Yes, CareCredit can be used to pay for plastic surgery, and its network covers most of what a cosmetic patient is likely to want: breast augmentation, tummy tucks, liposuction, facelifts, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, mommy makeovers, hair transplants, and a long list of non-surgical treatments like Botox and fillers. The card is issued by Synchrony Bank and works only at enrolled provider locations. It is not a payment plan in the ordinary sense. It is a revolving credit card with a 32.99% standard purchase APR and a deferred-interest promotional structure that rewards patients who pay in full on time and punishes those who don’t.
What Procedures Are Eligible
CareCredit publishes a wide menu of eligible cosmetic procedures rather than a list of exclusions. If a plastic surgeon or medical aesthetics provider in the network performs the procedure, it can generally be charged to the card.1CareCredit. Cosmetic Procedures
Surgical procedures include:
- Breast augmentation, lift, reduction, reconstruction, implant removal, and revision
- Tummy tucks (mini and extended), liposuction, arm lifts, Brazilian butt lifts, butt implants, and panniculectomy
- Facelifts (including deep plane and mini), brow lifts, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, jawline contouring, facial fat transfer, and lip lifts
- Mommy makeovers, gynecomastia surgery, hair transplants, labiaplasty, and vaginal rejuvenation
Non-surgical treatments are also covered, including Botox, Juvéderm and Restylane fillers, chemical peels, laser skin resurfacing, skin tightening, sclerotherapy, and cellulite treatments. CareCredit also lists GLP-1 weight-management drugs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic among eligible expenses.1CareCredit. Cosmetic Procedures2CareCredit. Cosmetic Procedure Costs
The practical limits are that the provider must be enrolled in the CareCredit network, the applicant must be approved for enough credit, and actual costs vary by geography, provider, and complexity.
Will the Credit Limit Cover the Cost
CareCredit’s maximum credit limit is $25,000. The actual limit any applicant receives depends on credit history and Synchrony Bank’s underwriting.3NerdWallet. Medical Credit Cards
Based on CareCredit’s 2023–2025 cost data, average prices come in below that ceiling for most single procedures:
- Breast augmentation: about $7,149
- Tummy tuck: about $8,205
- Breast lift: about $8,128
- Liposuction: $3,724 to $7,857
- Eyelid surgery: about $4,451
- Rhinoplasty: $500 to $17,500
A combination procedure like a mommy makeover — which bundles a tummy tuck, breast surgery, and sometimes liposuction — can approach or exceed the $25,000 ceiling.1CareCredit. Cosmetic Procedures4CareCredit. Plastic Surgery Financing With CareCredit
Cardholders can request a credit limit increase through the app, online, or by phone, and they can split a bill between CareCredit and another payment method to cover the total.5CareCredit. Frequently Asked Questions
How the Financing Works
CareCredit’s promotional financing comes in two forms, and the difference between them is the single most important thing to understand before signing up at a surgeon’s office.
Deferred Interest Promotions
For qualifying purchases of $200 or more, CareCredit offers promotional periods of 6, 12, 18, or 24 months with no interest billed, provided the entire promotional balance is paid off before the period ends. Interest accrues from the original purchase date the whole time at the standard 32.99% APR. If any portion of the balance remains when the promotional period expires, all of that accrued interest is added to the account at once.6CareCredit. Understanding Promotional Financing7CareCredit. Deferred Interest vs APR
On a $7,000 breast augmentation financed over 24 months, roughly $4,600 in interest is quietly accumulating in the background. Pay the balance in full by month 24 and that interest disappears. Miss by a billing cycle and the full amount hits the account. CareCredit advises dividing the purchase amount by the number of promotional months and paying at least that much each month, because the minimum payment is typically not enough to clear the balance in time.8CareCredit. Fair Financing Principles
Reduced APR Plans
For larger purchases, CareCredit offers fixed-payment plans at reduced rates instead of deferred interest:
- 24 months at 17.90% APR for purchases of $1,000 or more
- 36 months at 18.90% APR for purchases of $1,000 or more
- 48 months at 19.90% APR for purchases of $1,000 or more
- 60 months at 20.90% APR for purchases of $2,500 or more
These plans charge interest from the start, but the rate is fixed and there is no retroactive penalty for carrying a balance past the promotional window. For someone financing a $10,000 procedure who cannot realistically pay it off within two years, a reduced APR plan can be safer than the deferred-interest option, even though the headline rate looks less attractive.6CareCredit. Understanding Promotional Financing
Standard Rate and Fees
Outside any promotional plan, the standard purchase APR is 32.99% for new accounts as of May 30, 2024, with a penalty APR of 39.99% for missed payments. There is no annual fee. Late fees can reach $41.9CareCredit. Apply for CareCredit10Investopedia. How Does CareCredit Work
Finding a Surgeon Who Accepts It
CareCredit is accepted at more than 285,000 healthcare and wellness locations, but not at every plastic surgeon’s office. The surgeon must be enrolled in the network. The provider locator on the CareCredit website and mobile app filters by zip code, distance up to 75 miles, and specialty, including “Plastic Surgeon,” “Cosmetic Surgeon,” “Facial Plastic Surgeon,” and “Medical Aesthetics.”11CareCredit. Doctor Locator – Cosmetic Surgeon
Not every enrolled provider offers every promotional term. Confirm with the specific surgeon which promotional periods are available before scheduling, because a practice may offer the 24-month deferred-interest plan but not the 60-month reduced-APR plan, or the other way around.4CareCredit. Plastic Surgery Financing With CareCredit
Getting Approved
Applications go through online, by phone, or in person at a participating provider. A prequalification tool uses a soft credit inquiry that does not affect the applicant’s score; a full application triggers a hard inquiry.12CareCredit. How CareCredit Works
