cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?

tag
SoCalGardener
Valued Contributor

Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?

One of my pre-approved offers on Experian is for the Chase Freedom Unlimited. I have no Chase cards at all, and have thought about getting one, though not necessarily *this* one. I was gardening....but, oops!, I screwed up, so now I have some wiggle room. Note that I did *not* have a HP--I left the garden by accepting a new account from Amex, i.e., a new tradeline. Smiley Sad

 

On the words "Pre-approved," hovering over the question mark brings this up: "Being pre-approved means you have met the issuer's strict criteria and they have selected you to receive this pre-screened offer."

 

Also, the pop-up from hovering over "Matched for You" includes "Experian's estimated approval odds," which include "Good | Better | Best"--and mine is "best."

 

Seeing the terms pre-approved AND pre-screened AND knowing that none of this necessarily means anything any more, I thought I'd ask: how solid is this offer? I'm on the Experian site itself.

Amazon Prime Store CardAmerican Express Blue Cash Preferred CardAmerican Express Everyday CardBank of America Customized Cash VisaCapitalOne Quicksilver MastercardCapitalOne Quicksilver VisaCapitalOne Walmart Rewards MastercardChevron Texaco CardCiti Double Cash MastercardDiscover More CardJCPenney Gold MastercardOverstock.com CardSportsmans Guide Rewards VisaSynchrony Home Card
Message 1 of 29
28 REPLIES 28
dragontears
Senior Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?


@SoCalGardener wrote:

One of my pre-approved offers on Experian is for the Chase Freedom Unlimited. I have no Chase cards at all, and have thought about getting one, though not necessarily *this* one. I was gardening....but, oops!, I screwed up, so now I have some wiggle room. Note that I did *not* have a HP--I left the garden by accepting a new account from Amex, i.e., a new tradeline. Smiley Sad

 

On the words "Pre-approved," hovering over the question mark brings this up: "Being pre-approved means you have met the issuer's strict criteria and they have selected you to receive this pre-screened offer."

 

Also, the pop-up from hovering over "Matched for You" includes "Experian's estimated approval odds," which include "Good | Better | Best"--and mine is "best."

 

Seeing the terms pre-approved AND pre-screened AND knowing that none of this necessarily means anything any more, I thought I'd ask: how solid is this offer? I'm on the Experian site itself.


About as solid as the preapprovals you see on credit karma..... Experian doesn't have access to any lender's actual underwriting criteria and are paid by the credit card company a referral fee.

Message 2 of 29
SoCalGardener
Valued Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?


@dragontears wrote:

@SoCalGardener wrote:

One of my pre-approved offers on Experian is for the Chase Freedom Unlimited. I have no Chase cards at all, and have thought about getting one, though not necessarily *this* one. I was gardening....but, oops!, I screwed up, so now I have some wiggle room. Note that I did *not* have a HP--I left the garden by accepting a new account from Amex, i.e., a new tradeline. Smiley Sad

 

On the words "Pre-approved," hovering over the question mark brings this up: "Being pre-approved means you have met the issuer's strict criteria and they have selected you to receive this pre-screened offer."

 

Also, the pop-up from hovering over "Matched for You" includes "Experian's estimated approval odds," which include "Good | Better | Best"--and mine is "best."

 

Seeing the terms pre-approved AND pre-screened AND knowing that none of this necessarily means anything any more, I thought I'd ask: how solid is this offer? I'm on the Experian site itself.


About as solid as the preapprovals you see on credit karma..... Experian doesn't have access to any lender's actual underwriting criteria and are paid by the credit card company a referral fee.


Hmmm....that's kind of what I was afraid of. I absolutely do not want to waste a HP on a denial. Given my current data points, it's hard to imagine not getting approved, but you never know! 4% overall utilization, scores around 815, more than $100,000 TCL, oldest account is 30, newest is...brand new. To be clear, I definitely don't *need* this card, don't even particularly *want* it, but the verbiage on its so-called "pre-approval" made me wonder.

Amazon Prime Store CardAmerican Express Blue Cash Preferred CardAmerican Express Everyday CardBank of America Customized Cash VisaCapitalOne Quicksilver MastercardCapitalOne Quicksilver VisaCapitalOne Walmart Rewards MastercardChevron Texaco CardCiti Double Cash MastercardDiscover More CardJCPenney Gold MastercardOverstock.com CardSportsmans Guide Rewards VisaSynchrony Home Card
Message 3 of 29
MileHigh96
Frequent Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?

When I started rebuilding, I used the pre-approvals by CK and by Experian and the ones that were labeled 'best' went through and I was approved. Experian is the one that said I was pre-approved for the Mercury card and at the time, that was the one that gave me my highest CL.

Just my experience FWIW, but you know how things go, YMMV.
BK7 discharged - 06JUL2021
Loans:

Revolving Accounts (in the order they were opened):

Closed accounts:
Message 4 of 29
C6
Regular Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?

I'm not sure about Experian preapprovals but Credit Karma is a joke. The approvals change almost weekly even though my score changes very little. This week they seem to be pushing Bank of America on me yet they say I'm no good for Cap1, Discover, Amex, Credit One, etc. The funny thing is I have Cap1 Venture and Discover with fairly high limits and I did an Amex preapproval last month and was preapproved for everything except the Hilton cards. As for Credit One I think anyone that can fog a mirror should qualify for that card. I believe it was a month or so ago they were pushing the Cap1 Quicksilver on me but now I don't qualify.... hahaha It's all just marketing so if you think you qualify go ahead and apply, otherwise look elsewhere for preapprovals.

