Dealership leaders and hosts talk through how an auto-loan rewards credit card and a dealership points tool can change the affordability conversation. They connect the pitch to today’s “record high” interest rates, tariffs, and expensive pricing, arguing that longer loan terms plus the right discount strategy can save thousands. The discussion also covers dealer incentives (including $100 spiffs per enrollment), conquest marketing, and using points to help customers with negative equity after COVID.
NCM Event Conversations feat. Jacob Harris & Sean Huppert
In this special Series NCM Event Conversations we grabbed a few of our favorite guest to talk about their experiences and whats happening in our Industry. In this interview Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz speak with Sean and Jacob about industry growth, collaboration, and new tech, including a Shark Tank-style showcase. They introduce Fasten Rewards, a no-fee credit card that rewards consumers for paying auto loans and leases while giving dealers a loyalty tool to drive repeat sales and service.
Join us at NCM’s first-ever Fuel the Future May 18th-20th – An NCM Fixed Ops Summit, an experience built for leaders ready to elevate performance, profitability, and the customer journey through modern systems and by utilizing AI-driven innovation.
"And getting them out of negative equity, that is something that we're all going through right now. If you're in a dealership and you're trading in somebody bought a car 23 years ago, they upside down."
Negative equity is when your current car is worth less than what you still owe on it. If you trade it in, that gap usually gets added to the next car loan.
Negative equity means you owe more on your current car loan than the car is worth. In a trade-in, that shortfall gets rolled into the next loan, which can make the new vehicle harder to afford.
"If you're in a dealership and you're trading in somebody bought a car 23 years ago, they upside down. Oh, are they upside down, right?"
“Upside down” means you owe more money on the car than it’s worth. So trading it in doesn’t automatically make your finances better.
In car-shopping, “upside down” is a common way to describe negative equity—when the loan balance is higher than the vehicle’s market value. It’s a key reason trades can increase monthly payments instead of reducing them.
Credit card points are rewards you earn when you use a credit card. The idea here is to use those rewards to help lower what you pay for the car.
Credit card points are rewards earned from spending that can be redeemed for discounts, statement credits, or other value. In dealership financing pitches, they’re often positioned as a way to reduce the effective cost of a purchase.
Term
credit card loyalty
"It's everyone understands credit card points. Everyone understands credit card loyalty. It's worked incredibly well in every other industry."
Credit card loyalty is the rewards system that encourages you to keep using the card. They’re suggesting dealerships could use a similar rewards approach.
Credit card loyalty refers to reward programs designed to encourage repeat spending by offering benefits tied to continued use. The hosts argue this same “loyalty loop” could be applied to dealership customers.
"That's right folks. What about the subprime hero? Okay. Yeah. The one, the only,"
Subprime means a person’s credit isn’t as strong as average. That can make car loans cost more or be harder to get.
Subprime refers to borrowers with weaker credit profiles, which typically leads to higher interest rates and stricter lending terms. In auto retail, “subprime” is often discussed in the context of financing customers who may struggle with affordability.
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Hello and welcome to the CarGuy Coffee Podcast. You are listening to the interbrews at the NCM
Client and Friends event. Enjoy these conversations. Let's brew! What's going on,
Solutionary Sprellenart subprime hero here at the NCM? Clients and friends, and I got
two friends standing right next to me. I got the one, the only,
Shane Harper, and we got the one, the only, the magnificence, Jerry Golless. That's right. And
we are in here having some fun. We're going to talk about all things growth, right? And that's
something that we do at Solutionary House, and we also do it in the CarGuy Coffee Cafe. We're
all about solutions, right? Solutions, solutions, solutions. That being said, folks, what are you
thinking about this event so far? This event has been bringing in a lot of people. We started
yesterday off with the B20 group. Now we're going into the NCM, the clients and friends. It's all
about having fun. What are you thinking about it so far? Oh, I'm loving it. It's all about learning
and growth, like you said. We had people coming showing us best practices on onboarding, dealing
up for success. That was awesome. The collaboration was the, I think the best we've had so far.
And then roll it up into the Shark Tank event last night with some really great elite companies
and new tech ideas. I think we'll talk about some new tech today too. But no, we love it so far.
The hustle and bustle out in the morning sessions is great so far. Yeah, the buzz is really hot right
now. And I'm really enjoying what's going on. I get to see you all quite a bit. You guys are
out there making things happen. What about coming to events like this really matter to you and your
company? Yeah, I'm pretty new to the auto world. Two years is that's basically a newbie in the
world. Just meeting new people going out there. There are people who have been born into this
industry. So it's just getting to get our idea out there or a name out there and just meet everyone.
