If you are pre approved for a credit card will you get it

Inquiries for pre-approved offers do not affect your credit score unless you follow through and apply for the credit.

If you read the fine print on the offer, you'll find it's not really "pre-approved." Anyone who receives an offer still must fill out an application before being granted credit. The pre-approval means that the lender has identified you as a good prospect based on information in your credit report, but it is not a guarantee that you'll get the credit. The lender wants more information, like your annual income.

Pre-approved offers are sometimes referred to more accurately as "prescreened."

Key Takeaways

  • A pre-approved offer will be sent out after a soft inquiry indicates that you're a good prospect for additional credit.
  • If you apply based on the offer, the lender may make a hard inquiry before issuing the credit.
  • A soft inquiry has no impact on your credit rating.

The Two Types of Credit Inquiries

There are two types of credit inquiries into your credit score. They're known in the business as soft inquiries and hard inquiries. Only a hard inquiry is an indication that a lender is actively considering extending credit to you or has just done so.

Credit Scores: Hard Vs Soft Inquiries

When a consumer fills out an application that accompanies a pre-approved offer, the lender will sometimes use the soft inquiry that has already been pulled to make its decision, or it may pull a new report using a hard inquiry.

A soft inquiry is seen only by the consumer. It has no effect on a credit score, and other lenders cannot see them.

Hard Inquiries

A hard inquiry is the kind that's used when someone applies for a credit card or loan, such as a mortgage or a car loan. It is an indication that the person is considering taking on additional debt and has taken positive steps toward doing so.

Potential lenders can see hard inquiries.

Hard inquiries can affect a consumer's credit score, but usually will only if there are a number of them. In any case, the impact of a hard inquiry on a credit score is very low compared with other factors such as a person's bill payment history and credit utilization ratio.

Hard inquiries on your credit report might be a concern if, say, you're about to submit a mortgage application. The lender might question whether you are about to take on substantial additional debts that are not reflected in your credit history.

Lenders will sometimes deny a credit application because an applicant has too many other recent inquiries. This might indicate that they are going through financial difficulties or anticipating big expenditures in the near future.

These hard inquiries fall off a credit report after two years. If you can't wait two years, one of the credit repair companies might be able to get the hard inquiries removed sooner.

Soft Inquiries

A soft inquiry is used by a lender while deciding whether to pre-approve a consumer for a credit card. Other soft inquiries occur when a consumer's current lender pulls a credit report for an account review, or when a debt collector checks a credit report for recent activity.

When you check your own credit rating, it gets logged as a soft inquiry.

Even hard inquiries, which are initiated when you apply for credit, don't have much effect on your creditworthiness—unless you have a lot of them in a short period of time.

How to Opt out of Pre-Approved Offers

If you prefer not to receive pre-approved credit card offers, federal law allows you to opt out for five years at a time. To do that, you can either call 888-5-OPT-OUT (888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com. You can also opt out of pre-approved insurance offers.

It's also possible to opt out permanently, starting at the website above. After you make your request online, you need to fill out, sign, and return a permanent opt-out election form.

If you are pre approved for a credit card will you get it

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Have you ever opened your mailbox to find an advertisement from a credit card company? If so, you may have received a pre-approved offer of credit.

Getting a credit card pre-approval can be nice if you’re in the market for a new credit card, especially if the card comes with a special welcome offer. But you shouldn’t think that a pre-approval guarantees that a card issuer will give you a credit card in your name.

Here's what it really means when you receive a pre-approved credit card offer.

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How pre-approved credit card offers work

In the United States, there are three major credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) that collect and maintain financial data about millions of consumers. The primary way the credit bureaus make money is by selling that data to other businesses like credit card companies, lenders and insurance providers.

Credit card companies often purchase consumer data from a credit bureau for marketing purposes. A card issuer can give a credit bureau a set of search criteria (i.e., location, minimum credit score, no bankruptcies, etc.) and then receives a list of consumers that match those requirements.

Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the credit bureaus may share (aka sell) consumer credit information to companies that wish to make an offer of credit or insurance.

For example, a card issuer could buy a list of 2 million consumers (names and addresses) in the Chicago metro area with the following criteria:

  • A minimum FICO score of 700.
  • No late payments in the past two years.
  • No bankruptcies on their credit reports.

If your name appears on the list, a soft credit inquiry would appear on your credit report to let you know that the card issuer had accessed some of your credit information.

The credit card company might then mail out a “firm offer of credit” to everyone included on the prescreened list.

Tip: If you don’t want the credit bureaus to share your information with other companies for marketing purposes, you can visit OutOutPrescreen.com or call 888-5-OPTOUT.

What happens when you want to accept a pre-approved offer?

