Best Pre-Approved Credit Cards

Getting pre-qualified does not hurt your credit score. A pre-qualification only triggers a soft credit inquiry, so your credit report won't be fully pulled and analyzed, and your credit score will be unaffected.

However, once you apply for a specific credit card or mortgage, you will trigger a hard inquiry. Hard inquiries directly impact your credit score, lowering it by up to 5 - 10 points, but scores usually recover within a few months. Hard inquiries will remain on your credit report for two years, though they can only affect your credit score for up to one year.

Yes, Capital One does have pre-approval. Capital One has an online pre-approval page where potential applicants can quickly check their odds of approval for certain Capital One credit cards before they actually apply for one. Current Capital One customers may also receive pre-approved offers periodically by e-mail or when logging into their card's online account. And in some cases, Capital One will send people pre-approved offers for a specific credit card in the mail.

Getting pre-approved for a Capital One credit card indicates that your chances of being approved for an account are very high, should you decide to apply. It does not mean that approval is guaranteed.

How to Check for Capital One Pre-Approval Online

1. Click “See if You're Pre-Approved” on the Capital One website.
2. Log in to your “Capital One account.”
3. Enter your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number.
4. Click “See Your Card Offers” to view any pre-approved offers.

If you have pre-approved offers, you can apply for the card of your choice directly from the pre-approval site. Simply click the button next to the card you want, and you will be directed to the card's application page.

To respond to a pre-approved offer in the mail, visit the website listed in your pre-approval letter and enter the invitation code included with your offer. This allows Capital One to flag the application as pre-approved.

Capital One pre-approvals do not affect your credit score, as they're done using a soft “pull,” or inquiry. But if you decide to submit an application for any Capital One card, Capital One will conduct a hard inquiry, which will lead to a slight, but temporary decrease in your credit score.

There are two ways you can qualify for Discover pre-approval: You can either proactively check which credit cards you pre-qualify for using Discover's free online tool, or you could receive a pre-approved Discover offer in the mail.

There's a good chance you'll be pre-approved for at least one Discover card, as Discover has cards for people of all credit levels. But it's important to remember that pre-approval does not actually guarantee you'll get a card. Your odds will be very high, but there's a reason “pre” comes before “approval” with this type of offer. So let's talk about not only how to get pre-approved, but also how to actually seal the deal.

Here's how Discover pre-approval works:

1. You receive an offer. Discover has an easy online form that will immediately let you know which offers you pre-qualify for, if any. Using this tool won't hurt your credit score in any way. You could also get a pre-approved offer in the mail.
2. You fill out an application. If you got an offer by mail, you can fill out the included application and send it back to Discover. You can also enter your invitation number online.
3. Discover evaluates you. You're likely to be approved, but it's possible you could be denied after a more thorough look at your information. If you're approved, you'll typically receive your card within 7-10 business days.

Although pre-approval itself is an automatic process, there are ways to improve your chances of qualifying. And they're all very easy to do:

• Make sure you never opted out. Anyone can opt out of receiving pre-approved credit card offers at OptOutPrescreen.com. But if you want to receive a Discover pre-approval offer, you'll have to either remain opted in – the default option – or opt back in.
• Confirm your address is correct. Do this both by calling the postal service and by looking at your credit report to make sure the credit bureaus have it right. If your information isn't up to date, offers naturally can't reach you.
• Improve your credit. The better your financial situation is, the more likely you are to get pre-approved for some kind of credit card. WalletHub has some easy tips for improving your credit score to help you get started.
• Pay down debt. Your disposable income helps determine whether you can afford a new credit card. So the less money you owe to other people, the more you can afford to spend paying credit card bills. Making a plan to reduce your debt will help you get more offers in the future.

Remember, pre-approval does not mean guaranteed approval. It just means the credit card issuer thinks you'd be a good candidate to apply, based on a brief initial look at your credit history.

Your odds of officially getting approved will be very good. But upon further inspection of your borrowing profile, the issuer may discover something that gives it pause. If you're denied, you may want to think about putting a deposit on a secured credit card while you work on improving your credit standing.

No, Citi cannot pre-qualify you for a credit card at the moment. Citi does have an online pre-qualification page, however, this tool is not currently working. While this seems like a temporary measure due to COVID-19, you'll need to apply for Citi cards without getting pre-qualified until the page is functioning again. In the meantime, you can check if you get a “pre-selected” offer, which means you fit some general criteria established by Citi and have around a 70% chance of approval.

When the pre-qualification page is working again, you can see if you pre-qualify for any Citibank credit cards by providing some personal information, such as your name, your mailing address, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Citibank will then conduct a soft inquiry on your credit score, which won't hurt your credit in any way, before showing which cards you prequalify for.

