Medical expenses and dental work are niche spending categories — most of us have health insurance that covers a solid portion of procedures and check-ups.
But if you are making purchases that aren’t quite covered, what’s the best credit card to use?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this unique question, but this guide is dedicated to getting you closer to narrowing down the best card for your healthcare expenses!
What To Look for in a Credit Card for Healthcare Expenses
Whether you have regular medical or dental expenses or rare, high-ticket expenses like surgery, optimizing your purchases could add up over time.
Indeed, there aren’t any credit cards that specifically call out medical or dental expenses as a bonus category, so the best thing to do in this situation is to find a fantastic card for everyday purchases. You won’t need to follow any bonus categories, and you can boost the rewards you earn on your daily transactions.
Here are our favorite personal credit cards for medical and dental expenses.
The 4 Best Personal Credit Cards for Healthcare Expenses
Image Credit: Hero Images via Adobe Stock1. Citi® Double Cash Card
It’s no secret that we’re a fan of the Double Cash card offered by Citibank. In our opinion, the Double Cash card is the single most rewarding credit card for non-bonused spending with no caps.
The Double Cash card earns you 2x ThankYou points (1x at the time of purchase and another 1x when you pay your bill). There are no caps to how many rewards you can earn.
You can use these points for cash-back, travel through the Citi travel portal, or they can be transferred to Choice, Wyndham, or JetBlue.
However, if you also have a credit card like the Citi Premier® Card, you can access all of Citi’s transfer partners and you’ll nearly double your return on spending, since ThankYou Points are worth 1.6 cents each.
That means your 2% cash-back transforms into a 3.2% return on your spending!
The card’s benefits also include an introductory APR benefit, a late fee pass, flexible pay dates, fraud protection, zero liability for unauthorized purchases, and access to Citi Private Pass for event tickets. As with all intro APR offers, the regular APR (as shown in the table above) will apply.
Why We Like Citi ThankYou Rewards Points
Citi’s ThankYou Rewards system is one of the best out there — thanks to a list of valuable transfer partners, we actively recommend earning Citi ThankYou Points.
That’s because you can redeem points through transfer partners to book flights like ANA first class and Emirates first class.
Additionally, there are plenty of non-transfer partner redemptions, such as cash-back, gift cards, checks, merchandise, direct deposit, travel booked through the ThankYou Rewards travel portal, and more.
2. Chase Freedom Unlimited®
The Freedom Unlimited card has superb earning categories overall, but what makes this card special is the ability to earn 1.5% cash-back on all purchases, regardless of category. That means your medical and dental expenses will qualify to earn 1.5% cash-back.
To sweeten the deal, earn 5% cash-back on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal and 3% cash-back on dining and drugstore purchases.
Not only that, your Freedom Unlimited card’s cash-back rewards are convertible to Ultimate Rewards points at a 1% to 1x ratio, as long as you have an Ultimate Rewards credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
By converting your cash-back to Ultimate Rewards points, your 1.5%, 3%, and 5% cash-back becomes 1.5x, 3x, and 5x Ultimate Rewards points. That’s worth a 3%, 6%, or 10% return on your spending, according to our valuations.
Also, the introductory 0% APR benefit on purchases and balance transfers is nothing to sneeze at, either. After the introductory periods, regular APR (as indicated in the table above) will apply.
The Freedom Unlimited card comes with benefits like secondary rental car insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, zero liability for unauthorized purchases, fraud protection and alerts, and more.
Why We Like Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Chase Ultimate Rewards are some of the most valuable types of points in the entire world, worth 2 cents each.
While it’s true that the Freedom Unlimited card’s rewards are only redeemable at a 1 cent per point value, you can double the value of your points by having an Ultimate Rewards card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
To achieve greater value, transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to travel partners and use them for luxury business and first class flights!
3. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The CapOne Venture card is one of our favorite credit cards, thanks to a streamlined rewards structure. On all your purchases you make you’ll earn an unlimited 2x Capital One miles with no caps!
You can also enjoy benefits like the $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement, as well as solid travel insurance, including secondary car rental insurance, travel accident coverage, lost luggage reimbursement, travel assistance, and roadside dispatch services.
Plus, take advantage of the purchase security, extended warranty, zero fraud liability, and no foreign transaction fee benefits.
Why We Like Capital One Miles
Capital One miles are one of the major types of transferable points, which means you can redeem these in various ways.
Our favorite is to leverage transfer partners to book luxury travel, but it’s possible to use Capital One miles for statement credits, travel purchases, gift cards, and more.
When you transfer your miles to airlines and hotels, however, just be cognizant of transfer ratios, which are either 2:1, 2:1.5, or 1:1, depending on the exact partner you’re transferring points to.
Due to the reduced transfer ratios, we value Capital One miles at slightly less — 1.4 cents each — making your medical expenses and dental work purchases worth a 2.8% return on spending.
4. The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Amex Platinum card is the last personal card we’ll be talking about, and there’s a lot to talk about. This ultra-premium card offers the best luxury travel perks in the world.
Before we discuss that, though, let’s talk about the welcome bonus: a large bill from the doctor could easily help you reach the minimum spend requirement to receive the bonus, and you’ll earn 1x points on these medical or dental expenses.