Getting a pre-approved offer can be a good sign when it comes to your odds of qualifying for a new credit card account. However, it’s not a guarantee of approval. Some card issuers may use the term “pre-approved” without a soft credit inquiry. Even with a firm offer of credit that includes a preliminary credit check, you still have to apply to open a new account. Be sure to note on any documentation you receive from the issuer whether you have to apply through a dedicated link or include a specific application code.

An official application can help the card issuer make sure you meet its full criteria to qualify — including income, employment status and other factors. The card issuer will also perform a hard inquiry on your credit report to see if anything in your credit history has changed between the time it sent you a pre-approved offer and the application. According to FICO, a new hard inquiry may temporarily lower your credit score, though usually by fewer than five points.

Related: 4 incorrect assumptions about your credit score

Why you might be denied for a pre-approved offer of credit

It isn’t common, but a credit card issuer could deny your application even after sending you a pre-approved offer of credit. The exact reason for such a denial can vary from one applicant to the next. Below are a few reasons why a card issuer might turn down your application after sending you a pre-approved offer.

  • Negative credit changes: Credit changes that indicate you could now be a riskier borrower might cause a credit card company to change its mind about a pre-approved offer. Such changes might include new late payments, lower credit scores, higher credit utilization, new credit inquiries or other types of information the card issuer considers to be negative.
  • Debt-to-income issues: Your income doesn’t appear on your credit report. So a card issuer won’t know how much money you earn — and how that income relates to your existing debts — until you fill out an official application. You’ll need to satisfy all of a card issuer’s qualification requirements (income-related criteria included) to qualify for a new account.
  • Internal policies: Credit card companies can set their own internal application restrictions that you need to satisfy to qualify for a new account. Chase, for example, has its unpublished 5/24 rule that prevents most consumers who have opened five or more credit cards in the last 24 months from opening a new credit card account with Chase. And if you already have several accounts open with a card issuer, you might not be eligible for another or you could have to reshuffle around your available credit limits to open a new account.

Related: The ultimate guide to credit card application restrictions

How to get pre-qualified for a credit card

It’s easy to shop around for the best credit card offers available. Yet figuring out which credit card offers you’re most likely to qualify for can be more of a challenge — especially if you’re struggling with less-than-perfect credit or you have little to no established credit history.

The good news is that there are several online tools you can use to figure out if you’re a good candidate for certain types of cards. You can use CardMatch to discover whether you pre-qualify for certain card offers from American Express like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card. Capital One, and Discover offer pre-qualification tools as well.

As with preapproved offers that card issuers send out on their own, a pre-qualification doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be eligible for a particular credit card product. But going through the pre-qualification process can help you to make a more informed decision before you fill out an official credit card application.

Related: How to find the best pre-qualified credit card offers

Featured image by Getty Images

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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  • For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
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Rewards Rate

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  • Intro Offer

    Earn 80,000 ThankYou® points

    60,000 points

  • Annual Fee

    $95

  • 670-850

    Excellent, Good

Why We Chose It

The Citi Premier’s 3 points per dollar spent across a wide range of popular categories is one of the more lucrative offerings in the world of points and miles. The Citi Premier comes with a $95 annual fee and is currently offering a solid sign up bonus of 80,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months. It also has some valuable transfer partners to make the most of your rewards. Add in access to Citi Entertainment plus a $100 hotel credit for any single-stay hotel booking that exceeds $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, booked through the Citi travel website, there are few reasons why the Citi Premier should not be in every traveler’s wallet.

Pros

  • Earns 3x points on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels.
  • $100 annual hotel savings benefit (on single hotel stay bookings of $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, booked through thankyou.com)
  • Points transfer to 16 airline programs, from JetBlue to Virgin Atlantic.
  • World Elite Mastercard benefits, extended warranty, damage and theft protection.

Cons

  • $95 annual fee
  • Lacks travel protections that other travel rewards cards come with

  • For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
  • Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
  • Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels
  • Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
  • 80,000 Points are redeemable for $800 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com
  • No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases

Can I be denied credit card after pre approval?

It isn't common, but a credit card issuer could deny your application even after sending you a pre-approved offer of credit. The exact reason for such a denial can vary from one applicant to the next.

How long does it take to get a credit card if you're pre

How long will it take to receive the new card? Although you may get approved for a credit card almost instantly if you apply online, it can take up to 14 days for the card to arrive in the mail. If you applied for the card by mail or over the phone, approval may take longer.

Is it good to accept a pre

It feels pretty flattering when your bank notifies you and lets you know that you've been pre-approved for some form of credit. It's a sign that lenders are viewing you as a low-risk client. Stay on the path you're on, and you'll continue to unlock better interest rates and more borrowing opportunities.

Why was I pre

You may be rejected for a variety of factors, such as having a low income, a short credit history or too much credit card debt.