Automotive Discount Credit CardsAutomotive Discount Credit Cards can be one of the best deals out there in the class of "rewards cards". With one of these cards, a small percentage of each purchase you make (or sometimes just purchases at certain stores or types of stores)is rewarded back to you in the form of a discount on your next car purchase from a specific manufacturer.Unfortunately for the consumer, these offers have declined in popularity in recent years. Ford was one of the first to end it's co-branding deal with CitiBank. GM is one of the few companies still using this marketing vehicle today.
The companies that provide such cards often are not very involved in the discount program. One way to look at it is that the credit card company needs a gimmick to get you to use their credit card. The big car company spends some of their marketing dollars for advertising, and some of it for more direct customer aquisition programs such as these credit card discount programs. When you use one of these cards, you are simply accepting a discount from the car company in lieu of watching some more of their advertising. These automotive discount credit cards are really brilliant marketing. If the car company spends $1000 on advertising to tell you about their "labor day sales event" where they will give you a $1000 discount if you buy before midnight on Monday, they have spent $2000 for a chance to get your business. Keep in mind that all of the other car brands are doing exactly the same thing, so their $1000 discount doesn't seem so great. If, on the other hand, you are always walking around with a credit card that says "GM" all over it, and you are monthly receiving a statement that tells you how many hundreds of dollars you will save on your next purchase...they've got you! How many people are going to give up their hard won "car points" and go buy a car from a different company? Not many. Brilliant! With the right card, this can actually be a real win-win deal for both the car company and the car shopper. As with other types of cards, there are huge differences in the discount programs they offer. Shop and compare. |