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Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business...
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Most of us have become accustomed to receiving pre-approved and pre-qualified credit card offers in the mail.
Sometimes, these “specialized” offers don’t seem so special when you keep seeing the same offer over and over again in the same shiny envelope. But we recommend that you shouldn’t always overlook these — sometimes there can be great opportunities in your mailbox!
However, we also want you to know that there are faster (and in some cases, more specialized) credit card offers that can instantly be found online. Did you know many banks allow you to check your pre-qualified or pre-approved card offers directly on their websites?
Today, we’ll tell you where you can easily go check, and what to expect when searching for pre-qualified offers from some popular banks.
What’s the Difference Between Pre-qualified and Pre-approved Credit Cards?
Credit card companies like to advertise their products to potential customers, and most of the time that includes language like “pre-approved” or “pre-qualified.”
But what’s the difference? Does that mean you’ll automatically get approved for the card?
The short answer is no.
Often, banks are observing potential customers’ credit profiles on a regular basis by conducting “soft pulls” of your credit. Soft pulls do not affect your credit score, but they do give banks the information they need to determine whether you’d be qualified for their credit card products.
If they like what they see based on a soft pull, it’s likely they’ll target you with advertisements saying you are “pre-qualified” for their products.
In contrast, pre-approved offers usually come when you’ve authorized the bank to conduct a “hard pull” on your credit report, which gives them all the detailed information in your credit profile and will affect your credit score.
You may also receive these offers if you’ve had a long and established relationship with a bank, or have recently applied for credit and the bank already has a recent copy of your credit report.
With both offer types, it’s important to remember that there is never a guarantee. All credit cards still require you to complete an application, and the banks will most likely look at your credit profile in detail during that process.
We highly recommend that you understand your credit score and what’s in your credit report before deciding to apply for a new credit card. A higher score will lead to better pre-qualified or pre-approved offers!
Be sure to always research and understand any credit card offer in detail before deciding if it’s the right one for you.
Bottom Line:
There’s never a guarantee that a pre-qualified or pre-approved offer from a credit card company means you will be approved, but it’s a good sign that gives you an idea of what the banks feel you’re most qualified for.
Top Issuers Offering Credit Card Pre-approvals
Here is a quick look at the card issuers and platforms that in our view offer the best credit card options, along with the details you need to provide in order to determine what cards you are pre-approved or pre-qualified for.
Card Issuer/Platform
Required Information
American Express
Full name, address, date of birth, income, last 4 digits of your Social Security number
Bank of America
Full name, address, date of birth, last 4 digits of your Social Security number, type of card you’re interested in
Capital One
Full name, address, date of birth, email address, employment status, income, bank accounts, last 4 digits of your Social Security number
CardMatch
Full name, address, date of birth, last 4 digits of your Social Security number
Chase
Full name, address, date of birth, last 4 digits of your Social Security number
Citi
Full name, address, date of birth, last 4 digits of your Social Security number, type of card you’re interested in
Banks That Have Pre-qualified or Pre-approved Offers Online
Here we will show you the most popular banks that allow you to check your pre-qualified or pre-approved offers instantly online!
If you’re in a rush to find a credit card that’s suitable for your needs, such as the need to make a large purchase as soon as possible, see our post on cards for an instant approval.
CardMatch (#1 Recommendation)
If you don’t have a specific credit card that you are looking to find a pre-qualified offer for, then CardMatch would be a great place to start your search.
CardMatch is a great tool to see what type of pre-qualified offers are available to you with multiple banks. It’s basically a one-stop shop for pre-qualified offers!
CardMatch requires your basic personal information and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. It also provides information on how to view your credit score for free.
After submitting your information, CardMatch will list available pre-qualified card offers for you from banks such as American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.
Bottom Line:
The CardMatch tool shows you personalized card offers based on your credit score (all without pulling your credit).
Capital One
There aren’t many credit cards being advertised on Capital One’s front page, but you can find the Credit Card section in the first spot on the top menu bar.
Hover your mouse over that section to reveal a drop-down menu where you can get pre-qualified Capital One offers or respond to a mail offer.
To see if you’re pre-qualified, you will need to take Capital One’s questionnaire which asks for a bit more personal information than the others. This one requires you to provide your full Social Security number!
That might make you think Capital One would conduct a hard pull on your credit report. However, you’ll agree to a disclaimer when submitting this questionnaire that states you “understand this is not a credit card application.”
This should tip you off that it will probably just be a soft pull. While it’s likely that Capital One will only conduct a soft pull for pre-qualification, it will certainly conduct a hard pull on your credit if you ultimately decide to apply for one of its credit cards.
Our Favorite Capital One Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture X card (rates & fees) is one of the best premium credit cards available thanks to its combination of perks and rewards. Not only does it earn 10x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel, 5x miles on flights purchased through Capital One Travel, and 2x miles on all other purchases, but all of the miles you earn with the card can be transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners.