And people seem to be really liking it. So it's been pretty awesome. I think it's been really
awesome. And since I've met you in the last couple of years, I honestly, I wouldn't have guessed
it's only been a couple of years. You're really making the splash. What you're doing right now,
you're bringing something different. And I know one thing I know about Sean is that he wouldn't
connect himself with somebody that wasn't trying to take it to the next level. So I'm excited to
see what you guys do over the next year. But what you've done so far has been magnificent,
y'all. It only takes about two years to launch a credit card. So, you know, in this world of AI,
if you can make companies pretty quickly, having a moat is pretty good, as they said.
Speaking of your company, tell them a little bit about what you guys do.
So we're passing rewards. We're the first credit card that rewards you for your auto loan. So
this has never been done before for the consumer. And on the flip side, for dealers, it's a loyalty
program, a reason to come to the ship a Y buy that has never ever done for either. So we're
taking a first in both sides and threading the needle of having the dealer win and the customer
win and have more deals at the dealership. Wow, that's it's the truth, though. We sat down yesterday
in the v20 group and there might be some beans I can't spill right now. But there was a lot of
really cool things that you guys are doing with your credit cards, helping consumers make things
more affordable, right? And also saving them money, getting them some money back, but also
making it easier for the dealer to present numbers to somebody and show them ways to save money.
That's massive. So what made you think of ideas like that to come into market?
Yeah, so there's a company, honestly, do what we're doing in the rent space that gives you
points on rent. And the whole concept is, you know, these really large recurring payments that
everyone loves credit card rewards, everyone loves credit card points, people have taken an
extra flight to hit that next status on Delta or United or American. And so we were like, I was
like, Hey, like, why not get credit card points on your auto loan at least. And so that's really
the concept, right? You're spending the money anywhere. You could be sending 300 bucks, 1000
bucks. There's a very wide range. But essentially with us, whether your load is 12% or 7%, we're
making that low 9% or 4%, right? Basically just by by spending the money, you're already spending
anyway. So lowering your rate by 3% with credit card. Are interest rates high right now?
Interest rates are at a record high. And that's something that I think we all know the whole
economy knows that. So when we can help our customers be able to save, even if it's pennies,
it makes a difference to them. Every dollar matters. And through time, through a 72 month
loan, 84 month loan, you're saving thousands of dollars if you do it this way, or making
thousands of dollars, whichever way you want to look at it. And I think that's massive. And
you're right, interest rates are high. If I could find personally, if I could find 1%
of a discount, I'm going to take it, right? Because I know that's going to help me in the
long run. But that being said, 3% is massive, folks. And when you can get that type of discount,
wow, that's huge. You should be looking into that you dealers out there, if you don't know,
you know now, right? So make sure that you guys reach out to them too. But that's not it. This
company is doing big things. When it comes to saving them money, that's massive. But
what about it? Do you see happening over the next two years, that's going to really be the
shift for you guys? I think it's been a perfect storm for us to help in the industry with tariffs
coming and affordability in this crescendo. Because there is demand there, there is inventory there.
But like cars are just so expensive. And whether it's going up to 2026 prices or like Hyundai,
for example, there's no maintenance on new cars. These are all things that are going to be harder
to sell cars for dealers. And so that's where we can help. You're never as far away as you think
that you are. And giving your customer more money to spend with you, and we'll accomplish that for
you. So we don't think that like the prices are going to drop all of a sudden, it's either going
to stay or go up from here. So you need to have ways to appeal to the customer and appeal to their
wallet. And that's what we're doing. I love that appealing to wallets already got me excited right
now, right? I can't help it. I love being able to have a little extra in my pocket if I can,
or being able to spend it in a place that makes a difference to me, right? Or buying something and
making it more affordable. You're right. Car prices are going up, and they're not going down ever,
right? They're going to constantly just go up every year. What happens next year with car prices
they go up, right? It's just what we ask just natural. We see that happen all over the place.
But interest rates are saying the same right now. I don't see a really any time in the future the
right the rates dropping much sooner. But even if they do, I want to save that money, right?
Why not? You're spending the money anyway, you might as well get the points right 100%. So that's
really it. And then just very exciting actually this week we're coming out with our rewards calculator.
So when you're at the dealership, when you're in F and I, we can say hey, your car is 45 grand over
70 months. But with the fasten card, you're getting the money that you're getting on the load,
but they're also getting bonus points and all of your other auto spent and then points everywhere,
right? So start your Starbucks, your Netflix, you're still getting points. So now you can go
and use those points. And now we can say, Hey, this car that was every other dealership was 45
grand. Just with us with the points back is actually 40 grand over the lifetime. That's huge.
I didn't tell you this, but we're making the announcement on CarGuy Coffee about the calculator.
So just that just happened right here. So just so you all know, you all got first dibs on it.
You're welcome, right? You're an F and I manager. I know that's big.
Nila, you love to see the Edmunds. So Dennis, shout out. Edmunds calculator. Yeah.
