The difference is that a pre-qualification tends to be a simple review of your credit history using basic details like name, address and Social Security number. Both mean an issuer preliminarily reviews your personal and financial information to determine if you’re eligible for a credit card offer. This being said, you’ll usually stand a good chance of getting what you’re shopping for if you submit a formal application within the preapproval window.Ĭard issuers may sometimes use the terms preapproval and pre-qualification interchangeably. Receiving a preapproval for a card won’t guarantee the issuer will give final approval with the terms initially offered. Once the applicant decides to apply the issuer will do a formal credit pull before making a final decision. Preapprovals don’t usually harm credit because issuers perform soft credit checks to determine eligibility. Most card issuers offer preapproval or pre-qualification, allowing applicants to see if approval for a card is likely without committing to a formal application.Īpplicants can shop around and fill out as many preapproval applications as desired. By preapplying for a credit card, much of the uncertainty can be avoided.

Will you receive an approval? Will the APR be low enough? What will your credit limit be? Besides the unknowns, issuers make hard inquiries against your credit report(s) when evaluating your creditworthiness. Applying for a new credit card can come with concerns.

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