold, and may not be
transferred as part of a domestic relations matter.

If you should require additional information about The GM Card, or if you have any questions
regarding the information provided, please call our Customer Service Center toll-free at
1-800-947-1000. GM Card Specialists are available to assist you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Your questions and comments are extremely important to us. Thank you for using The GM Card!


Sincerely,

The GM Card Customer Center

A while back I received a solicitation for this card which included the 5% credit on a balance transfer. I wrote a check for $50,000 (the credit limit) to my bank and earned a $2500 rebate, which I used on a Blazer. I double dipped with upromise for $150 on a new GW purchase. And I triple dipped since I earned a spread on the $$ in the bank (INGDirect) as the interest earned was greater than the promo interest rate charged. All in all, it was nearly a $3000 deal "value".

It did take the billing cycle to get the rebate credited and at upromise you do have to register 30 days before you buy the vehicle.