How to Check Which Citi Cards You Pre-Qualify For

1. Go to Citi's pre-qualification page.
2. Enter your name, address, and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number.
3. Select which card benefit, if any, matters most to you from the dropdown menu.
4. Check the box acknowledging you know this isn't a credit card application and won't affect your credit score.
5. Click “See your card offer.”

You'll find out which Citi cards you have good approval odds for almost immediately after you submit your information. If you'd like, you can apply for one of those cards right away. Pre-qualification doesn't guarantee approval, but it does give you around a 90% chance of approval if you choose to apply.

Citi might also mail you a pre-qualified credit card offer. The downside to this is that you only get an offer for one card as opposed to the potential for several online. If you received your offer by mail, you can either fill out the enclosed application and mail it back, or type in the invitation number on the “Respond to a mail offer” tab of the pre-qualification page.

You can stop credit card offers by removing yourself from credit card companies' mailing lists at OptOutPrescreen.com, an official website run by the consumer credit bureaus. After providing a little personal info, you'll no longer be in the databases credit card companies (and insurance companies, too) use when they mail pre-approved offers.

How to Stop Credit Card Offers

1. Go to OptOutPrescreen.com.
2. Click the button that says, “Click Here to Opt-In or Opt-Out.”
3. Choose one of two options: “Electronic Opt-Out for 5 Years” or “Permanent Opt-Out by Mail.”
4. Enter your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and address. This is required for both opt-out methods.
5. Input the security code you're provided, then click “Confirm.”
6. If you select the permanent option, you will receive a form to fill out after confirming your basic info. You need to mail the completed form to the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can find their addresses on the FAQ page.

By following those steps, you'll stop credit card offers for five years or for good. But if you ever change your mind, you can opt back in at the same site. Just select “Opt-In” instead of “Opt-Out” from the list. Opting out and opting in are both free. Opting back in to receive credit card offers in the mail is just as easy as stopping them in the first place, too.

Pros & Cons of Stopping Credit Card Offers

There are both advantages and disadvantages to stopping unsolicited credit card offers. You'll no longer have to waste time with unwanted marketing letters, which may decrease the odds that you'll miss important correspondence. You'll also be helping to prevent trees from dying in vain. But at the same time, you could miss out on some good offers. Plus, the pre-approved offers you get in the mail are a good barometer for the type of card you'll be able to get when you decide to shop.

It's also important to note that opting out doesn't affect your credit score in any way. All it does is limit the ability of credit card companies to contact you with unsolicited offers.

Yes, Credit One does have pre-qualification. Credit One has an online pre-qualification page where potential applicants can quickly check their odds of approval for certain Credit One credit cards before they actually apply for one. Current Credit One customers may also receive pre-qualified offers periodically by e-mail or when logging into their card's online account. And in some cases, Credit One will send people pre-qualified offers for a specific credit card in the mail.

Getting pre-qualified for a Credit One credit card indicates that your chances of being approved for an account are very high, should you decide to apply. It does not mean that approval is guaranteed.

How to Check for Credit One Pre-Qualification Online

1. Click “See If You Pre-Qualify” on the Credit One website.
2. Log in to your "Credit One account.”
3. Enter your full name, address, income, date of birth, Social Security number, housing status, and whether you're a student.
4. Click “See Card Offers” to view any pre-qualified offers.

If you have pre-qualified offers, you can apply for the card of your choice directly from the pre-qualification site. Simply click the button next to the card you want, and you will be directed to the card's application page.

To respond to a pre-qualified offer in the mail, visit the website listed in your pre-qualification letter and enter the invitation code included with your offer. This allows Credit One to flag the application as pre-qualified.

Credit One pre-qualifications do not affect your credit score, as they're done using a soft “pull,” or inquiry. But if you decide to submit an application for any Credit One card, Credit One will conduct a hard inquiry, which will lead to a slight, but temporary decrease in your credit score.

You can get pre-approved for a Visa credit card by checking for Visa offers from banks or credit unions in the mail, online, or at a local branch. Visa 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 pre-qualify 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 initiate pre-qualification. The benefit of getting pre-approved or pre-qualified for a Visa 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 – nor the temporary credit score hit that comes with it – applying for a card you aren't qualified for.

Popular Visa Credit Cards to Get Pre-Approved For in 2023

Visa is one of the largest credit card networks and supports a variety of very good credit cards, providing a range of valuable benefits. Many Visa cards offer you the chance to get pre-approved or pre-qualified before applying.   

While approval is much more likely if you have been pre-approved or pre-qualified, keep in mind that your credit card application could still be denied. You can learn more by checking out WalletHub's pre-approval guide. You can also compare the top Visa credit card offers available right now. 

