Paying for a Tummy Tuck on an Interest-Free Credit Card

If you cannot afford a tummy tuck right now but want to see the results as soon as possible, you may be tempted to sign up for an interest-free credit card for medical costs. This can be a great way to get the surgery done today without having to pay at the same time, as you can make smaller payments for months or even years. However, there are some risks involved with this option. Consider some details you should be aware of before applying.

You may wonder how offering a credit card without any interest is profitable for the lender. The answer is that many people have trouble paying it all off within the allotted time. This means that they actually end up paying more interest than most cards require, which can clearly make a large profit for the lender. This is because if you do not pay it all off within the six months, one year, or two years that most of these cards give you, it is required that you add the high interest to your total. Even if you only have a little bit of money left to pay off, you will be charged extra money on the entire cost of the tummy tuck that you placed on the card. Therefore, do not neglect to pay it all off by the end of the special term agreed upon when you first opened the account.

One thing that you might not notice is that the minimum payment required is not usually the payment you have to make monthly to avoid facing extra charges at the end of the special term. Lenders often purposely make the minimum payment much lower than it should be, leading you to believe that by paying it every month, the entire card will be paid off in six months, one year, or two years. What you should do instead is take the total of the tummy tuck, and then divide that by the number of months you have before the card needs to be paid off entirely. You then need to ensure your payments are large enough to add up to the total so that it can be paid off by the date the promotion ends. Otherwise, you will end up paying a lot more for your surgery than you assumed.

Another detail to remember is that if you are late making a payment, it is possible to lose the promotion altogether. This means that you will be charged interest, and it will not be a low amount. In most cases, you have to be at least a month late paying in order for this to occur, but some lenders are stricter and may charge extra, or at least additional fees, even if you are a few days late. This is why you need to pay close attention to your bill every month.

Credit cards of this type can be a great way to afford a tummy tuck. However, they can become risky if you do not consider the policies and requirements first.