WalletHub, Financial Company
@WalletHub
There’s currently no way to get Barclaycard pre-approval. At least, that’s the case for Americans: You can use Barclays’ credit card eligibility checker if you live in the UK. The only hope the rest of us have of Barclaycard pre-approval is to get a pre-approved offer in the mail. And there’s no way to summon such a letter. Barclaycard pre-approves people on its own schedule, according to its own criteria. And they obviously aren’t public.
Getting pre-approved for a credit card is helpful because it means you have a roughly 90% chance of being approved for an account when you actually apply. But just because you can’t do an official Barclaycard pre-approval check doesn’t mean you’re flying blind. There’s a lot of information available that can help you estimate your odds of being approved for whichever Barclaycard you have your eye on.
Here’s what to consider in place of Barclaycard pre-approval:
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Minimum Credit Score: All of the Barclaycard credit card offers on the market right now require at least good credit for approval. And even good credit isn’t enough in a couple cases. What is good credit? You may think it’s a credit score of 660-719. But we’ve seen a lot of people with such scores get rejected for credit cards with good-credit requirements. So, we recommend applying for Barclaycards that require good credit or better only if your credit score is 700+. And Barclaycards that require excellent credit should be reserved for people with scores of 750+.
You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, the only site with free daily updates.
- Ability to Pay: If your income level or your financial obligations indicate you can’t afford a new line of credit, Barclaycard won’t approve you.
- Good Credit Barclaycards: You need at least good credit to have a chance at qualifying for theMastercard® Black Card, Lufthansa Credit Card, American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Silver Credit Card, and Holland America Line Credit Card.
- Excellent Credit Barclaycards: You won’t have a shot at JetBlue Plus Card unless you have excellent credit.
Reportedly, there once was a Barclaycard pre-approval screening tool. And while there isn’t one now, that shouldn’t be too big of a deal. Pre-approval lets you check your chances without a hard inquiry, but even pre-approved people have to submit a formal application. And if you’re up to date on your credit score and have a clear picture of your finances, you should be able to decide if applying for a Barclaycard is worth it.
If it’s not the right call because your credit score is less than good, there are plenty of credit cards for people with fair, limited and bad credit from other issuers. Many of them let you check for pre-approval, too.
Paddy Sullivan, WalletHub Credit Card Advisor
@PaddySully
Unfortunately, you can’t just check your Barclaycard pre-approval status at will, unless you live in the UK. You can either wait to receive a pre-approved Barclaycard offer in the mail or just go ahead and apply.
You’re eligible to receive pre approved Barclaycard offers by mail as long as you haven’t ever opted out of pre approval in general. If you haven’t actively made a request not to receive offers, you’re all set. And if you get a pre approved offer by mail, you can fill out the enclosed application and send it back to Barclaycard for evaluation.
But why wait? One Barclaycard credit card I highly recommend applying for is the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard. It’s one of the best cards if you’re a frequent traveler.
Thomas Friedman, WalletHub Credit Card Analyst
@tom_friedman
They don't have a pre-approval status thing online. Unless you get their offer in the mail, you'll only know if you get approved after you apply.
People also ask
Chris Parson, Member
@chris_parson
Barclay doesn't have pre-approval anymore on their site. They used to, a few years ago, but they canceled it for some reason. Right now, the only pre-approval you can get from them is in the mail.
Casey Faber, Member
@caseyf_10
You don't. If they don't contact you, the only other way to know is to apply.
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