Shopping Cart Trick

What Is the Shopping Cart Trick?

The shopping cart trick is a way to get pre-approved for store credit cards. You can trick a retailer’s website into thinking you’re going to buy something by adding items to your shopping cart and beginning to check out, which may trigger a pop-up inviting you to see if you’re pre-approved for the retailer’s store card.

You can try this pre-approval trick with any retailer that has a store credit card. Just bear in mind that it won’t always work. You might not see an offer for credit card pre-approval. Or you simply might not get pre-approved, especially if you have bad credit. Most store credit cards require at least fair credit for approval.

Key Things to Know About the Shopping Card Trick

• What to look for: You’re on the right track if you see phrases like “See if you pre-qualify” or “won’t affect your credit score.” If not, the pop-up will probably take you to the card’s actual application page.
• Why you should get pre-approved: Seeing if you’re pre-approved for a credit card will tell you whether applying is a good idea, perhaps saving you from getting rejected if you have no chance.
• Credit inquiries: Pre-approval results in a soft credit check, which does not impact your credit score, unlike the hard credit inquiry that lenders use when you formally apply for credit. A hard inquiry temporarily dings your score.
• Approval odds: Pre-approved applicants get approved for an account 80%+ of the time. So if you’re pre-approved, you can feel confident in your odds of actually qualifying for the card. If not, you should probably consider other credit card options.

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How to Do the Shopping Cart Trick

The shopping cart trick is pretty easy to do. Just follow the steps below and see if an invitation to check for pre-approval pops up, but be careful that the language in the pop-up is actually advertising pre-approval, not a regular card application.

1. Opt in for prescreened credit card offers. This step only applies if you’ve ever opted out, meaning you asked the credit bureaus not to let creditors send you offers. If that’s the case, you’ll have to opt back in.
2. Disable ad blockers and clear your browsing history. Credit card pre-approval offers from store websites usually appear as pop-ups. Ad blockers don’t allow pop-ups, so make sure to temporarily turn yours off. Then delete your browser’s search history, cookies and cache.
3. Visit a store’s website and join its loyalty program. This will increase your chances of getting a pop-up pre-approval offer, as will using “incognito” or “private” mode on your browser.
4. Add items to your cart and start checking out. Before you complete your purchase, a pop-up for store card pre-approval should appear. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to close your browser and try again.
5. See if you’re pre-approved. Click the pop-up offer and complete the pre-approval form. You should receive a pre-approval decision immediately.

If all goes according to plan, you’ll be pre-approved for the store card and be able to fill out an application with confidence. Neither pre-approval nor approval is guaranteed, but if you have fair credit or better (640+ credit score), your odds are good.

Myths and Facts About the Shopping Cart Trick

There are some misconceptions floating around the internet when it comes to the shopping cart trick. Let’s set the record straight on what’s true and what’s not.

Myth: The shopping cart trick lets you get approved without a hard pull.

Some people believe the shopping cart trick is a way to actually get approved for store credit cards from Comenity Bank, Synchrony Bank and Wells Fargo without a hard inquiry. But that’s just not true.

Fact: You can’t get approved for most store cards without a hard inquiry.

WalletHub confirmed with Comenity, Synchrony and Wells Fargo that you can’t get approved for one of their cards without a hard inquiry. That’s true for almost all store credit cards in general. The confusion, it seems, derives from the fact that credit card issuers usually check your credit report from just one of the three major credit bureaus when reviewing an application.

So while you might see a new store credit card account listed on your TransUnion credit report without a corresponding hard inquiry, for example, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t one. Rather, it’s probably on your Experian or Equifax credit report.

Myth: Hard pulls will ruin your credit.

Some people think the hard pull that happens when you apply for a credit card will cause a major drop in your credit score. This can lead to people actively avoiding applying for new credit or searching out tricks that will supposedly make the hard inquiry go away.

Fact: Hard pulls aren’t that big of a deal.

While it’s true that a hard pull will ding your credit score, the damage probably won’t exceed 5-10 points, which definitely won’t “ruin” your credit. Actually opening a new card does more damage to your credit score than a hard inquiry, and it’s easy to bounce right back from both.

Hard pulls don’t matter much unless you apply for multiple credit accounts within a short period of time. Even then, you don’t have to worry about the temporary dip unless you’re planning to apply for a mortgage or auto loan in the near future. Plus, opening a new credit card has the potential to raise your score a lot in the long run if you keep your credit utilization low and always pay on time.

So, with all that said, does the shopping cart trick still work?

Myth: The shopping cart trick doesn’t work anymore.

Some people believe that the shopping cart trick doesn’t work anymore since you can’t use it to get approved for a store credit card without the hard pull.

Fact: The shopping cart trick does still work.

The shopping cart trick is real, and it does work. It’s just that despite claims to the contrary, it does not help you get a new credit card account without a hard credit inquiry, and it never had the ability to do so in the first place.

Rather, you can use the shopping card trick to see if you’re pre-approved for a certain store card, which can be quite helpful.

Where to Use the Shopping Cart Trick

Some people falsely claim that the shopping cart trick only works with store credit cards from Comenity Bank, Synchrony Bank and Wells Fargo. While that trio of issuers does put out a huge chunk of the store-branded credit card market, you can try the shopping cart trick with any store that has a branded credit card you can apply for online.

It won’t work 100% of the time, because each store’s website is structured differently, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to try. After all, the worst that can happen is you don’t get a pre-approval pop-up and you lose about five minutes of your time.

That said, you might be wondering which store credit cards are even worth applying for in the first place. WalletHub’s editors have put together a list to point you in the right direction.

Opinions and ratings are our own. This content is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. WalletHub independently collected information for some of the cards on this page.

If you’re not sure what kind of shape your credit is in right now, you can check your latest credit score for free here on WalletHub. WalletHub’s free daily updates and personalized credit analysis will also help you track your improvement and reach your goals faster.