Someone mentioned the real reason for the limit above; i.e., a credit card is unsecured debt, so you can't purchase property (which require liens when not owned outright) with it. There are laws governing that, which I believe set the limit at $5,000 that a dealership can put on a credit card for the purchase of a vehicle. If your dealer has a lower limit, that's them avoiding the credit card company fees (can't say I blame them).

 

Then there's this older article... http://consumerist.com/2008/06/01/ne...e-credit-card/

Still searching to see if there might be more recent laws or Visa policy changes ...

 

I pay it off two months later and pay no interest, the credit card gives me cash back, seems like a win-win to me.

In 08, we put $15,000 on the card (half the price of the car more or less). In 12 I think they only allowed us $10,000. Last year I think they'd allow us $10,000 again but the card company decided there was a large item limit on the card without telling me. They'd deny anything over $7,500 unless you call in first.