What is a pre-approved credit card?

Pre-approval is based upon known credit or data supplied when applying for a credit card. An offer for a pre-approved credit card may be subject to a credit report review to ensure no changes have occurred which may void the preapproved credit card offer

Creditors evaluate risks. If you now have bad credit or bankruptcy, it's unlikely to be approved for high credit limit, reward or rebate unsecured credit cards. For bad credit we recommend credit cards to rebuild credit.

Typical areas issuers review when offering a pre-approved credit card:
* Your known past credit history
* The requirements for credit card approval
* Similar credit cards already in use
* Balances of existing credit cards
* Income to debt ratio
* The possibility you may react to the pre-approved offer.

Credit card issuers seek new customers. For example; a card issuer may request one of the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union), for a list of consumers whose credit reports meet the card issuer's qualifications. The bank may send a list of consumers obtained elsewhere (e.g. from a marketing database company) and have the bureau return a matching subgroup for the "Pre-approved" offers.

If you have a copy of your credit report, you may see inquiries that are designated as "promotional." This means that your file was checked for a "pre-approved" list, although it does not necessarily mean that you qualify to receive an offer. Since this type of inquiry was not initiated by you, it is not seen by other prospective creditors to whom you might apply, and it will not reduce your FICO credit score.

When the application is submitted, it goes to a processing center where the data is entered into a computer system which then does a credit check. This is to determine if anything in the consumer's credit file has changed for the worse since the original sweep, and the qualification criteria may be higher. This credit check (not the original one) is used for final approval or rejection of the application. Sometimes small changes in the consumer's file (like total available credit or balance-to-limit ratio) since the pre-screening can result in a rejection. Final approval is also dependent on your application information (income, etc), so if this is insufficient you may be declined.

In short, a "pre-approved credit card" offer is not always a guaranteed, instant approval.

Get help with choosing a credit card then browse pre-approved credit card offers and submit your online application.