Citi Health Card

• Time in business
• Flexibility
• Features

Time in Business

Citigroup has a well-established reputation among credit card companies and literally centuries of experience. Since the company was initiated in the early 1800s, it has had plenty of time to develop into a global company and to benefit from the expertise of its workers throughout the years. Citi is a well-known brand and, as a bank, offers a variety of services. In many ways, this makes them a trusted partner for your healthcare financial needs if you are looking to invest in one of the medical credit cards currently available. Even though Citigroup hasn't offered the Citi Health Card the entire time it has been in business, it has been available for well over a decade. In other words, the Citi Health Credit Card is no longer a new, untested product for helping to pay medical bills, it has been provided for over 16 years.

Flexibility

One of the best things about the Citi Health Card is flexibility. Cardholders can use this card in a variety of industries-orthodontia, vision treatments, even veterinary procedures-as long as your treatment costs are within your credit limit and the provider is within Citi's network. It is important to note that this is no regular credit card. It is not meant for going out and buying groceries, it is strictly to help with medical expenses. To its credit, Citi has a network of thousands of healthcare providers making financing plans easier to find and set up.

Features

Here are the bonus features you'll love about this card:

• Online patient portal: Applying for, maintaining, and paying off a credit card can be a hassle. Citi tries to make it more convenient by providing an online portal where you can apply for the card, view recent activity, and of course, pay off its balance. In fact, you pay your bills for the Citi Health Card only online, not at the doctor's office. This online payment feature takes the stress away from setting up financing plans with your provider and allows you to look at the financing options for yourself and make your own decision without the pressure of a financial institution. 
• Find a Provider feature: At citicards.com, you have access to the feature titled "Find a Provider," which lets you search for any doctor's office to see if it's a provider with the Citi Health Card. You can use this feature even before you apply for the card and search by the doctor's name, zip code, industry, etc.
• Reasonable fees: With the Citi Health Card, you don't have to worry about making a down payment or paying for the card application. Furthermore, you will have no prepayment penalties. The flexibility with this card applies to more than just its provider network too; once you're approved for a card, you can use it for treatments of your whole family (not just yourself) up to your credit limit. You can also use it for more than one treatment (again, up to your credit limit). According to online sources an annual fee is not charged.

In short, the Citi Health Card stands out for its flexibility, lack of fees and convenient online features to verify providers in the network and establish financing plans. This makes your life as a patient much easier.

• Lacking information
• Disadvantages

Lacking Information

Considering how experienced Citigroup is, you would expect more from this company in terms of accessible information and customer service resources. In these two areas, the company is lacking and the Citi Health Card is a subpar option. For one thing, Citi is quite vague about the interest rates they charge. They provide some basic information about pricing plans that providers may offer, but they don't clearly lay out all of the payment plans, monthly payments, differing interest rates, and hidden fees. This alone is a red flag because interest rates can be the main disadvantage of using a credit card, even in healthcare financing. In addition, one restriction with the Citi Health Card is that customers can only pay off the balance online rather than in person. So if you use the card to pay for a treatment at a doctor's office, you can't pay part of the bill while at your appointment; you have to manage the card solely online.

Disadvantages

The following aspects are other potential sources of frustration:

• No 24/7 customer support: It's somewhat difficult to contact customer service at Citigroup, partially because their card support representatives are only available during certain hours of the day and there are only a couple of phone numbers you can call to get information. It would be nice to have more ready access to a representative if you run into problems with your card.
• $25 late fee: For every payment you miss or pay late, you will be charged a $25 fee (or the remaining balance on your card, depending on the situation). This isn't a terribly high fee, but it does repeat for every late payment and there is very little wiggle room for late payments.
• Affected credit: When you apply for a Citi Health Card, a representative pulls your credit report from all three credit bureaus to determine your eligibility. Because the card is used for loans, this credit inquiry is considered a hard inquiry, which means your credit is affected by the application.

In broader ways, this company presents frustrations to potential customers. For example, their website is not very informative and patients might benefit from more detailed FAQs sections and especially upfront information about pricing. In addition, Citigroup is first and foremost a bank and not a healthcare lending agency, and that makes the Citi Health Card just one of the products-not necessarily a priority or a main focus for the company.