Neither CareCredit nor Synchrony Bank publishes a minimum credit score. Industry estimates for 2026 associate approval with scores of about 620 and up. Applicants in the high 500s are sometimes approved with steady income and low existing debt. Below 580, approval odds drop significantly.13CreditBooster.ai. CareCredit Requirements 2026
Synchrony looks at the full profile — income, existing debt, debt-to-income ratio, and payment history — and commonly pulls Equifax or TransUnion reports. Applicants must be at least 18 (21 to apply by phone). A joint applicant or co-signer is an option if an initial application is denied.5CareCredit. Frequently Asked Questions13CreditBooster.ai. CareCredit Requirements 2026
Risks and Regulatory History
CareCredit’s deferred-interest model has drawn regulatory action for more than a decade. In 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered CareCredit (then run by GE Capital Retail Bank) to refund up to $34.1 million to more than one million consumers after finding that patients were misled about the terms during enrollment at medical and dental offices. Patients frequently believed they were signing up for an interest-free loan or an in-house payment plan rather than a high-interest credit card.14CFPB. GE Capital Retail Bank / CareCredit Enforcement Action
A separate New York Attorney General investigation found that roughly 25% of consumers who chose the deferred-interest plan ended up paying the full rate (then 26.99%) because they did not understand what was required to avoid it.15NY Attorney General. Assurance of Discontinuance No. 12-103
In 2014, the CFPB and the Department of Justice ordered Synchrony Bank, which had acquired the CareCredit portfolio, to provide $225 million in consumer relief for deceptive marketing and discriminatory credit practices. That consent order was terminated in May 2025.16CFPB. Synchrony Bank Enforcement Action
A class action filed in August 2024 in the Eastern District of New York alleges that CareCredit’s 32.99% APR violates New York usury laws, which cap interest at 16% for loans under $250,000. As of January 2026, a magistrate judge recommended granting Synchrony’s motion to compel arbitration, which could keep the case from proceeding as a class action.17ClassAction.org. Synchrony Bank Facing Class Action Over Allegedly Illegal Interest Rates on CareCredit Accounts18GovInfo. S.G. v. Synchrony Bank, 24-CV-5788
The National Consumer Law Center submitted comments to the CFPB in 2025 urging a ban on deferred interest for medical credit cards, citing CFPB data that consumers paid $1 billion in deferred interest on healthcare charges between 2018 and 2020. No rulemaking to that effect has been proposed as of mid-2026.19Regulations.gov. NCLC Comment to CFPB on Deferred Interest
Other Ways to Pay for Plastic Surgery
CareCredit is the largest medical financing card, but there are alternatives, and several avoid the deferred-interest structure entirely.
- Alphaeon Credit is a revolving medical credit card from Comenity Capital Bank, with limits up to $25,000 and the same 32.99% standard APR. It also uses deferred interest, and its network is narrower.
- Cherry is an installment platform (not a revolving card) offering up to $65,000, terms of 3 to 60 months, and 0% APR for qualified borrowers. It uses only a soft credit check. There is no deferred-interest trap: if a balance remains, interest applies only going forward.
- PatientFi offers installment plans up to $60,000 with no hard credit check. Interest is simple rather than compounding, and missed payments do not trigger retroactive charges. Some plans require credit union membership.
- Proceed Finance, a subsidiary of Optum Bank, offers $1,500 to $75,000 with repayment terms up to 12 years and APRs starting at 3.99%.
- Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub Patient Solutions) offers fixed-rate personal loans from $500 to $65,000, terms up to 144 months, and APRs from 0% to 30.99%, with no prepayment penalties.
- Personal loans from banks or credit unions typically carry fixed rates that are lower than medical credit cards for borrowers with scores above 670, with predictable monthly payments and no deferred-interest risk.
- In-house financing from the surgeon’s office varies widely; read the fine print.
- A 0% introductory APR credit card charges interest only on the remaining balance if the promotion expires, rather than retroactively on the entire purchase.
The line worth watching is between deferred interest (CareCredit, Alphaeon) and true 0% APR or simple-interest installments (Cherry, PatientFi, personal loans). Deferred interest works for someone disciplined enough to pay in full within the promotional window and can be punishing for anyone who falls short.20Cherry. Alphaeon Credit vs CareCredit21Proceed Finance. Proceed Finance22LendingClub. Patient Financing Solutions
When Insurance or an HSA Might Pay Instead
Most cosmetic plastic surgery is elective, and health insurance does not cover it. Medicare explicitly does not cover cosmetic surgery performed solely to improve appearance.23Medicare.gov. Cosmetic Surgery
Reconstructive surgery is a different category. Procedures that restore function or correct deformities from accidents, congenital conditions, or disease may be covered, such as breast reconstruction after a mastectomy or rhinoplasty to correct a breathing obstruction. Some procedures sit in a gray area and require prior authorization; Medicare lists blepharoplasty, panniculectomy, rhinoplasty, botulinum toxin injections for muscle disorders, and vein ablation as procedures that may be covered when medically justified. Deductibles and coinsurance can still leave patients with meaningful out-of-pocket costs, which is why CareCredit turns up on reconstructive bills as well.23Medicare.gov. Cosmetic Surgery24Annals of Surgery Open. Medical Credit Cards for Self-Pay and Reconstructive Care
HSA and FSA funds generally cannot be used for purely cosmetic procedures, because the IRS does not classify them as qualified medical expenses. If a procedure treats a documented medical condition — chronic back pain from large breasts, or vision impairment from drooping eyelids — it may qualify, but patients should obtain a Letter of Medical Necessity from their physician and keep documentation for at least three years in case of an audit.25GoodRx. Can You Use HSA for Cosmetic Surgery