Pre-Screened or From Scratch?

[finfree]

A few weeks ago I received a pre-screened offer from Cap1 Venture. EQ shows a soft pull from Cap1 from close to two months ago. At the time of the soft pull my EQ FICO Score 8 was almost 100 points lower than today due to a now-removed (and erroneous) derogatory. The pre-screened offer has a code I can use if I apply for the Cap1 CC. My question is whether if I use that code Cap 1 already has my CL already “pigeonholed” based on the score at the time of the soft pull even if they do a hard pull and see today’s score. Would I get a fresh start look if I instead simply bypass the prescreened offer and it’s code and just apply “cold.”

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if you are pigeonholed per se, but I would recommend you check the prequalify page on Cap 1 and see what offers they currently have for you.  If the terms and conditions have changed (for the better) or remain the same as the previous offer for the Venture, they might have soft pulled since, or they'll make a decision when they triple pull your reports at application.  If the current prequal is better, go with that instead of the pre-screen code.  With your current scores, I don't think there is an issue.

[finfree]

Thanks so much, banquier. Does the pre-qualify result in a soft pull?

[finfree]

I didn’t know about the option to check on the Cap One page but it came back saying I was pre-qualified for several cards including the Cap One Venture at 14.24 (? Could it have been 14.34??) %. Not sure what that means as they didn’t indicate CL.

[Anonymous]

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@finfree wrote:
I didn’t know about the option to check on the Cap One page but it came back saying I was pre-qualified for several cards including the Cap One Venture at 14.24 (? Could it have been 14.34??) %. Not sure what that means as they didn’t indicate CL.

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That's the best APR they currently offer on new accounts for the Venture (was 13.99% until interest rates went up on 13 December 2017).  I assume your pre-screen offer didn't mention a CL either? And to answer your earlier question, the pre-qual is an SP only.  If you apply, I expect you'll get a 5-figure CL, possibly above 20K, but just a guess...

[finfree]

Yup, no mention of CL. Not sure what they’ll offer but will have to wait until late next week as I’m scheduled to close on a condo purchase next week and not doing anything until it closes.