topic Re: Reliability of Pre-quals? in Credit Card Applications

Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:23:30 GMT

Hi everyone!

I tell you, this board is FASCINATING!! I'm really enjoying reading the threads.

So, since my first post (thank you all that replied), my profile has bettered itself. Discover's FICO site with a pull from Experian gives me a 695. My CK (FAKO) scores from TU and EQ are both reporting at 660. My C1 (secured and CL capped) doesn't have a balance and I'm down to under 1400 with my Sony (which will go to around 900 after I pay off a deferred interest on Dec 1st's payday).

I've been having FUN doing the pre-quals on the various sites.

Discover's offer hasn't updated yet with the new information so I'm holding off until the current offer expires.

C1 actually switched their pre-qual offer from a QS1 and Platinium to a QS (with an also suggest Venture and Savor). I even marked "rebuilding" on there and got the QS offer.

And just for giggles, I did Amex and got two pre-quals on Amex EveryDay and Blue Cash EveryDay, which SHOCKED me.

I tried both Citi and Chase and they don't have any offers for me at all.

My question is this, how reliable are the above offers?

When I pull the trigger, I want to make sure I hit the target and not miss it altogether. And are there any others that I should try for as well. I'll be honest, I have an itch to scratch with a new card. I've not had any inquiries at all in 2017 and the last one I had was 10/18/16 with TU. EQ shows 4/16 for my last one, but a lot of them for when I was purchasing a card. They need to fall off and fast! :-)

Thanks in advance for more information. I guess I'm just gunshy as the last time I tried, I got that unhappy "no" reply. I've busted my tail to rebuild and I don't want to keep getting those. I'm ready for a "YES!" (or two!).

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:30:14 GMT

most prequals are pretty reliable. Do the prequals give a apr range or a specific apr. in the end it boils down to YMMV. I say just go for it you'll definetly be approved for the amex because i got approved with experian being 660 years ago with baddies and a judgement

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:38:23 GMT

Forgive my newness, what does YMMV mean?

Looking each of them over, they each have a specific APR. They are a little high (high teens), but I also realize that I'm pretty new to the CC game and need to prove myself a bit more. Plus, I never carry a balance and don't charge more than I can pay off each month. I really just want to have something in case of an emergency. Having a mere $500 on the C1 secured really isn't much and they refuse to up it at all no matter what level I talk to. :-(

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:44:08 GMT

your mileage may vary meaning your experience may be different. apply for the everyday card if you want to get into the points game

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:45:28 GMT

forgot to mention you might get a 1000 limit with amex but it grows quick after 61 day you can apply for a CLI that 3x your current limit

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:49:16 GMT

Thank you for explaining what that meant. I'm able to figure out a lot of them, but that one threw me.

That brings up another question. With CLIs, do they harm a score? Are they a soft or hard pull? I've thought about asking my Sony card (Synchrony) for a CLI for a Black Friday special, but I don't want to hurt my score just for a TV deal.

I'm also trying to figure if I want to go with points or cashback. Never had either of them. I use a PayPal debit card that gives me 1% on everything and it adds up.

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:51:47 GMT

depends on the creditor, Amex does softpulls on cli's they usually tell you before hand though if you do it over the phone

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:56:08 GMT

I appreciate all the feedback. If I request one, I'll definitely give them a call. They offer the FICO 8 score, but sadly it hasn't updated since the beginning of the month and it's now almost 75 points higher.

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 20:04:02 GMT

I think when shopping for a new card, you also have to think about how the card will benefit you. Ask yourself, what type of a spender are you? Where do you normally use your cards? Do you travel a lot? Do you eat out a lot? Is most of your spending allocated for Groceries and home expenses. If you are qualified for cards like the Amex BCE which earns you Cashback, I'd say pick the Cashback card opposed to the AMEX Everyday unless you prefer to earn rewards points to redeem for travel. I'd say start off with what's more important to you, I think when we are able to get in with a specific lender, it's important to show them that we are not only able to handle the credit limit, but more so, we optimize the benefits and the value of the credit card we were approved for. After such time, you can diversify either with the same lender or another company of your preference, once you have established a good history of usage and payments.

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 20:13:02 GMT

If there is any chance you are on Amex blacklist, those pre-quals will mean nothing. I recently had them appear for me but denied when app'd. But....if you are on the blacklist a denial won't result in a HP (big bonus!)

