CareCredit is a medical financing and healthcare credit card service, helping customers afford critical medical care as well as everyday health, wellness, and personal care products.
These unique credit cards have long been used to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses not covered by your health insurance. But in recent years, CareCredit has expanded their services to allow customers to pay for basic purchases that contribute to health and personal care. CareCredit cards can even be used to buy pet food and toys for your kids!
Unlike a standard credit card, CareCredit can only be used at approved CareCredit providers. There are about 250k enrolled providers in the US, including Walmart.
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Benefits
One of the major benefits of using CareCredit is that you can avoid paying interest all together if you stick to the terms of your financing. For “non-promotional purchases” (which all Walmart purchases are considered in this case), you will never pay any interest as long as you pay off your entire balance each month. Granted, this is how most credit cards work.
CareCredit does not appear to have a minimum purchase amount for non-promotional purchases, and they offer a maximum credit limit of $25,000, which is quite high.
Another benefit of using CareCredit is that it’s fairly easy to get approved as long as your credit is at least fair. According to Wallet Hub, you only need a credit score of 640 to get approved.
Finally, CareCredit is a great card to have around in emergencies, especially if you end up with a pile of medical bills you’re struggling to pay. CareCredit offers “promotional financing” for medical purchases of at least $200, and charges 0% on terms between six and 24 months.
If you require a financing term of longer than 24 months, CareCredit offers reduced APR and fixed monthly payments. CareCredit offers APR as low as 14.90%, which is considered very low.
Limitations
The main limitation of a CareCredit card is that it cannot be used to pay for anything that’s not related to health, wellness, or personal care. So, you won’t be able to rely on this as your go-to credit card. It also doesn’t offer any rewards.
Another major drawback of using this card is that, if you do not make your payments on time or pay off your full balance by the due date, you will be charged a whopping 26.99% in interest for the entire duration of your financing term, which is extremely high. You will also be charged a late fee of $41 each time you miss a payment deadline.
So, while CareCredit can function as a low- or no-interest credit card for those who use it right, it can also become a nightmare pretty quickly if you can’t afford to make your payments.
Items You Can Buy With CareCredit At Walmart
Just recently, CareCredit announced that their cards are now accepted at Walmart.
You can pay with your CareCredit card at any checkout station, including self checkout. However, only select health, wellness, and personal care products and services can be charged to your CareCredit account. Any items that do not qualify for CareCredit financing will need to be purchased using another payment method.
Examples of items and services CareCredit covers at Walmart include…
- Prescriptions and other Walmart Pharmacy purchases (including pet prescriptions)
- Pharmacy copays and deductibles
- First-aid supplies
- Vitamins
- Over-the-counter medications such as cold or allergy remedies
- Diapers
- Baby formula
- Car seats
- Thermometers
- Baby books and toys
- Walmart Vision Center purchases
- Personal care products (including dental care, skin care, and hair care)
- Walmart Health Center expenses
- Pet food and treats
- Flea and tick medication (no prescription necessary)
- Pet supplies (including collars, leashes, crates, beds, toys, etc.)
Basically, anything that contributes to the care of you, your kids, or your pets can be purchased with your CareCredit card!
How To Use CareCredit At Walmart
To use your CareCredit card at Walmart, simply shop for the items or services you need, and then present your CareCredit card at checkout.
All qualifying items and services will be charged to your card and added to your running balance, which you will need to make payments on each month.
If any of the items or services you’re paying for do not qualify for CareCredit, you will be asked to provide a secondary form of payment to cover the remaining balance.
To apply for a CareCredit card today, click here.