American Express features a section on the front page of its website to help you “Find the Card that’s right for you.” You have the option to choose between personal cards, small business cards, and corporate card offers.
Here, we’ll focus on personal offers. First, you’ll see a small selection of credit card offers under Featured Cards, but these won’t be personalized. To see your personalized offers, scroll down a bit more and you’ll see a section prompting you to See If We Have Any Pre-Qualified Offers For You.
It will ask you to provide some basic information to confirm your identity and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. This will allow American Express to conduct a soft pull on your credit report and instantly create personalized offers just for you.
If you are already an American Express cardmember, you won’t even need to provide that information — American Express is already monitoring your credit profile. All you need to do is log in to your account and it will automatically display your personalized offers. It even shows you which cards you already have from the wide selection of cards offered by American Express.
Looking for something specific? You can search for special offers based on your needs. Travel cards, cash-back, no-annual-fee cards … the list goes on. American Express wants to make it quick and easy to help you find specialized offers to satisfy your financial needs online!
Hot Tip:
American Express has been known to send some really special offers in the mail, especially for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Those require an RSVP code that can be entered if you choose to apply online.
Our Favorite American Express Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
When it comes to rewards credit cards, you’d be hard-pressed to find a card that offers more benefits than the Amex Platinum card. While it comes with a steep $695 annual fee (rates and fees), the card comes with a long list of travel benefits.
This bank, for some of its credit card products, allows you to go through a pre-approval process before officially applying for the card. This way, you can see if you’re approved without pulling your credit and taking a hit to your score! The Indigo® Platinum Mastercard® is one of those cards.
Chase
Image Credit: Upgraded Points
There are lots of credit card offers from Chase, especially travel rewards cards, but it’s not as easy to find your specialized pre-qualified offers compared to other banks.
If you are already a Chase customer, finding your specialized offers is easy. All you need to do is log in to your account and click on the drop-down menu in the top left of your dashboard to select Your Offers or Just for you. This will take you to another page where Chase will provide information on some of its credit card products or services. The boxes that have a small green check mark are specially selected just for you and mean that you’re pre-qualified.
If you are not already a Chase customer, you have to go to a specific website and input some basic information to receive your pre-approved offers. It does not appear that pre-approved offers are showing at this time, but it’s worth checking frequently to see if anything changes.
The information you provide will allow Chase to conduct a soft pull on your credit, which won’t affect your credit score.
Hot Tip:
Remember, many Chase cards fall under its 5/24 rule, which almost results in a denial on your application if you’ve applied for more than 5 credit cards from any bank in the past 24 months.
Our Favorite Chase Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
In our view, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of the best all-around rewards cards that you should have in your wallet.
It is great at earning points with 5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and Lyft purchases (through March 2025), 3x points on dining, online grocery stores, and select streaming services, and 2x points on all other travel worldwide.
Bank of America also has a prominent spot on the front page of its website to help you “Choose the card that works for you.” But these are “featured” cards that are being heavily advertised to everyone, not personalized offers based on your credit profile.
To help you find your personalized offers or other credit cards offered by Bank of America, you will need to click Credit Cards on the upper menu bar of the website.
A larger drop-down menu will feature all of the different credit cards bunched into categories. But before you start clicking, there is a box on the right side of the menu to get “customized credit card offers in less than 60 seconds.”
Once you’ve reached the customized credit card offer page, you will have the option of signing in or continuing without signing in. If you’re already a Bank of America customer, you will instantly get your customized offers. All you need to do is log in and select what type of card you’re interested in. You’ll have the option to search for cards that can help you earn travel rewards, cash rewards, build or rebuild credit, and more!
If you are not already a customer, you will need to provide some personal information like your name and address to allow Bank of America to perform a soft pull of your credit report. You will then be offered specific credit cards based on your interests and creditworthiness in less than 60 seconds!
Our Favorite Bank of America Card
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Card
The Bank of America Premium Rewards card is a solid option for those in the market for a rewards credit card thanks to its 2x points on travel and dining purchases and 1.5x points on all other purchases. However, those that hold status in the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program can get even more value from the card by boosting their rewards by 25% to 75%.
This card also offers up to a $100 annual airline incidental statement credit and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit, along with good travel and purchase protections.
Citi
Image Credit: Upgraded Points
Citi makes it incredibly easy to find pre-qualified offers right on the front page of its credit card website.
You might need to scroll down a bit when you reach the credit card homepage, but that’s where you’ll find the link to get your pre-qualified offers.
This is another basic questionnaire that requires your name, address, last 4 digits of your Social Security number, and what type of credit card you’re most interested in.
After completing that and acknowledging that completing the form won’t affect your credit score, Citi will provide its pre-qualified offers just for you!
If you received a pre-qualified offer in the mail, you can also look at Citi’s credit card homepage and find where to apply that offer there. All you’ll need to do is input the invitation number, and Citi will pull up your custom credit card application.
