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It is very important to investigate all pros and cons of the card before applying, especially when we are talking about such a specific card like CareCredit. Here we tried to gather all the information you may be interested in.
What is CareCredit?
Care Credit is different from a regular credit card it is a healthcare credit card. It helps you pay for medical expenses not covered by your insurance by extending special financing options.
Where I can use CareCredit card?
CareCredit cards can only be used at a particular doctors and enrolled providers for different medical procedures. So this card can't be used for purchasing goods.
How does CareCredit card works?
CareCredit offers interest free promotional periods starting at six months. The length of the intro rate depends on the amount of credit you are approved for. This introductory period is your chance to pay off the card balance at 0% intro APR and once it ends, an ongoing APR will apply. If you are unable to pay off the card balance by the end of the introductory period, CareCredit will charge you the interest back to the date you first used your Care Credit card. When you make a late payment on a CareCredit card, you will be charged a penalty fee and your intro APR will vanish. Also, if you won't be able to pay off your card balance during 0% introductory period, charges retroactive interest.
How can I apply for CareCredit card?
The CareCredit cards can be good for responsible people who manage their credit accounts properly. You can go to CareCredit website to apply.
What are CareCredit Disadvantages?
The main drawback is that the usage of this card is strictly limited to medical treatment at enrolled providers. If you plan to use the card anywhere else CareCredit is of no use for you. Another danger of this credit card is that it does not forgive even one late payment, if you do not pay minimum payments you will have to pay penalty fee and lose 0% offer. Unlike others 0% APR credit cards, the promotional period on medical credit cards is deferred interest. It means that if you fail to pay off your debt within the intro 0% period you will have to pay all of that retroactive interest.
As you can see CareCredit card is a highly specialized card. It has 0% inro APR but compared to other regular 0% intro APR credit cards CareCredit card definitely loses. If your credit history is good or excellent you have many options to choose from. For example, you can apply for the Discover it® Cash Back and in addition to 15 months of 0% intro APR on all purchases (ongoing 17.74% - 27.74% Variable APR applies after that) you will get 5% cash back in rotating categories (on up to a quarterly maximum each time you activate) and 1% cash back on all other purchases and all this comes for $0 annual fee. For people with fair, bad or limited credit we would recommend to apply to regular credit cards.