If you want to use an American Express card to purchase a car, Amex's Auto Purchasing Program may be the way to go. All of the dealers affiliated with this program allow you to charge at least $2,000 on an Amex card, and some dealers will allow you to charge the entire purchase price. Here's what you need to know about Amex's Auto Purchasing Program.
Amex Car Buying Program
Once you know what type of car you want to buy, you can check your options through the Amex Auto Purchasing Program by visiting amexnetwork.truecar.com. Enter the make of the car you want to purchase, as well as the ZIP code for the area in which you want to make the purchase. Then, select the desired model type and continue to the next page to select the style, color and options.
I had high expectations that the Amex Auto Purchasing Program would simplify the process of finding a dealer that would accept a credit or charge card for most or all of a car purchase. But, the website interface is frustrating to use and I was unable to find a dealer marked as willing to accept an Amex card for the entire purchase. Finding such a dealer through the Amex Auto Purchasing Program would require further negotiation, which negates one of the main benefits of using the program.
While buying a car through American Express has plenty of potential benefits, it might not be the best choice for everyone. If you are a pro negotiator focused on getting the best deal when you buy a new car, you might be able to find a better price on your own.
The Platinum Card from American Express5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 per calendar year)5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travelamextravel.com2X points on prepaid car rentals made through American Express Travel1X points on other purchasesTerms applyEarn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months
In this article, I will explain what the American Express car buying (Auto Purchasing Program) process looks like and also give you some real-world examples of the discounts and prices I found.
The Amex Auto Purchasing Program Seems like a pretty cool program. You can easily locate dealerships that will be okay with you putting at least a partial amount of your down payment on a credit card and you can find the data on the prices that others have paid for the same type of vehicles and you can also get some cool savings after you purchase your vehicle on deductibles and repairs.
Given that anyone can use TrueCar, not just Amex card holders, why bother using the American Express Auto Purchase program? Here are the benefits and drawbacks of using TrueCar through American Express.
ProsCons Use your Amex card for a down payment (or more) on a new car Must purchase from a TrueCar certified dealer Up to $2,000 Buyer's Bonus Dealers have your contact information
Using your Amex card for a vehicle purchase could help you amass rewards points that you could later redeem for such things as online shopping, booking or upgrading travel or transferring to a travel loyalty program.
A big factor when buying a car on a credit card is your credit limit. Unless you have a card that offers a high credit limit, like the Chase Sapphire ReserveÂ, you probably won't be able to fund the full price of a car via credit card.
On the other hand, your card may come with a program especially for car-buying. Cardholders of The Platinum Card from American Express (another high credit limit card), or any other type of Amex members, can try using the American Express Auto Purchasing Program, which connects you to dealers who accept American Express and let you charge $2,000 or more toward a car purchase on your Amex card.
Car-buying services can be a great option. You can browse available selections across multiple dealerships and get access to upfront discounted pricing in some cases. Additionally, you may be able to purchase the car entirely online and have it delivered to your door.
The truth is that there was some effort involved and I learned some important things along the way. With the lessons I learned, hopefully your approach can be more streamlined and you can also walk away with a boatload of points that makes it worth buying a car even in the current ridiculously hot market.
Thanks to how hot the market is right now, it might even be worth buying a vehicle speculatively to try to resell just to pick up the points if you got the Shop Small offer. You can easily test the market in terms of what kind of price to expect, but more on that in a bit.
In the picture immediately above, you can see that Fox Toyota, Romano Toyota, and the Burdick Toyota-Scion dealership in Cicero all have the Shop Small icon. That is an indication that they probably participate in the Amex Shop Small program. However, the Burdick Toyota dealership located on Brewerton Rd in North Syracuse does not have the Shop Small icon.
I am incredibly excited to both have a nice new ride in the driveway and a huge stash of points that appeared along with it. The massive Shop Small bonus being offered on the Platinum card (particularly with the offer that is only available via Resy) forced my hand into buying a car right now because the return on spend was just too valuable to ignore (when am I ever going to get half a million points on a car purchase again without buying a Ferrari?).
Used the offer to buy a new Civic 22 Ex at MSRP put $26000 ($875 in cc transaction fees) on the card and made 291,000 amex points only had to drive 4 hours the deal was around if you searched the small business listing Amex provides a search for,
Vehicle Purchase and Lease Agreement. With your consent, we may collect and use your vehicle purchase or lease agreement in order to conduct price verification and program compliance audits with our dealerships and vehicle manufacturers, customer support, and the Additional Uses noted above.
You further agree THAT THE COSTCO AUTO PROGRAM will not be liable to you for any damages you may suffer and that IN NO EVENT WILL COSTCO AUTO PROGRAM BE LIABLE FOR indirect, general, special, economic, consequential, EXEMPLARY or punitive damages resulting from the use of (or inability to use) this Website or any cap service, whether in tort (including negligence), contract or any other cause of action, including without limitation, for availability of any cap service, loss of data, information or programs, or damage to computers or networks, or from breach of privacy and similar personal rights, or from infringement of intellectual property rights, OR FROM DEFAMATION, LIBEL OR SLANDER, or any other damages whatsoever, whether or not CAP shall have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
American Express cards offer myriad features. Though some cards offer similar or the same benefits and perks as others, each card presents a unique set of features. Amex cards all offer some form of rewards earning and many offer additional perks associated with co-branded programs, such as Delta Airlines, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors.
As a Medallion Member, enjoy elite status in the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program for even more benefits. To participate, follow these simple steps within your SkyMiles account:
1. Enter your Hertz Gold Plus Rewards number into the Car Loyalty Programs section on the Hotel & Car Preferences page
If you're not already a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards member, please follow the Enroll Now link on the page to complete enrollment
Your ability to create plans will be based on a variety of factors such as your creditworthiness, and your Credit Limit or Pay Over Time Limit, as applicable. The Pay Over Time Limit applies to the total of your Pay Over Time, Cash Advance, and Plan balances. You may not be able to create a plan if it would cause you to exceed your Pay Over Time Limit or cause your Plan balance to exceed 95% of your Account Total New Balance on your last billing statement. You will not be able to create plans if your Pay Over Time feature is suspended or your Account is canceled. You will also not be able to create plans if one or more of your American Express Accounts is enrolled in a payment program, has a payment that is returned unpaid, or is past due. The number and length of plan duration options offered to you, the number of active plans you can have at a time, and your ability to include multiple qualifying purchases in a single plan, will be at our discretion and will be based on a variety of factors such as your creditworthiness, the purchase amount(s), and your Account history. After a plan is paid in full, it will be removed from your Account in the next billing period.
Effective 09/01/2022, this Guide replaces all prior disclosures, program descriptions, advertising, and brochures by any party. We reserve the right to change the benefits and features of these programs at anytime.
Due Diligence: All parties are expected to exercise due diligence to avoid or diminish any theft, loss or damage to the property covered under these programs. "Due diligence" means the performance of all vigilant activity, attentiveness, and care that would be taken by a reasonable and prudent person in the same or similar circumstances in order to guard and protect the item.
If you pay for a rental car with an American Express card, you can benefit from the premium car rental program. This insurance program protects your rental car for up to 42 days once you pay a flat premium.
Costco is one of the largest membership clubs in the world. With an estimated 100 million members worldwide, there are certainly some great perks to being a part of the wholesale club. Beyond bulk groceries and home-goods, Costco offers their members access to the Costco Auto Program to assist them with one of the most daunting tasks they face; buying a new car.
38c6e68cf9