Are there any medical credit cards for bad credit?

No, there aren’t any medical credit cards for bad credit on the market at the moment. There are a few options for people with fair credit, but if you have a credit score lower than 640, it will be pretty hard to get approved for a medical credit card.

Getting a Medical Credit Card With a Cosigner

The only way to get a medical credit card with bad credit is to use someone with better credit as a cosigner. This boosts your approval odds because that person guarantees they will pay back the balance if you can’t.

The CareCredit Credit Card is one example of a medical credit card that accepts co-signed applications. The card also lets you pre-qualify with a harmless soft credit pull, so if you have bad credit but you’re close to the fair credit range, that’s a good way to gauge your approval odds. Other medical credit cards like the Alphaeon Credit Card and the Healthcare Spending Card by Lane Health allow you to pre-qualify as well.

Key Things to Know About Medical Credit Cards

Minimum credit score requirement

There are a few medical credit card options for people with fair credit. For instance, both the CareCredit Credit Card and the Alphaeon Credit Card have a minimum credit score requirement of 640. In contrast, most non-medical credit cards that offer 0% financing require good or excellent credit.

Limited use

You can typically only use medical credit cards at a certain network of doctors or for certain types of medical procedures. You won’t be able to use them to make other types of purchases. However, there are rare cards like the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa® that can be used anywhere and give bonus rewards in the “health” category.

Deferred interest

Medical credit cards usually offer 0% financing on medical bills. That means you will not pay any interest if you pay off your entire balance before the introductory period ends.

However, the 0% financing on medical credit cards is usually deferred interest. In other words, if you don’t pay in full by the end of the intro period or you miss a payment, you’ll owe all of the interest you would have accrued on the entire original balance, at a high regular interest rate.

Few options

Unfortunately, there just aren’t a lot of medical credit cards on the market to begin with, so if you only consider them, you may not end up with a great option. However, there are multiple other ways you can finance medical procedures when you have bad credit.

Alternatives to Medical Credit Cards for Bad Credit

Medical financing plans: AccessOne and iCare Financial are examples of companies that offer long-term medical financing with guaranteed approval and no credit check. You may be able to receive 0% financing or low interest rates, too.

Becoming an authorized user: If you can’t get approved for a credit card on your own, you should consider becoming an authorized user on a family member’s account. If you can become an authorized user on a card with a 0% intro APR, you may be able to finance your medical expenses interest-free for 12-24 months.

Regular credit cards for bad credit: There are both secured and unsecured credit cards designed for people with bad credit. Secured cards have the highest approval odds, but they require a security deposit, so they’re not really good for financing. Unsecured cards for bad credit also tend to have low credit limits.

But if you only need to pay for a small medical expense (like a single doctor’s visit), putting it on either a secured or unsecured credit card gives you until your due date to pay it back interest-free, assuming you aren’t already carrying a balance from month to month.

Medical loans: Some medical loans are available to people with bad credit and offer decent interest rates. WalletHub rates First Tech Federal Credit Union’s loans as the best medical loans for bad credit.

You can learn more about the best medical credit cards and best credit cards for medical expenses here on WalletHub.

I would get a secured card with rewards (like Discover/US Bank) if you can afford the procedure without financing. If you need to borrow, try the OneMain Brightway card.

You don’t need a special card. Just get a credit card with low fees and either good rewards or the lowest possible APR!

CareCredit (by Synchrony) is the most common option, but approval can be tough with poor credit. See if you can pre-qualify (no risk), but you might have better luck with a secured card like Discover it® Secured - it's not medical-specific, but it offers cashback and helps rebuild credit.