Most trustworthy prequalify/preapprovals...

[Leadberry]

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@39Xelor wrote:

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@notfancy wrote:

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@axledobe wrote:

I looked at these again this morning for kicks.  Citi actually quotes an interest rate/APR on their 'prequalified offer".  That would lead one to believe you're pretty much in if you apply.  Chase and US Bank didn't on theirs.

If there's anyone out there that hasn't checked Citi's prequalified offers lately, I'd like to hear what it spits out for others just to compare.  The problem is, Citi's cards just aren't up there with others as far as rewards go based on my spending.  It seems like Barclay, Chase and Discover have some of the best things going right now.  The Huntington Voice card is not too shabby either but they charge a $3 ACH fee per payment to pay your bill from another checking account assuming you just have the card but no checking account with them.  That can and will certainly dip into the rewards if you don't bank with them.  When I had my car loan with HNB, I had to pay a $5 service fee to make a payment online.  I mean, who mails checks anymore?  lol

Thanks again to all who have replied.  You guys and gals are awesome.... 

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I think that Citi's pre-quals are generally junk. I've seen post after post here of people getting them, applying, and being denied. That said, to answer your question here is what I got (Citi denied me a couple months ago, and recon was useless- so I don't intend to apply for them til I have every other card I want first):

Citi Simplicity: 0% for 18 months, 12.99-21.00 APR

Citi Thank You Preferred: 0% for 12 months, 12.99-22.99 APR

Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage WMC- 15.24% Variable

Citi Diamond Preferred: 0% for 18 months, 11.99-21.99 APR after

Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa: 0% for 12 months, 12.99-22.99 after.

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Are they sending you Pre-Quals or Pre-Selectedoffers? Huge difference! Pre-selected almost literally means nothing! In terms of how much credibility the letter has it goes like this:

Best chance at approval - Pre Approval

Second best chance at approval - Pre Qualified

Last is Pre Selected which as I stated earlier really almost means nothing. In fact, some letters say To: "Mr. Smith or current resident". That shows you that the pre selected means ditto!

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Pre-approved, pre-selected, pre-qualified, it's all a matter of semantics.  What you need to look for is the prescreen & opt-out notice.  I have had mailers and online offers that had the "this is a firm offer of credit" disclosure use all three aforementioned terms.

[axledobe]

Thanks, Leadberry.  I was leaning that way, too.  Both Chase and Citi give me the opt out prescreen message in a box at the bottom of the screen.  That said, I'm with you in that they are likely solid offers. 

Freedom is on my list but I must wait until mid March for util to be in a perfect spot (1%).  It's inviting but I want the most out of these apps.   

Thanks again, everyone!  I truly and genuinely appreciate!

[Plasticard]

Just wanted to give some input regarding my Barclaycard experience. To start off, I never knew about Barclays at all until I started reading on this site (almost 2 years now) and for the first time a few months ago, I received one of their pre-apporoval letters in the mail for their rewards Mastercard. Wasn't really interested at the time so into the garbage it went. 

Fast forward to this week. I saw they have a pre-approval site and gave it a go. Before plugging in any of my information, I saw 3 of their main cards they offered, their Rewards Mastercard, The Ring, and lastly their Arrival. Each of course gave what the card offers, as well as listing ranges for the APR's. At this point I went ahead and filled out the form, and started first with the "rewards" as the benefit that interested me most. Of course the following screen showed the contragulations you're selected for the Rewards Mastercard, and gave a single APR of 14.99% vs the range it did before filling out the information. 

To further play with/test the site, I just clicked back, and changed my interest of "rewards" to "travel". This led to them to offering the Arrival, with once again a set APR and no range with just an accept now button, Lastly, I tried out "low APR", and this resulted in the Ring as the offered card. For fun, I just went ahead and accepted the Ring card offer, and was given an instant approval.

From the look of the website, if given a specified APR vs a range, perhaps that gives better odds of approval? Just as a side note, whenever I got pre-approval offers in the mail for certain cards (i.e. Discover It, Freedom, Citi TYP etc) I was always given a specific APR vs a range, which is later what I would get approved for when I applied.