Has anyone used CareCredit??

[missysue29]

I want to apply for a CareCredit account, so I can get at least one, but possibly both of my conures full wellness checks. I would like to know if anyone else here has used CareCredit before. I would like to hear how it works from another person in language I understand, instead of the terms the company uses and the way they can twist and leave out things that they want to.

Does anyone else understand the whole thing works about how when you apply for a credit card and get declined it hurts your credit score? Does it hurt it enough to even worry about it if you dont do it often?

[xafsmom]

I wish I could help, but I don't use it, and actually haven't heard of it. I wonder if it's even available in California.

As for your credit decline info... Yes, it does go on your credit report as an inquiry into your credit. At most it will affect it by a few points, or not at all in the score rating. However, each inquiry will indicate a red flag to other companies and that might be a detriment to obtaining a 'clearer' report.

I've never been declined, so I'm not sure if that shows up on your report, but I do know that when I got my new truck a week ago, even though I paid for it in full, they still ran a credit check and my score was tagged a bit because of inquiries. I was slightly peeved, because I have one credit card and pay it in full each month, and other than student loans, I have no negative debt at all (student loans are always considered 'negative' debt, even when you make your payments on time).

[Eliza]

If you must use credit to finance pet care I would suggest applying for a regular, low interest Visa or Mastercard (check bankrate.com). Care Credit has VERY high interest and penalties for animal & human healthcare alike. Best of luck...

[MissV]

Ditto on the credit card idea.

Okay, I won't go into details (I can't, really) but I have experience in checking credit. When someone goes in to check your score (a company, gov't agency, etc) it marks your credit but is "inquiry only". Companies can see this....now SOME companies will see this as a red flag, but should not.

It does not and should not drop your score...if it does, then someone is doing something wrong. However, if this is happening so often and getting rejected, it's going to look bad for you.

But since you're so young, you probably have not so much "bad" credit as "no" credit. You should check with your bank and see if they have a good deal on a low-limit beginner or student card (you dont' actually have to be a student to get it),


Usually you'll start out with a balance around 500 dollars with low finance charges. If you do well with that, over time they will up it. I started with a 500 limit mastercard...it's over 6,000 now in the span of about 6 years (from when I was 19).

[perchingbird]

You get a certain number of "credit inquiries" per year before it affects your credit score. If you are looking into buying a house or car, a lot of those credit inquiries (if they are within a month of each other) will be considered one inquiry because shopping for those items requires a lot of credit checks. Applying for a few credit cards will not harm your credit.

To build your non-existant credit you SHOULD get a credit card. Care credit will count, but you can only use it for medical purposes. I have one and it has been great - it's there with a zero balance in case I do have a medical emergency that I simply cannot pay for. I have no annual fees. While the interest is high, they usually have a no-interest grace period (mine was 12 months) for you to pay off the amount. If you do not pay off the amount by the time that grace period is over ALL the interest that would have accumulated during the grace period is added to the bill.

For example, I used CareCredit to pay for $1200 in dental bills. I had 12 months to pay that balance in full, which I did, and no interest was assessed. So.. I paid $1200. If I waited to the last minute and paid $600 during that last month of grace, and left a balance of $600 when the grace period ended, I would have had the interest from that original $1200 added to my account at whatever the percent was, we'll say 20% which is $240 and comounded (added for every month I had that balance). So, after the interest was compounded for every month I had a balance during the grace period, I would owe CareCredit an addition $2760 or so. How they actually compound interest is weird, so the real numbers are probably different, but you get the idea. :D Pay off before grace is over. And know what that grace period is.

So with CareCredit, it is very important to -pay it off- before the grace period is over, or you will be paying high interest.

With no credit history, your options for a low-interest credit card will be limited. There are student cards out there, but the interest is usually high. If you are interested in building your credit, I'd agree with MissV and suggest looking into a Visa or Mastercard. Check to see if there are options that your parents could co-sign on to drive down the interest rate. If not, look for the lowest interest you can get.

Then use the credit card once a month for something, like gasoline, and -pay it off- before the billing cycle closes. This helps you build credit, without having to pay the interest rate. It takes willpower, though, because it's so easy to charge up that credit balance and then have to pay lots of interest when you can't pay it off by the end of the billing cycle.

... that's also how I ended up with my impulse buy sun conure. O.O

Things to look for in a credit card:
- NO annual fee
- Lowest interest rate possible
- Fixed APR (if possible)
- Grace period for late payments (to be informed)
- How many late payments you can have before the interest rate jacks up so high you need to ransom a small child to pay it off (to be informed again)
- Rewards (luxury)

[MissV]

Originally Posted by perchingbird

... that's also how I ended up with my impulse buy sun conure. O.O

I had the money in savings....but that is too how I was able to rescue my Dusky from that petco that one day. 0.0

I <3 Mastercard.



About interest....my interest on my mastercard is something like 10. something? I don't think that's low at all, so yeah...the interest is usually high, but I've not had to worry about it because i pay it before the billing cycle comes up.

Now I DID wrack up too much years back and was paying on it...but I got major travel and overtime and used it to pay the bugger off. Haven't had to pay interest since. ^^ Good stuff if you can beat the credit companies and use the card like you're SUPPOSED to. (they don't want you to know that, though!)

[brdfvr]

I like care credit because you can have between 12-24 months (depending on your credit) to pay off the balance before the interest will be assessed. I have never used it personally, but I think it is a great deal especially if you are getting it for vet bills. A 3-600 dollar balance will be easy to pay off in that period and you won't get hit with interest right away like a credit card. Also, now there are different kinds of care credit cards. At our clinic we have 4. So if you get declined for one, you can try for others. If I remember correctly, you said you don't have any credit, you might still be able to qualify, it's worth a shot.

[MissV]

Well, when I got my lasik it was through an 18 month no-interest capital one thing.....I did the math and figured I could pay it off in time, and I have....so I have no issue with this idea of care credit.

But the one thing I'd notice is that care credit is only for those medical things, and because she's so young, she needs to get a credit card started anyway for the future. Plus, it looks good on your checks to see that you've mantained one for sooooo long.

[missysue29]

The reasons I really am looking into carecredit instead of a regular credit card is because of the limits on where I can use it, along with the no interest promotion. I know if I get a credit card that I can use anywhere, I will, for everything. I also like that I can use on things that are really important, like my animals, and my health if I need to. I really need to have some dental work done, so I figure if I can make the payments in the promo period for the vet bills I would most likely be able to if/when I go to the dentist.

[perchingbird]

Missysue...

Genius. :D

Knowing your limits is a GOOD thing. I wish I would have. Paying off $10k in credit cards is HARD when interest rates are 15-20% on average. Go for the Care Credit then. It will help establish a credit history.

If you do have a hard time getting it approved, you can ask for a joint account with a parent/relative with the understanding that you are responsible for the card. But that's if you can't get one on your own. :)

MissV, I think 10% is actually really low for a credit card. I have excellent credit and the offers I get in the mail are all 14% or so. >< Not that I want another credit card. I ended up chopping my original student Visa into bits, but leaving the account open. I've had it since 1998, the interest rate is horrible, but the account helps my credit score. Weird, isn't it? :D