CareCredit Interest Rate

What is the current CareCredit purchase APR?

The public CareCredit application and Synchrony’s currently published new-account agreement list a 32.99% purchase APR for new accounts as of May 30, 2024. The same public agreement lists a 0.09039% daily rate for purchases and a $2 minimum interest charge in any billing cycle in which interest is charged.

That is the clearest public answer for a new CareCredit account, but it is not a universal rate for every account. An existing cardholder may have terms issued at a different time, an account-specific change, a promotional rate or a different CareCredit product. CareCredit directs existing cardholders to their own credit card agreement, and Synchrony states that applicable APRs also appear on the billing statement.

For that reason, use 32.99% as the current published new-account purchase APR—not as a substitute for the rate printed on your own statement.

Where the standard purchase APR can apply

The standard purchase APR can matter in several different situations:

• Ordinary non-promotional purchases: standard account terms apply, although the public agreement describes a grace period when the required conditions are met and the entire applicable balance is paid by the due date.
• Deferred-interest purchases that are not paid in full: the agreement says interest is imposed from the purchase date at the APR that applied to new purchases when the promotional purchase was charged.
• A promotional balance after its promotion ends: regular account terms apply to the remaining balance after the promotional period.
• Purchases made where promotional financing is unavailable: standard terms may apply even though the merchant accepts CareCredit.

Do not assume that every transaction made with the card receives promotional financing. The provider, purchase amount, offer presented and location can affect whether a promotion is available.

How CareCredit’s daily interest rate works

Synchrony’s public agreement says it calculates interest with a daily rate. For purchases, the daily rate is the applicable APR multiplied by 1/365. At a 32.99% APR, the published daily rate is 0.09039%.

The account does not simply apply the annual rate once at the end of the year or divide it into twelve identical monthly charges. CareCredit’s existing-cardholder guidance describes a daily-balance process:

1. Start with the balance for that day.
2. Add applicable new charges and fees and subtract payments or credits.
3. Multiply the resulting daily balance by the applicable daily rate.
4. Add the daily interest amount when determining the next day’s starting balance, then total the daily interest amounts for the billing cycle.

Balances subject to different rates or special promotions are calculated separately. This is why an online estimate based only on an APR and a monthly balance cannot reproduce an exact statement charge.

A simple daily-rate example

For illustration only, a $1,000 daily balance multiplied by the published 0.09039% daily rate produces about $0.90 of interest for that one day. This is not an estimate of a monthly CareCredit charge.

The actual calculation may use a different account APR and a different balance on every day. Purchases, payments, credits, fees, promotional balances and the timing of each posting can all change the result. Your statement’s Interest Charge Calculation section is the appropriate place to confirm what was actually charged.

Why the purchase APR matters to deferred interest

A “No Interest if Paid in Full” CareCredit offer is generally a deferred-interest promotion, not a 0% APR promotion. Interest accrues from the purchase date during the promotional period. If the promotional balance is paid in full within the agreed period, that accrued interest is not charged. If the balance is not paid in full, interest is charged from the purchase date under the applicable promotion and account terms.

The public new-account agreement currently uses 32.99% when describing the APR for these purchases, but the agreement also says the relevant rate is the purchase APR that applies to the account when the purchase is charged. Existing cardholders should therefore check the rate attached to their own account rather than assuming the currently advertised new-account figure applies.

See how CareCredit deferred interest works for the full deadline and paid-in-full mechanics.

Reduced-APR promotions use a different interest rate

CareCredit also offers reduced-APR promotional financing with fixed monthly payments. Interest is charged from the purchase date under these plans and cannot be avoided by paying the promotional purchase before the end in the same way as a deferred-interest offer.

At the time of this review, CareCredit’s public FAQ lists examples of 17.90% APR for 24 months, 18.90% for 36 months, 19.90% for 48 months and 20.90% for 60 months, with qualifying purchase thresholds and provider availability. These are offer-specific promotional terms, not replacements for the standard purchase APR and not promises that every provider will offer them.

Before accepting a reduced-rate plan, confirm the APR, fixed monthly payment, promotion length and total expected payments in the disclosure for that transaction.

The penalty APR is a separate rate

Synchrony’s current public new-account agreement lists a 39.99% penalty APR. The detailed agreement describes circumstances involving repeated late minimum payments in which a penalty APR may be applied to new transactions. The Rates and Fees table also warns that an increased penalty APR may remain in effect indefinitely.

This is different from a late fee and different from deferred interest becoming chargeable at the end of a promotion. Check the late-payment and penalty-rate language in the agreement issued for your account before drawing conclusions from the public figure.

How to find the interest rate for your own account

Use the latest billing statement and the agreement associated with your account. On the statement, review:

• Interest Charge Calculation: the APR and interest charge for each applicable balance type.
• Promotional Purchase Summary: the promotional balance, expiration date and deferred or billed interest information.
• Transaction Summary: purchases, payments, credits and fees that changed the balances during the cycle.
• Payment Information: the minimum payment and due date, which are not the same as a promotional payoff target.

CareCredit provides a separate cardholder-agreement request process for existing accounts because older accounts may not have the same terms as a current application. If your statement and a public webpage show different APRs, use your account documents and contact the issuer through an official channel for an account-specific explanation.

What an interest calculator can and cannot tell you

A calculator can illustrate how an APR translates into a daily rate or help set a payoff target from a known balance and deadline. It cannot confirm the APR attached to your account, reconstruct every historical daily balance or predict how a payment will be allocated among several balance types.

For deferred interest, a payoff planner is usually more useful before the deadline than an estimated interest total: the immediate goal is to bring the applicable promotional balance to zero in time. Our promotional payoff planner provides a budgeting estimate, not an issuer calculation.

Frequently asked questions

Is the CareCredit interest rate 32.99%?

32.99% is the purchase APR currently published for new accounts as of May 30, 2024. Existing cardholders should use the APR shown in their own agreement and billing statement.

What is CareCredit’s daily interest rate?

The current public new-account agreement lists a 0.09039% daily rate for purchases at a 32.99% APR. A different APR produces a different daily rate.

Does CareCredit charge 32.99% during a no-interest promotion?

Interest accrues from the purchase date on a deferred-interest promotion but is not charged if the promotional balance is paid in full within the required period. If it is not paid in full, interest is charged using the applicable account and promotional terms.

Does every CareCredit purchase have the same interest rate?

No. A transaction may use standard purchase terms, deferred-interest financing or a reduced-APR plan. The CareCredit Rewards Mastercard can also have transaction types that do not exist on the standard CareCredit card.

Where is the APR shown on a CareCredit statement?

Look for the Interest Charge Calculation section, which identifies the APR and interest information for applicable balance types. Promotional details appear separately in the promotional purchase information.