topic Re: CareCredit vs Installment Loan in Credit Cards

CareCredit vs Installment Loan

rbentley — Tue, 25 Dec 2018 18:04:57 GMT

I have been interested in this card but didn't think I could use in annually. Knowing that I can put a little spend on it to keep it open for latter use is valuable.

My question abbout this card is if I had say $5,000 in dental expenses sprung on me, wouldn't I be better off taking out a low interest CU loan than the interest on this card, since that kind of expense is something I would need to pay over time. I have wondered if even opening a new BT card with 0% interest for a year might be another fall back position.

My finanical plan weekness is large, unexpected and not covered by insurance medical expenses. I am wondering how this card might best play in that mix.

*My apologies if this post seems to hijack the OP. I am happy to start a new thread if prompted by a moderator.*

Re: CareCredit vs Installment Loan

K-in-Boston — Tue, 25 Dec 2018 18:09:56 GMT

@rbentley wrote:
I have been interested in this card but didn't think I could use in annually. Knowing that I can put a little spend on it to keep it open for latter use is valuable.

My question abbout this card is if I had say $5,000 in dental expenses sprung on me, wouldn't I be better off taking out a low interest CU loan than the interest on this card, since that kind of expense is something I would need to pay over time. I have wondered if even opening a new BT card with 0% interest for a year might be another fall back position.

My finanical plan weekness is large, unexpected and not covered by insurance medical expenses. I am wondering how this card might best play in that mix.

*My apologies if this post seems to hijack the OP. I am happy to start a new thread if prompted by a moderator.*

Rather than a BT-specific card, a new card with 0% on new purchases straight off the bat would be better since you'd earn rewards on the initial charge and not have to worry about any balance transfer fees (which of course could be avoided with cards like Slate, BankAmericard, and EveryDay). I'm not too familiar with Care Credit, but doesn't that have 0% for x months promotional offers? The installment loan option would likely only be better if you needed to force yourself to make larger payments over time than you think you would end up doing with the lower minimum payments on a credit card.

Re: CareCredit vs Installment Loan

UncleB — Tue, 25 Dec 2018 18:10:07 GMT

@rbentley wrote:
I have been interested in this card but didn't think I could use in annually. Knowing that I can put a little spend on it to keep it open for latter use is valuable.

My question abbout this card is if I had say $5,000 in dental expenses sprung on me, wouldn't I be better off taking out a low interest CU loan than the interest on this card, since that kind of expense is something I would need to pay over time. I have wondered if even opening a new BT card with 0% interest for a year might be another fall back position.

My finanical plan weekness is large, unexpected and not covered by insurance medical expenses. I am wondering how this card might best play in that mix.

*My apologies if this post seems to hijack the OP. I am happy to start a new thread if prompted by a moderator.*

Hi @rbentley, I've moved your post to a new thread to get your question more exposure.

Regarding CareCredit vs. an installment loan, many CareCredit providers (but not all) will give you 0% for a period of time if you pay with CareCredit; the amount of time will depend on the charge amount. With a little planning this can be a better deal than even a low-APR installment loan.

The reason this can vary from one provider to the next is that there is a cost to the provider for offering the 0% promo... basically you'll have to check.