Pre-approved Credit Cards

You can easily check for Capital One pre-approval online. To start, enter your name, date of birth, Social Security number and address. Then, tell Capital One what kind of card you're looking for and click “See Your Card Offers.” Capital One will then show you which of their cards you seem to be a good fit for, based on a soft pull of your credit. The process should take minutes at most, and it won't affect your credit score.

You may also receive a Capital One pre approval offer by mail. In that case, all you have to do is enter the “Reservation Number” and “Access Code” on Capital One's dedicated webpage. This way, you will be directed to the card's application. The application will be flagged as pre-approved when Capital One reviews it.

Here's how to check for Capital One pre approval online:

1. Go to the Capital One pre approval page.
2. Enter your name, date of birth, Social Security number and address.
3. Select the type of card that appeals to you most: travel rewards, cash back or low interest (or select “not sure”).
4. Rate your credit level: excellent, average or rebuilding.
5. Check the box that indicates you know you're not submitting an actual credit card application.
6. Click “See Your Card Offers.”

After a few seconds, you should see the Capital One credit cards that you're pre-approved for, if any. And you'll be able to apply for one of them right away, if you wish. Capital One offers credit cards to people of all credit levels. So, the odds are good that you'll come away with at least one Capital One pre-approved credit card offer.

If you don't have an offer yet, don't worry. Checking online is quick and easy. Just remember that pre-approval doesn't mean guaranteed approval. It is about as close as you can get, though, considering that most people who are pre-approved get approved when they officially apply.

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 easily get Bank of America to pre-qualify you for a credit card online. All you have to do is provide your name, birth date and Social Security number, and Bank of America's pre-qualify tool will show you any credit cards for which you have good approval odds. You might also receive a pre-qualified offer in the mail, which will only be for a single card.

If you already have a Bank of America account, all you have to do is log in to the pre-qualification page and you'll be able to see your offers right away without inputting any extra information. If you don't have an account, you just need to follow five simple steps.

Here's how to get Bank of America to pre-qualify you for a credit card:

1. Go to Bank of America's pre-qualification page.
2. Click “Continue without signing in.”
3. Enter your full name, birth date and the last four digits of your Social Security Number. Click “Continue.”
4. Enter your address and select what type of credit card you're interested in (you can also select that you don't have a preference).
5. Click “Show me my offers.”

You'll now be able to see any cards that Bank of America thinks you'd be a good candidate for. If you got a pre-qualification letter in the mail, you can either fill out the enclosed application, or use the special code provided when you apply online to flag your application as pre-qualified. 

Pre-qualification doesn't guarantee approval

Pre-qualification doesn't guarantee you approval. But pre-qualified applicants end up being approved in the vast majority of cases. Pre-qualification doesn't affect your credit at all since it uses a soft inquiry. But if you want to apply for a card, Bank of America will do a hard inquiry, which will cause a temporary score dip. This decrease is easily fixed with a few months of responsible card use, though. If you'd like to check for pre-qualification, you can do it in minutes.

You can get Credit One to pre-qualify you for one of their credit cards online, by accessing their pre-qualification page. The process will not hurt your credit score, as Credit One just does a soft inquiry.

If you're prequalified for a Credit One credit card, your odds of acceptance are typically around 90%, should you decide to apply for real. But approval is not guaranteed. Prequalification simply means you may qualify for one of their cards based on a preliminary review of your credit report. You'll still have to submit an application. Then, Credit One will pull your entire report. This is done with a “hard pull” or “hard inquiry,” which may cause your credit score to dip slightly.

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.

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.

You can get Petal 2 Card pre-approval online. This way, you can quickly check your odds of approval for certain Petal credit cards before you actually apply for one. Current Petal customers may also receive pre-approved offers periodically by e-mail or through their online account.

In some cases, the issuer mails pre-approved offers to certain people who appear to meet the criteria for the Petal 2 Card.

How to Check for Petal 2 Card Pre-Approval Online

1. Visit the pre-approval page on the Petal website.
2. Enter your email, name, birthday, phone number, and Social Security Number/ Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
3. Click “Next” to view any pre-approved offers.

What you should know about the Petal 2 Card pre-approval:

• Keep in mind that pre-approval offers indicate good chances of approval, but they do not guarantee it.
• Even if you receive a Petal 2 Card pre-approval offer, you'll still have to apply to get the card.
• If you are pre-approved online, you will see all Petal credit cards that will give you the highest odds of approval, which may or may not include the Petal 2 Card.
• Once you are pre-approved, you can apply for the card of your choice directly from the pre-approval site. To do so, click the button next to the card you want, and you will be directed to the card's application page.

To respond to a Petal 2 Card pre-approved offer received in the mail, visit the website listed in your pre-approval letter and enter the invitation code included with your offer. This allows the issuer to flag the application as pre-approved.

Petal 2 Card pre-approval does not affect your credit score, as it results in a soft inquiry. But if you decide to submit an application for the Petal 2 Card, the issuer will conduct a hard inquiry. This will lead to a slight, but temporary decrease in your credit score.

You can get pre-approved for the Capital One Quicksilver card online. The process should only take a few minutes. You may also receive a pre-approved offer via mail.

Keep in mind that the Capital One pre-approval tool is not specific to Capital One Quicksilver Card, so it will display all the eligible Capital One credit cards for which you're likely to be approved. The results are based on a basic review of your credit. This review will result in a soft inquiry and does not affect your credit score.

Here's how to check for Capital One Quicksilver pre-approval:

1. Visit Capital One's pre-approval web page.
2. Select the type of card that appeals to you: rewards (select at least this option for the Capital One Quicksilver), low interest, or you can just skip the question. 
3. Complete the form with the required personal information (such as contact details, Social Security Number, types of bank accounts in your name, employment status, total annual income, rent/mortgage payments).
4. Check the boxes confirming you reviewed the Electronic Communications Disclosure and understood that you're not submitting a credit card application.
5. Click "See if I'm Pre-Approved".

What you should know about Capital One Quicksilver pre-approved offers:

• If you've received a Capital One Quicksilver pre-approval offer in the mail, that means you're already pre-approved. Capital One has initiated a soft inquiry and determined that you would likely qualify. 
• To apply, visit Capital One's dedicated web page and enter the reservation number and access code from the pre-approval letter. You will need this information in order to have the application flagged as pre-approved.
• When presented with a pre-approval offer, you will still have to submit a formal application.

Keep in mind that Capital One Quicksilver pre-approval doesn't guarantee you'll get the card, but the odds of being approved are in your favor. When you apply, Capital One will request permission to pull your full credit report. This will result in a hard inquiry, and it may cause your credit score to temporarily drop by a few points.

Capital One Quicksilver requires at least good credit for approval, so make sure you know where you stand before applying. You can check your score for free, right here on WalletHub.

You cannot get pre-approved for the Target Credit Card.

It's not hard to get approved for this store card, since it requires fair credit or better. But make sure you qualify for it. An application will result in a hard pull on your credit report, lowering your credit score for a short period of time. If you don't know where you stand, you can check your score for free, right here on WalletHub.

You can also take a look at a list of the major issuers that offer pre-approval for their credit cards.