If you’re looking for an easier way to pay for your health insurance premiums, have you considered using plastic? It’s simple and convenient to pay your health insurance premiums with a credit card and using plastic can also help you access a wide range of other benefits.
Let’s examine the pros and cons of paying for health insurance with your credit card and what you need to do to get started.
Can I pay for health insurance using a credit card?
Yes, you can pay your health insurance premiums with a credit card. Regardless of whether you’re a member of a major fund or a smaller restricted-access fund, credit card is a widely supported premium payment option across the board.
Using your credit card can be a much more convenient option than some other payment methods, such as mailing a cheque or paying in person at a health fund branch, with most health funds allowing you to use your credit card when paying premiums online or over the phone.
You will need to provide the following details to pay insurance premiums using your credit card:
The type of card. Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted, while some funds also accept other cards
The name on the card
Your card number and expiry date
The CVV on the back of the card
Can I pay for health insurance via direct debit?
Another option when paying your health cover premiums is to set up a direct debit from your credit card. To do this, it’s a simple matter of filling out a form provided by your health fund with your credit card details. Your fund will then deduct the relevant premium amount from your credit card each month, quarter, year, or whenever your regular premium payment is due.
There are several benefits to paying your health insurance premiums by direct debit from your credit card, including:
It’s convenient. Setting up a direct debit saves you the hassle of having to manually enter your payment details each time your premium is due.
You’ll never forget a payment. A direct debit from your credit card automates the premium payment process for you, which means you’ll never have to worry about your cover lapsing after you forget a payment.
You can earn rewards. If your credit card offers a rewards or frequent flyer scheme, you could earn points for paying your health insurance premiums with your card.
Discounts. Some Australian health funds offer premium discounts when you choose to pay by direct debit.
What are the dangers of direct debit from your credit card?
While direct debits from your credit card undoubtedly have their benefits, there are a few downsides to be wary of. These include:
Changing credit cards. If you change to a new credit card, it’s vital that you remember to cancel the direct debit on your old card and set it up on your new card. If you don’t remember this step, you could end up without health insurance cover.
Changing health funds. If you switch health funds, you’ll need to remember to cancel your old fund’s direct debit before arranging payment to your new fund.
Insufficient credit. If your credit card is maxed out, your automatic direct debit may not be able to be completed and your health cover may lapse.
Not reviewing your options. With a direct debit taking care of your premiums, it can sometimes be easy to push thoughts of health insurance to the back of your mind. However, it’s worth reviewing your cover regularly to determine whether it still suits your needs and whether any premium increases make the cover too expensive for you.
Paying interest. Of course, you will also have to pay your credit card off before the interest-free days come to an end and interest charges apply.
Will I be charged a cash advance rate?
Another risk you should be aware of is whether your credit card provider treats your health insurance premium as a purchase or as a cash advance. If your card provider classifies health cover premium as a purchase, you will be able to take advantage of the interest-free days available on your card and also earn reward/frequent flyer points (if your card offers them).
However, some card providers will classify a health insurance premium payment as a cash advance, which means it will attract a higher interest rate than purchases and you will not be able to take advantage of any interest-free days. A cash advance fee may also apply to your transaction.
You generally can’t earn reward points on cash advances either, so it’s a good idea to check the terms of your credit card contract before using plastic to pay for your health insurance premiums.
Compare policies from 30+ Australian health funds
Why compare health insurance with Finder?
We don't ask for your phone or email to see prices.
With 1 click, you can open your results to nearly every fund in Australia.
You pay the same price as going direct – we charge no fees.
Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
Email me my results (optional)
To get a copy of your results for later, add your email below
Tim Falk is a writer for Finder, writing across a diverse range of topics. Over the course of his 15-year writing career, Tim has reported on everything from travel and personal finance to pets and TV soap operas. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors. See full bio
Prenatal care in Australia is covered by Medicare, meaning it’s mostly free through the public system. You can choose to go private, which comes with a lot of benefits – but there are out-of-pocket expenses to watch out for.
Do you qualify for Defence Health health insurance? Find out what you could receive and what options are available to ADF members as well as their families and siblings.
Looking for health cover but aren't sure which policy is best? This article looks at Australian Unity's health insurance options and helps you decide whether any of its policies are what you need.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stands by our editorial principles
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
