Joyce Brown, WalletHub Credit Card Analyst
@j.brown
You can pre-qualify for a credit card online, via mail, or in person, depending on the card and its issuer. Credit card issuers will typically send pre-approved offers to people who have good approval odds based on a soft pull of their credit. In addition, most major credit card issuers allow you to check for pre-qualification on their website by providing your full name, address, birthday, and Social Security number.
Pre-qualification and pre-approval are similar, though pre-approval is technically initiated by card issuers, while you’re the one who initiates pre-qualification. The benefit of getting pre-approved or pre-qualified for a card is that it can reassure you that your application is more likely to be approved. This means you won’t waste a hard inquiry on your credit report applying for a card you aren’t qualified for.
Ways to Check for Credit Card Pre-Qualification
- Online: The easiest way to see if you’re pre-qualified for a credit card is to check a credit card company’s website. Most major issuers let you find out if you prequalify for a credit card online.
- Via mail: Credit card companies send pre-approved offers to people they think are a good fit for a particular card.
- In person: You may be able to get pre-approved for a credit card in person at bank’s or credit union’s branch.
- Shopping: When you shop at a store, whether online or in person, you might be told that you’re pre-approved for the retailer’s store credit card.
Keep in mind that pre-qualification doesn't mean you'll definitely get approved, it just indicates that your chances of approval are high.
If you’re looking for a credit card that offers pre-qualification, feel free to check out our editors’ pick on the best pre-approved credit cards available right now on the market.
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What credit cards can I pre-qualify for?
You can pre-qualify for credit cards with several major credit card companies, including American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, and Wells Fargo using the pre-qualification tool on their website. To check for a pre-qualified offer on an issuer’s website, you just enter a few pieces of personal info and press a button. You will then see any cards you’re pre-qualified for.
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Bank of America has an online pre-qualification page where you can quickly check your odds of approval for certain Bank of America credit cards. If you are a Bank of America customer, you may also receive pre-qualified offers periodically by e-mail or when logging into your card’s online account. In some cases, you could even receive pre-qualified offers for specific cards in the mail.
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