Message 5 of 29
SoCalGardener
Valued Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?


@MileHigh96 wrote:
When I started rebuilding, I used the pre-approvals by CK and by Experian and the ones that were labeled 'best' went through and I was approved. Experian is the one that said I was pre-approved for the Mercury card and at the time, that was the one that gave me my highest CL.

Just my experience FWIW, but you know how things go, YMMV.

Thanks, that's quite helpful to know. I realize every situation is unique, and there's no guarantee that my result would mirror yours, but it's good to know!

Amazon Prime Store CardAmerican Express Blue Cash Preferred CardAmerican Express Everyday CardBank of America Customized Cash VisaCapitalOne Quicksilver MastercardCapitalOne Quicksilver VisaCapitalOne Walmart Rewards MastercardChevron Texaco CardCiti Double Cash MastercardDiscover More CardJCPenney Gold MastercardOverstock.com CardSportsmans Guide Rewards VisaSynchrony Home Card
Message 6 of 29
SoCalGardener
Valued Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?


@C6 wrote:

I'm not sure about Experian preapprovals but Credit Karma is a joke. The approvals change almost weekly even though my score changes very little. This week they seem to be pushing Bank of America on me yet they say I'm no good for Cap1, Discover, Amex, Credit One, etc. The funny thing is I have Cap1 Venture and Discover with fairly high limits and I did an Amex preapproval last month and was preapproved for everything except the Hilton cards. As for Credit One I think anyone that can fog a mirror should qualify for that card. I believe it was a month or so ago they were pushing the Cap1 Quicksilver on me but now I don't qualify.... hahaha It's all just marketing so if you think you qualify go ahead and apply, otherwise look elsewhere for preapprovals.


Oh, no! Don't get me started on Credit Karma!

 

First, I have to say up front that I *like* CK and use it regularly. *BUT* I do so with full knowledge that it has a lot of inaccuracies. I could write a whole dissertation on its 'how much house can I buy?' calculator! The very short version is that when I plug in my current home's value as my down payment (since I own it outright, I have 100% equity), and then fill out the rest of the info they request, their result is that I can afford a 500 thousand-something house. With $1.7 MILLION DOLLARS left over. Smiley Very Happy Basic math here: if I have $1.7M for a down payment, it's a NO-BRAINER that I can buy a house that costs AT LEAST $1.7M, right? Not according to CK!!

 

So, yeah, their ridiculous results with your credit card offers isn't surprising at all. I was looking through their recommended cards recently--and it included a Credit One card. CREDIT ONE. Smiley Surprised I have excellent credit, high-end cards, perfect history, high CLs...and they think Credit One is a good match?! *SMH*

Amazon Prime Store CardAmerican Express Blue Cash Preferred CardAmerican Express Everyday CardBank of America Customized Cash VisaCapitalOne Quicksilver MastercardCapitalOne Quicksilver VisaCapitalOne Walmart Rewards MastercardChevron Texaco CardCiti Double Cash MastercardDiscover More CardJCPenney Gold MastercardOverstock.com CardSportsmans Guide Rewards VisaSynchrony Home Card
Message 7 of 29
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?

I take Experian preapprovals very serious....im preapproved for Credit One Amex.....

Message 8 of 29
SoCalGardener
Valued Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?


@AverageJoesCredit wrote:

I take Experian preapprovals very serious....im preapproved for Credit One Amex.....


Is it just me, or does "Credit One" and "Amex" in the same sentence sound like an oxymoron?! Smiley Very Happy

Amazon Prime Store CardAmerican Express Blue Cash Preferred CardAmerican Express Everyday CardBank of America Customized Cash VisaCapitalOne Quicksilver MastercardCapitalOne Quicksilver VisaCapitalOne Walmart Rewards MastercardChevron Texaco CardCiti Double Cash MastercardDiscover More CardJCPenney Gold MastercardOverstock.com CardSportsmans Guide Rewards VisaSynchrony Home Card
Message 9 of 29
EAJuggalo
Established Contributor

Re: Are Experian pre-approvals pretty solid?


@SoCalGardener wrote: I absolutely do not want to waste a HP on a denial. Given my current data points, it's hard to imagine not getting approved, but you never know! 4% overall utilization, scores around 815, more than $100,000 TCL, oldest account is 30, newest is...brand new. To be clear, I definitely don't *need* this card, don't even particularly *want* it, but the verbiage on its so-called "pre-approval" made me wonder.

Why? I'm trying to understand.  Most of the people here that are concerned about HP have a specific reason.  Either their files are so thin that an extra HP can make a huge difference in scores, or their right on the bubble of getting an approval or they have a mortgage app upcoming.  With your scores and utilization, why bother worrying about a HP?  

EX700 TU 704 EQ 694 4/03/22
Cap1 QS-$4,500 Chase Freedom Flex- $800 Chase Freedom Unlimited- $1,000 Victoria's Secret- $1,200 Citi DC- $800 Amazon Store Card- $3,500 AMEX Hilton Honors-$1,000 Discover It-$1,000 Wal-Mart MC $290 Chase Sapphire Preferred-$5,000 NFCU Flagship $13,800 AMEX BCE-$1,000 AMEX Gold-$5,000 AMEX Delta Blue $1,000 Lowe's $5,000 Navy Platinum $17,000 AMEX BBP $2,000
Message 10 of 29
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.