I Have To Buy A Car
 

I have to buy a new car within the next couple of months, and I'm trying to think of the best way I can exploit that for miles. Would the best way be, take out an AA credit card (get 20,000 miles with first purchase), get 10,000 bonus miles with first purchase of $10,000 or more (the car), have the money for the car set aside, and get 16,000 miles with the purchase of the car? That would be 46,000 miles right there, enough for an off-peak flight to Europe.

Does this all make sense or am I missing something? Would there be a better way?

You may want to check one of the existing threads about using a credit card to buy a car. Some dealerships will give you major grief trying to put any large amount on it.

that all depneds on what your negotiating position is, for example:

1) Good credit vs bad
2) No down, or a good amt down
3) Upside down on your trade in

To the OP -- make sure you know your credit, your trade in value and so forth. YOu can charge as much as you want on your card, but be prepared to pay the credit card transaction fee.

I should have been more clear. I would put the $16,000 on the card before I bought it and pay for the car in one payment.

so bascially you are paying for the car in cash (credit card technically), but you will have no payments.

If your credit limit is not that high on your card, talk to your card issuer and ask them to temporarily increase your credit. Just sending the money to them up front does not gaurantee an approved transaction.

The dealership will probably charge a transaction fee and you can negotiate that also,...maybe you for 50% and he pays for 50%.

Just be creative !!

Huh? If they accept credit cards, then there should be no minimum or maximum that you can charge. I would certainly not pay extra for using a card. If the OP reads the existing thread, I think it will help them to have complete knowledge. In particular, I would negotiate the best price, and then pay with a card, not say, "Oh, I'm trying to use my credit card to pay". They'll then add that into their bottom line, and won't get the same price.

Transaction fee? I've only made a handful of credit purchases in my life (I don't like buying stuff I don't can't afford), so I have no idea how much that would be... Any idea how much we are talking?

Some dealers will try to charge 1-3% "transaction fee" for putting a large amount on a credit card.
As stated, I believe that if they accept credit cards at all, they are cannot put a max amount. I've never pushed to get this, though.

they always charge a transaction after a certain amount...for example:

1) Mercedes has a max limit of 10k
2) Ford/GM have a lower limit of 3.5 - 5k

so, it all depends on your delearship....I bought a used 350Z Nissan for 25k ...paid in full by CC (and it was a delearship from a old friend so they only charge me 0.05% but they charge others 1.2%).

Because of the credit card fees, many dealers will not let you use a credit card for the full payment. However, maybe you can ask to pay a larger deposit. For example, instead of $1,000 (which I did), try $3,000 or even $5,000.

Here's the most recent thread on the same topic:

Buying a car getting miles

check out the thread that lin821 suggested, but there are a whole bunch more on this topic in depth

Take a look at the info on this subject in the Automobiles section of the Buying Stuff page of my website below.

Some dealerships won't accept credit cards for an auto purchase, same for motorcycles. Not even sure about using a credit card if you negotiated the fees, (even if you WERE willing to split the cc bank fees) dealerships would then have to worry about chargebacks, etc. Good note about negotiating the auto deal first and then discussing the cc.. you KNOW the dealership, if they could take the cc, they would definitely roll those fees into your deal. Good luck!

.05%? That's so low, that I'm prone to believe you misplaced the decimal point.

There *are* no limits in place, other than what is specified in the merchant agreement between the dealer and the credit card company. That's like saying that what is true at one gas station, is the same at another. Most merchant agreements state that you can not have a minimum charge, and most don't limit a maximum. I'd point you to the other thread, as this is just a rehash of what has been pointed out there.