Does Petco Accept Care Credit? (All You Need to Know)

Petco is a leading pet retail store dealing in a large variety of pet food, pet products, and some live animals, both in its physical stores as well as online.

The company offers various payment options, including cash, debit cards, credit cards, gift cards, Pals Reward, and PayPal. If you’re wondering whether Care Credit is one of the payment options available at Petco, read this article!

Does Petco Accept Care Credit In [currentyear]?

Unfortunately, Petco does not accept Care Credit unless you’re using it to pay for your pet’s healthcare in [currentyear]. Petco has a range of veterinary services at its stores where Care Credit is accepted. You can’t use Care Credit at Petco to pay for pets, pet foods, and pet products, whether you’re doing it in-store or online.

If you would like to find out more about why Petco doesn’t accept Care Credit for everything, what services you can pay for using this method, and other places where Care Credit is accepted, keep reading!

Why Doesn’t Petco Accept Care Credit?

As stated above, Petco does not accept Care Credit for most of its products because the payment option is reserved for healthcare.

This is why you can’t use Care Credit to buy pets or their supplies, and why it’s only restricted to paying for vet services.

Petco has its own card, the Petco Pay Credit Card, that you can use to pay for the items not covered under Care Credit.

Aside from this, you can also use this card to pay for vet services at Petco, so it makes sense that the company wouldn’t push Care Credit as much as its in-house option.

What Is Care Credit Used For?

Care Credit is a form of healthcare credit card designed to assist you to pay for out of pocket healthcare expenses that may not be fully covered or covered at all by primary insurance.

Care Credit allows your pet to receive medical treatment by taking care of upfront expenses, covering routine and emergency procedures such as:

  1. Check ups
  2. Medication
  3. Microchips
  4. Nutrition
  5. Spay and neutering
  6. Surgeries
  7. Teeth cleaning
  8. Vaccinations

Like a normal credit card, you will have to repay the debt.

Unlike usual credit cards, though, a customer can avoid paying the interest on the loan if the principal amount is repaid within the promotional period, which varies from 6, 12, 18, or 24 months financing.

Interest on Care Credit is pretty steep, averaging at 26.99%, while the average interest rate for a normal credit card is 16.5%.

This becomes payable immediately after you exceed your promotional period.

What Can I Get with Care Credit at Petco?

What Can I Get with Care Credit at Petco?

Unfortunately, you cannot use your Care Credit card at Petco to purchase pet food, pet products, pets, or pay for grooming or other similar pet services.

As per the information in the previous section, Care Credit is strictly restricted to payments for healthcare.

Luckily, several of the services mentioned in the section above that you can get using Care Credit are available at Petco.

According to the official Petco website, you could get the following procedures, all of which are potentially available through Care Credit:

  1. Wellness and sick exams
  2. Vaccinations
  3. Dental care
  4. Surgeries
  5. Pest and parasite prevention testing
  6. Spaying and neutering
  7. Microchipping
  8. Digestive care
  9. Dermatology

Petco works with veterinarians at its stores to provide pet healthcare services, and most of them set their own payment options.

We checked Care Credit’s website and found that it has partnered with several different Vetco locations in many areas, the same vet service that Petco works with.

We still recommend calling ahead to check whether the vet at the Petco in your area takes Credit Care before making the trip.

Which Stores Accept Care Credit?

You can use CareCredit at many clinics, dentists, optical centers, veterinary offices, and more, provided you’re using it to pay for something related to healthcare.

Just like Petco, most pet stores don’t accept care credit, unless it’s for in-store veterinary services at hospitals provided by third-party vets.

We found the following pet stores that accept Care Credit:

  1. Pet Supermarket
  2. Pet Supplies Plus
  3. Pet Valu
  4. Petland

 Care Credit’s website has a function that allows you to conduct a search and find vets that will accept them as a form of payment.

You can access it by opening the page, then entering the name of a vet and a zip code to see the options available.

If you don’t know the names of any vet practices in your area, there’s a different function on the Care Credit website that lets you input only your zip code or use your location to find partners within a 5 to 75-mile radius.

Again, it’s best if you call ahead before making the trip, just to be sure that the location accepts Care Credit.

To learn more, you can also read our posts on whether or not Petco takes Apple Pay, if Petco price matches, and Petco student discount.

Conclusion

Petco doesn’t accept Care Credit unless you’re using it to pay for your pet’s healthcare. You can’t use it to pay for supplies, accessories, or to buy a new pet. Care Credit is limited to paying for healthcare-related services, which is why this restriction exists.

Petco also has its own credit card program, the Petco Care Credit Card, that is promoted more than outside alternatives.

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Marques Thomas

Marques Thomas graduated with a MBA in 2011. Since then, Marques has worked in the retail and consumer service industry as a manager, advisor, and marketer. Marques is also the head writer and founder of QuerySprout.com.

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