Our Favorite Citi Card
Citi Premier® Card
The Citi Premier card offers 3x points at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, airfare, and hotel purchases, giving you 5 bonus categories to rack up points with. Plus, you’ll have access to the Citi transfer partners, a $100 annual hotel savings benefit, and no foreign transaction fees.
Credit One
You might not be too familiar with Credit One since it doesn’t offer travel rewards cards and only seem to offer a few different credit card products.
Credit One is an interesting option for those looking to build or improve their credit since it focuses on providing services to people with bad credit. Be aware that most credit card companies that focus on advertising their products to people with bad credit have extremely high interest rates and fees.
The best way to be sure if a Credit One credit card is the right choice for you is to see if you have any pre-qualified offers. All you need to do is go to the main Credit One website, and you’ll find an option to easily see if you’re pre-qualified for any of its products or respond to a mailed offer. There are a few additional questions that some of the other banks don’t ask, like total monthly income, phone number, and email address.
It’s important to note that when submitting the pre-qualification questionnaire, you’re acknowledging that Credit One can share certain information with third parties. Credit One also requires your full Social Security number, but it guarantees that using the form will not affect your credit score.
USAA
USAA does offer a few rewards credit cards that could be of interest to current USAA members. These credit cards mainly focus on cash-back and USAA Rewards.
To become a USAA member, there are some specific qualifications you need to meet; these are mainly targeted toward members of the military and their families. You must already be a member to check your pre-qualified offers with USAA, so checking these offers isn’t for everyone.
Wells Fargo doesn’t make it very easy to check your pre-qualified offers unless you already have a Wells Fargo account.
For current Wells Fargo customers, all you need to do is log in to your account and click the Products and Offers tab to find any pre-qualified offers that you would be targeted for.
Potential Wells Fargo customers have no way to see if they’re pre-qualified for any of these credit card offers. You’ll just have to apply and see what happens!
Final Thoughts
You don’t always need to wait for the mail to arrive to check on your pre-qualified offers from these popular banks. We hope this list gives you a good starting point to see what type of credit cards you qualify for.
Most pre-qualified or pre-approval forms you fill out will not affect your credit score at all. This is a risk-free way to see what type of cards may give you the best chance for a speedy approval!
It’s important to remember that even though you may be pre-qualified or pre-approved for a certain credit card, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll be approved if you decide to apply.
Luckily, these forms are easy to fill out, and they do offer a quick way to see what credit cards you are most likely to be approved for.
The information regarding the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Indigo® Platinum Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here. For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
Featured Image Credit: Upgraded Points
Frequently Asked Questions
Pre-approved credit card offers are typically when the bank or card issuer has determined that you meet the eligibility for that specific credit card based on your credit profile.
Most people are used to seeing pre-approved credit card offers in their mailbox, but here we’ve listed ways for you to proactively check what offers you are pre-approved for from specific card issuers. If you are searching for multiple pre-approved credit card offers from various lenders, we recommend starting with CardMatch.
No, banks should not be conducting hard pulls on your credit without your explicit approval. Most card issuers will conduct soft pulls on your credit report to determine what products they can pre-approve you for.
No, pre-approved credit card offers are mostly determined by a soft pull of your credit report. Soft pulls do not have any effect on your credit score. Only hard pulls, like when completing a credit application, will have an impact on your credit score.
Yes, pre-approved credit card offers are never a guarantee. It’s possible your credit report changed since the card issuer determined you were pre-approved for a specific offer. That is why card issuers still need to conduct a hard pull on your credit report to determine if you still meet the eligibility requirements for approval.
Yes, pre-approved offers are not limited to premium credit card offers as we’ve detailed in this post. It’s always important to fully understand the terms and conditions before applying for any credit card, including the annual fee. CardMatch offers an easy way to view pre-approved credit card offers that have no annual fee. All you have to do is select No Annual Fee in the Features section on the left once you see your offers and it will limit your offers to just those special cards!
Yes, there are pre-approved credit card offers especially for students. Discover is probably the most popular card issuer for students, but don’t be limited to only student cards. Students are able to see other pre-approved credit card offers (like travel rewards cards) but it might be more difficult without a long credit history. It’s best for students to fully understand how to build their credit score so they can take advantage of those type of offers in the future.
If you find pre-approved credit card offers annoying, there is a way to stop receiving them. The Federal Trade Commission provides 2 options to opt-out of getting pre-approved offers:
To opt-out of pre-approved credit card offers for 5 years, you can call toll-free 888-5-OPT-OUT (888-567-8688) or visit optoutprescreen.com.
To opt-out of pre-approved credit card offers permanently you must visit optoutprescreen.com and complete the Permanent Opt-Out Election form.
If you do not want to go the easy route with the FTC Opt-Out process, you can also write to each individual credit consumer reporting company (Equifax, TransUnion, etc.) and opt out that way.
Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business, The New York Times, and more.
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