Pharmacy & wellness credit cards are co-branded cards by Banks and Pharmacies or healthcare providers. These credit cards offer better deals on pharmacy and drugstore purchases. They also offer cashback on prescription medicine purchases.
Some of these credit cards like CareCredit offers introductory offers on the APR. Once the introductory offers are over, these credit cards could be expensive. It is better for card members to apply for loans rather than rely on credit cards for financing their healthcare bills. Healthcare insurance should be the first to lean on in case of a health emergency. Healthcare credit cards can be used to cover incidental or procedures not covered in the insurance.
Advantages of using Pharmacy & Wellness Credit cards
- Firstly, Pharmacy & wellness credit cards offer specific deals on prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs, and other generic medicines. They offer better discounts on white-label products or the in-home brands of the Pharmacies or grocers.
- Next, these credit cards also offer fixed-term or fixed-price financing for healthcare spending. These credit cards offer better financing deals on healthcare expenses than traditional credit cards.
#1 CareCredit Credit Card for Healthcare financing
Fee: There is no annual fee for CareCredit.
APR: CareCredit offers financing options for healthcare expenses. They offer short-term financing for 6, 12, 18, or 24 months. They do not charge any interest on purchases of $200 or more if a card member makes the minimum payment and pays the full amount by the due date.
CareCredit also extends longer-term healthcare financing for 24, 36, 48, or 60 months periods with reduced APR. Further, they offer fixed monthly payments. Furthermore, purchases of $1,000 or more may be eligible for a 24 month introductory offer with a 14.90% APR. For a term of 36 months, the promotional offer is a 15.90% APR or a 48 months offer with a 16.90% APR. Purchases of $2,500 or more may be eligible for a 60 month promotional offer with a 17.90% APR. For new accounts, the Purchase APR (interest rate) is 26.99%.
Our Rating: 4 / 5
Pros & Cons of this card: Credit card members can use the CareCredit card to pay for out-of-pocket expenses not covered by medical insurance. This card also offers special financing options that are not available with other cards. Card members can pay for health, and wellness care at over 250,000 enrolled providers across the nation.
CareCredit is a deferred interest credit card. It offers an interest free introductory period. After the introductory period is over and the balance is not paid off there is an interest charge from day one. This is a very predatory practice. Deferred interest credit cards are different from 0% APR credit cards or balance transfer credit cards.
#2 Card Name: myWalgreens MasterCard
Fees: $0 in annual fees yet a cash advance fee of 4%. This credit card charges a foreign transaction fee of 3%.
APR: 20.99% – 29.99% variable APR
Rewards: A one-time $25 myWalgreens cash reward on making any purchase within 45 days of opening a new credit card account.
Our Rating: 4 / 5
Pros and Cons of this Card: Firstly, Walgreens Mastercard offers extra rewards at Walgreens stores, Duane Reade, and Walgreens.com. Walgreens also offers a 10% Walgreens Cash reward on Walgreens branded products. For example, Generic medicines and treatments, Vitamins and supplements, and Baby & children wellness, and Personal care.
Furthermore, the best part of this credit card is that it offers 5% Walgreens cash rewards on all other brands and also on Rx purchases. This card offers 3%Walgreens cash rewards on grocery and health & wellness products bought outside Walgreens. For the rest of the purchase, this card offers 1% Walgreens cash rewards.
Card members also enjoy $0 fraud liability protection and free access to the credit bureau score.
#3 Card Name: The AARP Essential Rewards Mastercard from Barclays
Fees: This card is available for an annual charge of $0
APR: This credit card offers a 0% introductory APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR of 20.99 – 29.99% will apply.
Rewards: Card members earn a bonus of $200. In order to qualify, the card members have to spend $500 in the first 90 days of the card opening.
Our Ratings: 3 / 5
Pros and Cons of this card: This credit card from Barclays offers cashback and rewards for AARP and other members. Card members can earn an unlimited 3% cash back on Gas and Drug Store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart). They also earn a 2% cashback on all eligible medical purchases. Finally, card members can earn 1% cash back on the rest of the purchases.
Barclays will donate a $10 donation to the AARP foundation for each approval of a new credit card. Further, they will also donate 1% of eligible purchases to AARP foundation. This credit card offers one of the best contributions to the charitable organization in terms of the total percentage.
Card members can redeem rewards for cash back, AARP membership, and more at BarclaysUS.com.