Plus, you’ll get 5x points for flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel (capped at $500,000 per calendar year).
And as far as luxury travel perks go, check out this massive list of benefits (terms apply and some benefits require enrollment through your American Express account):
- Access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, including Airspace Lounges, Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta the same day), Escape Lounges – The Centurion® Studio Partner, International American Express Centurion Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, Select Virgin Clubhouses, Select Lufthansa Lounges, and Priority Pass lounges
- Access to American Express’s Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection
- Complimentary hotel elite status (Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status)
- Complimentary rental car status (Avis Preferred Club, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, and National Emerald Club Executive)
- Airfare discounts at the Amex International Airline Program
- Up to $200 airline incidental fee credit
- $189 CLEAR credit
- Up to $200 prepaid hotel credit on eligible stays
- Travel insurance coverage, including trip interruption and cancellation, trip delay insurance, lost/stolen/damaged/delayed baggage, secondary rental car insurance, and emergency evacuation coverage
You’ll even enjoy lifestyle benefits, like up to $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue statement credits, up to $240 digital entertainment credit, up to $200 Uber Cash for U.S. Uber rides or U.S. Uber Eats orders, a $12.95 monthly Walmart + credit, and up to $300 Equinox credit.
Also, you’ll get access to Amex Offers, purchase protection, extended warranty, zero fraud liability protection, and no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).
Why We Like Amex Membership Rewards Points
Amex Membership Rewards takes the crown for the most valuable points in the world, valued at 2.2 cents each.
You can get tons of value by redeeming your points on luxury travel through transfer partners.
For other redemptions, you won’t get great value, but these include Shop with Points at Amazon, cash-back, gift cards, charity, statement credits, and Pay With Points travel bookings via Amex Travel.
The 4 Best Business Credit Cards for Healthcare Expenses
Image Credit: Kalim via Adobe StockIf medical expenses or dental work are deductible business expenses for your situation, then you’ll want to pay attention to this next list of the best business credit cards for medical and dental expenses.
1. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
The Amex Blue Business Plus card is easily one of the best business credit cards for rewards.
The card offers 2x Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on everyday business purchases, up to a maximum of $50,000 per year. Upon hitting the maximum spend, you earn a straightforward 1x thereafter, so we generally recommend using this card for your first $50,000 in general business purchases.
It also comes with an introductory 0% APR perk you can use to defer interest fees on any balances. As with all intro APR offers, the regular APR, as shown in the table above, will apply after the introductory period.
This card also gets you access to benefits like purchase protection, extended warranty, Membership Rewards, and employee cards at no additional cost (see rates and fees).
2. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
The Ink Business Unlimited card offers a similar earning structure on everyday business purchases.
The difference is that this card comes with a huge welcome bonus, in addition to benefits like a 0% introductory APR on purchases. After the introductory period the regular APR, as indicated above, will apply.
On all business purchases, the Ink Business Unlimited card boasts 1.5% cash-back.
These rewards can be converted to Ultimate Rewards points with an Ultimate Rewards card like the Ink Business Preferred card, doubling your return on spending to approximately 3%.
Furthermore, you can add unlimited employee cards with no fees, enjoy primary rental car insurance, extended warranty, purchase protection, zero liability fraud coverage, and more.
3. Capital One Spark Miles for Business
The CapOne Spark Miles card is Capital One’s flagship business credit card.
Offering unlimited 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent on every purchase with no blackouts, seat restrictions, or minimum to redeem, there’s a lot to love about it.
You can even earn 5x miles on hotel and rental car bookings made through Capital One Travel.
Other perks on this card are the $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit, no-cost employee cards, roadside assistance, extended warranty, purchase protection, and no foreign transaction fees.
4. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Amex Business Platinum card rounds out our best business cards for medical and dental expenses, and you should absolutely consider holding this card if you’re a business owner.
You’ll earn 5x on flights and prepaid hotels booked via Amex Travel and earn 1.5x on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else (up to $2 million in purchases per calendar year).
That means if you have a $7,000 medical or dental procedure, you can earn 1.5x Amex points, worth a return on spending of 3.3%!
You’ll also find a series of travel perks, including access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, up to $200 in airline fee credits per calendar year, up to $189 in CLEAR credits per year, up to $400 in statement credits for U.S. purchases with Dell (split into 2 semi-annual credits of $200 each), access to the famed Fine Hotels & Resorts program, hotel and rental car elite status upon enrollment, a 35% Pay With Points rebate on flights booked through Amex Travel (up to 1,000,000 bonus points per calendar year), a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit, and more.
And on an ongoing basis, make use of purchase protection, return protection, travel insurance, secondary rental car insurance, extended warranty, and integrations into QuickBooks.
Final Thoughts
If you have upcoming medical or dental work and are looking to earn rewards or cash-back for your expenses, we hope we’ve shed some light on some of the most worthwhile credit cards to use for your needs.
Whether you’re putting charges from the doctor’s office on a regular personal credit card or are planning to use a business card, we’ve shown you the top choices to help you make the most of points, rewards, and travel benefits!
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, and Capital One Spark Miles for Business was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