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 15:01:45 GMT

clark_d_shark, thanks so much for that advice. Honestly, the only traveling I do is in the car, not much with flying. So cashback bonuses really seem to be more logical to me early on. Maybe the situation will change to where I get to do more traveling further away down the road. I've really been eyeing the cashback though and any bonuses that come with a card like credits or cash for using it.

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 15:02:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If there is any chance you are on Amex blacklist, those pre-quals will mean nothing. I recently had them appear for me but denied when app'd. But....if you are on the blacklist a denial won't result in a HP (big bonus!)

How can I find out if I'm on their blacklist or not? Anything that will be a heads up?

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 15:27:10 GMT

don't worry the only way you will be on that is if you have ever burned them in the past

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 17:36:31 GMT

@dsotm76 wrote:
clark_d_shark, thanks so much for that advice. Honestly, the only traveling I do is in the car, not much with flying. So cashback bonuses really seem to be more logical to me early on. Maybe the situation will change to where I get to do more traveling further away down the road. I've really been eyeing the cashback though and any bonuses that come with a card like credits or cash for using it.

@Anonymous are welcome @dsotm76, If Cashback will be of more use to you, then AMEX BCE and Discover IT (with their cash back match) would be the two target cards that you should aim for. I think with your current score of EX695 you may get an approval for the AMEX BCE, but again YMMV, If you're utilization is still above 30%, i'd say, try your best to wait until that percentage has gone down to at least 10% or even lower, and you probably will get a better start with them in terms of limit. Discover majority of the time will pull EQ, so if, they're in your radar, just follow the suggestion I gave you about CCT to get all three of your CRA Fico 8 scores. I wish you luck and I'm sure you will decide on a card that will best fit your long term goals.

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:27:44 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous are welcome @dsotm76, If Cashback will be of more use to you, then AMEX BCE and Discover IT (with their cash back match) would be the two target cards that you should aim for. I think with your current score of EX695 you may get an approval for the AMEX BCE, but again YMMV, If you're utilization is still above 30%, i'd say, try your best to wait until that percentage has gone down to at least 10% or even lower, and you probably will get a better start with them in terms of limit. Discover majority of the time will pull EQ, so if, they're in your radar, just follow the suggestion I gave you about CCT to get all three of your CRA Fico 8 scores. I wish you luck and I'm sure you will decide on a card that will best fit your long term goals.

First off, Happy Thanksgiving!

I took your suggestion about CCTdotcom and the following information is enlightening:

FICO® Score 8 powered by Experian - 726

FICO® Score 8 powered by Transunion - 737

FICO® Score 8 powered by Equifax - 738

Those are definitely quite a bit above the FAKO CK score of 660 that they say TU and EQ are showing and with the same information. Makes me feel a lot better. What's helping is no missed payments, revolving credit, and not seeking credit (which I am, but just not applying yet). Hurting is the age of accounts (2 years is the oldest), credit usage of 52% (another credit line would decrease that and if Sync [Sony] would report more often), and my auto loan which still has 3 years.

With my pre-quals, the APR (which I intend to always pay in full and have an emergency stash in case something happens) seems to be a bit high. Discover is saying 21.99, C1 is 18.99, and Amex BCE is 17.99. I'm guessing that's because of the credit usage being high?

Honestly, I'd like to bite the bullet and get a card now and then apply for one more in April after everything is paid off outside of the auto loan and inquiries drop off from buying a car. I'm leary of C1 because they do a hard pull from all three, from what I've read. Discover and Amex are my preferred, but I'm just very gunshy still from the last time I tried to get a card.

I genuinely appreciate all of the help!

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:28:40 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
don't worry the only way you will be on that is if you have ever burned them in the past

Thanks! I've never had an Amex, so I guess that means I'm safe there. But darn it, there goes Nordstrom since I bankrupted them in my very early 20's. :-(

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Nov 2017 14:05:58 GMT

Q1 seems to be pretty solid. I was just feeling the same way. My profile is a year younger then yours, i just scored venture.
If cashback is what your leaning towards, quicksilver would be a good choice.

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

dsotm76 — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 19:06:48 GMT

Question about QS, C1 does an HP from all three agencies, right?

Re: Reliability of Pre-quals?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 22:00:40 GMT

I’m guessing yes, Cap One pulled from all 3 for my venture card, i can’t remember what they did when i applied for Quicksilver One