You can only get pre-approved for a USAA credit card if you have received a pre-approved offer via mail. At the moment, there's no way to check for pre-approval online.

What you should know before applying for a USAA credit card:

Even though USAA does not offer a pre-approval tool online, there are a few ways to gauge your approval odds before applying. First, make sure you're actually eligible for USAA membership. In particular, you must be a member of the U.S. military, or an eligible family member of someone who has served in the armed forces.

If you're eligible for USAA membership, you can move on to figuring out which card is the best fit. Fortunately, there are USAA credit cards are available to people of all credit levels, from bad to excellent. So, you should find an offer that will approve you.

Here's what to do instead of USAA credit card pre-approval:

• Check your credit score: You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub. Your score will give you a good sense of which offers you're likely to qualify for. Most USAA credit cards require good credit or better. If you have bad credit, USAA's secured credit cards are your only options.
• Use an online tool:There are tools that match you with a card, based on your credit score as well as your expected monthly spending and payments. Getting a match isn't the same thing as being approved, though. You can get a recommendation using WalletHub's free CardAdvisor tool, which considers offers from other major issuers.
• Call customer service: USAA members may call (800) 531-8722, enter their member ID number, and ask to speak to a credit card specialist. You can ask the specialist for advice about which USAA card would be the best fit for you. They won't be able to give you definitive answers, but they can point you in the right direction.
   
  If you aren't a USAA member yet, you can find out whether you're eligible and join online.
• Assess your own needs: If you have good or excellent credit and plan to pay your bill in full every month, focus on USAA's rewards credit cards. If not, consider an offer with a 0% introductory APR, either on new purchases or balance transfers.

There's no way to check for USAA credit card pre-approval. But if you're eligible for USAA membership, you should be able to find a card that will approve you.

Pre-approved and pre-qualified credit card offers both indicate that a potential applicant is likely to be approved, but they are used in slightly different situations. Being pre-approved means the issuer sent you an offer, while pre-qualification usually means you checked your approval odds through the issuer's website. However, the terms are often used interchangeably.

Both pre-approved and pre-qualified credit card offers have no effect on your credit standing, as issuers only use a soft pull to gauge your eligibility. But if you decide to apply after being pre-qualified or pre-approved, the issuer will do a hard pull of your credit, which will temporarily lower your score.

Pre-Approved Vs. Pre-Qualified Credit Cards

Top 7 Issuers That Offer an Online Pre-qualification Tool

• American Express
• Bank of America
• Capital One
• Chase
• Citibank 
• Navy Federal Credit Union
• Wells Fargo

Pre-approved and pre-qualified offers generally provide an 80% - 90% chance of approval. On the other hand, if you get a “pre-selected” offer, it means you fit some general criteria established by the issuer and have around a 70% chance of approval. Lastly, an “invitation to apply” gets sent out based on demographics, not your credit. Such offers have lower acceptance rates because they're sent to large groups of people and are not as targeted.

You can get pre-approved for the Chase Freedom Flex credit card online. You may also receive a pre-approved offer via mail. 

What you should know about the Chase Freedom Flex card pre-approval:

• Checking for Chase Freedom Flex pre-approval allows potential applicants to gauge their odds of being approved for the card before they submit an application. 
• Pre-approval results in a soft pull, which does not affect an applicant's credit score.
• Chase does not offer pre-approval by phone or at a branch.
• Chase Freedom Flex pre-approval does not guarantee you'll be approved. It does indicate that if you apply, your chances of getting approved are good.
• When you submit an actual application, Chase will request a copy of your credit report from at least one of the three major credit bureaus. This inquiry will result in a hard pull, which  will cause a temporary drop of your credit score.

Ways to get pre-approved for the Chase Freedom Flex Card:

• Online: Visit Chase's pre-approval tool, and enter your name, address and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Then, check the box stating you understand it's not an application and that pre-approval will not affect your credit score. After that, click on “Find My Offers” at the bottom of the page, and you will see all the Chase cards for which you have been pre-approved.
• Pre-approved offer by mail: Chase mails pre-approved offers to candidates who meet at least the minimum criteria for a specific card, such as Chase Freedom Flex. If you receive an offer, you can complete the enclosed application and mail it back to Chase. You can also apply online through the pre-approval status tool. Just input the invitation code provided with your mail offer. This flags you as pre-approved when you apply.

Chase Freedom Flex pre-approval can be a useful resource if you're unsure of your chances of being approved. Note that you will need good credit or better to qualify for this card. So, in addition to checking for pre-approval, you should also check your credit score before you apply.