Paddy Sullivan, Member
@PaddySully
The best pre-approved store card is the Kohl’s Credit Card because you can easily check for pre-approval right through the Kohl’s website. The Kohl’s Card has a $0 annual fee, gives a 30% discount on your first purchase, and sends another 15% discount in the mail with your card. Cardmembers also get at least 12 special Kohl’s offers per year. The Kohl’s Card usually requires at least fair credit for approval, which is standard for a store credit card. But the fact that you can initiate a pre-approval check on the Kohl’s website is rare, as most store cards require you to shop and wait for a pop-up about pre-approval.
Some of the biggest issuers of store cards, like Synchrony, Comenity and TD Bank, don’t let you check for pre-approval without shopping. But other major issuers, such as Citi and Capital One, do offer online pre-approval check tools, the results of which may include store cards.
When you are unable to check for pre-approval directly, the best way to find pre-approved store cards is to shop on stores’ websites. When you go to check out, you may receive a pop-up that will let you check if you’re pre-approved for the store’s credit card. You’ll need to input your Social Security number (sometimes just the last 4 digits), and the issuer of the card will do a soft pull of your credit. The soft pull won’t hurt your credit score. To get a pre-approved store credit card offer online, you’ll need to make sure you don’t have an adblocker active on your browser.
It’s also possible that you could receive a pre-approved store credit card offer while shopping in person. When you check out, the cashier may offer to check if you’re pre-approved. Often, applying and getting approved for a card while shopping will get you some kind of discount on your purchase that day. Just remember that pre-approval doesn’t mean guaranteed approval. Your chances are about as high as they can be, though.
Here are some retailers with pre-approved store card offers:
- Abercrombie & Fitch
- Bath & Body Works
- Dillard’s
- GameStop
- J. Crew
- Kirkland’s
- Kohl’s
- Loft
- Overstock
- Victoria’s Secret
- Walmart
- Williams-Sonoma
Keep in mind that you may not always receive a pop up for pre-approved store cards if you shop online. Refreshing the page and then proceeding to check out again may trigger it. It’s also possible that some store cards may show up in the online pre-approval checks of the credit card companies that issue them.
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