Paying off auto loan with credit card?

[Troyrb]

I have the money to payoff my car and was wondering if it is possable to pay them off with my credit cards so I can get the rewards air miles. The payoff is just over 10k. My plan was to use the CC and then pay them off before the end of the month. Has anyone here ever tried doing this? One person told my they did this and got $500 worth of air miles. I have a high enough limit on the cards but I don't know if this would hurt my credit score or cause the card compeny to take my card. Has anyone here done this?

[Cylenchar]

If you have the cash to pay off the credit card so you don't pay the interest, I'd say go for it.

[disneysteve]

I think the only way you could do that is to take a cash advance or use a convenience check but both of those options would cost you money.

[kork13]

my father has done this before, and it worked out well for him. but be careful that the car loan company doesn't hit you with a surcharge (2-3%, or more) for such a large charge to a credit card. I know many places tack on a fee if your charge is above like... $5k or something....

[Exile]

If you have a zero or very low rate interest credit card, and as kork13 noted, no extra fees or surcharges by the lender, go for it.

And here's a bonus. Once you've switched your vehicle loan from a finance company/bank to a credit card lender, the loan will likely become unsecured. This means that you will never have to worry about repossession, even if you become seriously delinquent on your credit card payments. Of course, there would be other consequences, such as a judgment and wage attachment, but a repo would not one of them.

[boosami]

Call the credit card company and ask if they will send you "convenience checks" for your account. Inquire about the terms on the checks like the rate, grace period (if any), and if there are any extra transaction fees. Sometimes CC companies have promotional programs (much like the balance transfer promos) where the checks will have no fee and a low or 0% APR. If there's no promo, though, you will probably figure out that it is not worth it because of the interest and fees.

[paladin]

We have done this in the past using convenience checks, but as I recall they weren't eligible for rewards (we did it for the 0%). Offers vary by credit card, so check with yours.