This is the same thing. Use our tool, show the cost for ownership and show them how much you
can save by doing business at your dealership because you're a fast driver with pride.
One thing I would like to point out, it's a no fee card, right? Oh, I was getting ready to go there.
I'm glad that you said it before I had to. It's not even an annual fee credit card where you know,
like the Chase card, you're like the Amix card. Just look at Amix Platinum. Yeah, you're spending
like 800 bucks a year for us. They're literally saving anyone can go inside up, save 3% on their
auto loan at least, just by literally spending $0. Wow. Wow. Why are, why is it every dealer
signed up for that? It's the craziest thing in the world to me. So I know that there's got to be a
reason, right? And I'm sure that you guys are working through that. What's been the biggest,
I don't know, I need to think about it from a dealer for you. I think it's just no one wants
to be first. Everyone wants to be first to be second. But now they're going to miss out though,
because we have a bunch of pilot dealers who are doing well with it. And you're going to be,
you're going to miss the first mover advantage. And beyond that, one thing I would like to point
out is you actually don't, the first people do not have to have purchased from your dealership
for them to sign up. You can go in conquest in your entire area, right? So go to your entire CRM
and start marketing saying, Hey, you want to lower your auto loan, you have 80% left on your
loan, you have 20% right? You're spending that money. Why not just get the points and literally
save 3% for $0. You guys work in dealerships. Everyone's tried a little deeper program before.
And there's like a bad feeling about it, but no one's done what we're doing. And this is
completely different. And this is going to change how things are in the same way that
built has changed the rent industry. Totally. That's pretty freaking awesome. I'm super excited
about what you all are talking about. I honestly dealers, if you guys have any questions, you need
to reach out to me. I'll get you hooked up with these two right here. They're always willing to
talk. I know one thing about Sean, I've been hanging out with this solutionary for years. He
even got the pin on even rocks the bracelet most of time, right? Because he really is truly a
solutionary. I believe in this guy so much. And what he says is the realness, right? So anytime
I get to meet friends that he works with or works for and building something together,
I always know it's going to be something special. This fast and I'm really excited about what's
going on. I'm excited for our dealers. I'm excited for my clients in the future, which are my
dealers, but also for customers out there to be able to save money. As a dealer, what's the profit
point in that for me? Yeah, so we will spiff you her card enrollment. So we every card you enroll,
we will give you 100 bucks. What? And then beyond that, like, well, point is that also you'll now
have data on your customers. So you'll say, hey, Sean has 50,000 points. It's time for Sean to get
his breaks changed. Now you can go and start to market him. So having people come back to you for
service, have all of that data go and start to market them. Because like what it comes out to
us, even if your dad is perfect, you still have to go and market them and incentivize them. Now
they can say, Hey, it's basically free to get my breaks changed. That's a freaking no brainer.
Absolutely. Just for making car payments.
That would feel great knowing that I earn enough points for that. I like it enough when I get on
my car that I can go and get something for free, like on Amazon in order. You know what, use your
points. Yes, I will. Bam. And there's something and it is that simple. And that's what people are
doing. So when we can give them what they're currently doing inside of a dealership, it makes
it feel like it's just normal. And that is normal to me. And I love that you guys are doing that.
I love that's what's happening with you guys. Again, all you dealers sign up now. It's silly
not to do it. It's a profit point. It's a save extra sale. You can lower payments
for people. I can keep going. There's a million things that we can keep doing and talking about
what this does for you. But the truth of the matter is that a tool like this a credit card
makes all the difference for you in your store. It could be the it reason why you go
from 80 cars to 100 cars really quick. While you can go from 100 to three years from now because
you have all this customer data knowing that they're making payments that they're getting points
that you keep them in your service drive, you keep them, which is important. But most importantly,
they come back and they buy another car from you and they save money again. So I love it.
I think unfortunately during COVID, there's a few people who have some negative equity
and they might be underwater right now. This is a solution for that. This helps with that.
I didn't even think about that. You could tell your customers that, hey, I could help you that I
could help you in this situation. What's a better feeling than helping your customers?
Nothing better than that. Well, just hanging out with you two guys. That's what's better than that,
right? Now, seriously, I appreciate you guys for breaking it down for us. But man, again,
you talked about this new tool and we got it, we exclusively got it here for you guys needing a
calculator to be able to figure out how we, what kind of savings and all that kind of stuff. I
think that's amazing. What a great way to be able to present your customers ways that show them
how they're making money, how they're saving money and how they can actually afford the vehicle.
That's pretty dope. And getting them out of negative equity, that is something that we're
all going through right now. If you're in a dealership and you're trading in somebody
bought a car 23 years ago, they upside down. Oh, are they upside down, right? So let's show
them ways that we can help them by saving some more money to be able to put them in a vehicle.
That's powerful. It's easy. It's credit card points. Everyone gets it, right? We're not here to say
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