CareCredit vs. Prosper - which is better?

February 6, 2019 9:47 AM

I am looking to have a procedure that is not covered by my insurance policy. I'll be self pay, but will likely need credit or a loan for the remaining amount. Looking for people who have experience using Care Credit or Prosper.

I'll need a credit line or loan for approx $8,000 us/dollars. Looking specifically for people who have used CareCredit or Prosper in the past and their experiences/reviews of the companies.

posted by Sara_NOT_Sarah to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

I used to be very familiar with CareCredit, as I worked at multiple veterinary hospitals that accepted it. Our clients were generally happy with it, but the one caveat that I always pointed out to people: They offer a certain lowish interest rate, as long as your balance was paid off within X months. The problem was that the minimum payments they would ask for would not pay off the balance in that time frame, and then the higher interest rate - for the full amount - would kick in. I suggested people calculate their own minimum payment to ensure full payment within the promotional period. This was greatly appreciated by several people who had been burned in the past.

I have no experience with Prosper, I'm afraid.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:50 AM on February 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

I should add, my experiences with CareCredit ended 3+ years ago, so things may have changed.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:51 AM on February 6, 2019

I've used Care Credit/Synchrony for medical, dental, and veterinarian procedures (not all at once). I have not had any issues. The catch is that you need to be 100% sure you can pay off the total amount within your 0% promotional time frame, or they will charge you 27% interest, calculated from the time of your procedure.
posted by CheeseLouise at 10:51 AM on February 6, 2019 [6 favorites]

Came in to say what CheeseLouise said. If you’re looking to space out the payments because you could pay them off in X months but not all at once, then CareCredit is great. But be very certain that you can pay it off in X months.
posted by Etrigan at 11:26 AM on February 6, 2019

i have used and like carecredit. i did get screwed recently tho, because all my transactions to that point had been 0% for 12 months. i assumed that was just the policy. however, i got a crown, and it was only 0% for 6 months, because that's what that dentist set it at. so, be sure to check what their promotional period length is, and budget accordingly.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 12:00 PM on February 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

because that's what that dentist set it at

That is a very good point - the promotional rates that providers offer can be limited, based on what kind of plan they have with CareCredit. Confirm details with your provider before doing anything.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:09 PM on February 6, 2019

I have found CareCredit to be just like using a regular credit card. Be careful of the finer points--know when the 0% interest rate will ding you for example.

Look for promos with CareCredit--we got a free SonicCare toothbrush for signing up which was a nice perk.

I did get dinged with late fees for several months because I was paying at the wrong time of the month. For example, my payment was posting on the 2nd of each month (due to bill pay), but my bills weren't being generated until the 10th. So the 2nd of the month got paid towards principal, but it didn't look like I was paying my monthly payment. It took about an hour on the phone with them and I got it all resolved, but I had to be paying attention to my account and I wasn't at first. I had set it all up to be automated. So be careful of that.
posted by aetg at 3:03 PM on February 6, 2019

I've used care credit with significantly smaller balances. The interest if you don't pay is dangerous and based off inital balance, so if you don't pay everything (even if you only have a couple hundred dollars left) it can be exorbitant .

If your in a financial place where you are confident you can pay off 8000 in the premotional period, I would encourage you to try and see what other loan options are available to you.
If your not confident, do not use these programs .

With that amount of interest if something goes wrong, you won't be able to pay it off.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:33 PM on February 6, 2019

I have CareCredit. Like others have said, make sure you can pay off the balance before the interest kicks in. I set up automatic payment to make sure.
posted by amapolaroja at 1:21 AM on February 7, 2019