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If you are prequalified on one of the sites will you automatically get the card if you apply for it or is it a chance you can be declined? Will trying any of the prequalified sites hurt your credit score?
@tbea1004 wrote:If you are prequalified on one of the sites will you automatically get the card if you apply for it or is it a chance you can be declined? Will trying any of the prequalified sites hurt your credit score?
There are no guarantees with being approved even if it shows a pre-qualified offer. Trying any of the pre-qualified sites will not hurt your credit score (most, if not all, provide this disclaimer).
And some prequal sites are a better indicator of success...Chase is normally gold where as Discover is worthless.
A general rule of thumb is, if the wording is there with "pre-approval" or "pre-qualified" and there is a firm APR offer and not a range, it is more likely that it will be approved.
If it is a range APR, it means nothing. SpongeBob gets range APRs from BofA and Discover.
There are no guarantees, but Chase and Cap One seem to be two of the better pre-qualification pages.
Stay away from Discover pre approve. Like someone said, spongebob will get an approval.
There is never a guarantee. Even people saying "Chase is gold" is a bit misleading because no prequalifier is "gold" or 100%. Any creditor can still decline you after a prequal. A prequal is based on the lender's most recent SP. Your information could have changed and there's no way to know what time period they are going off of.
In short, they can be a tool to help you, but nothing to rely on. You should app for the card you actually want and not rely on what it says you are prequalified for. You should strive for the cards you want, improve your profile if needed to obtain them, and go from there. Just my advice
I have never been turned down after a pre-qualified offer. My scores have not been affected after checking offers.
That is my experience.
This thread just gave me the itch to try for Discover. I checked the pre-qualifer site and was qualified for the IT (with the APR range). I had to call them to verify why I had inquiries. They must be inquiry sensitive because I only have 3 inqs on two of my reports and 5 on the other. I told him I was reestablishing credit and they approved me for $1,500. Woot! Now I am done! Garden Garden.