Discover Prequalification / Preapproved for IT card... should I go for it?

[Anonymous]

Hi all - I'm working on increasing my overall credit limit as I continue to rebuild my scores. Currently I'm at 671 on Experian and my biggest limit card is Cap 1 starter at $3,300.

Over the last few months I sometimes checked the Discover Prequal site and always only got it for their secured card.  I had a few derogs on my report that recently came off, and when I tried it this morning, it gave me a preapproval for a Discover IT Cash Back Card at 23.24%.

Question - is there any way to know the odds of actual approval and then what the SL will be? Should I do an HP and a new tradeline for this or just continue trying to get CLI's on my existing cards like PayPal 2% card, Barclays and Capital 1?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

23.24% instead of a range is a very good approval indicator. It’s also not the cap of 25.24% so while it’s not an excellent approval, it’s not fully borderline either. 

Discover likes to be your primary card and they are known for SLs that achieve that if you have a thin file but it’s never a guarantee. For some perspective, I had a $6250 Capital One, $2000 PlayStation, and $1000 Ollo in my wallet last March with a 650-660 EQ (they pulled EQ for me) and they gave me a $7500 limit that is now $11,200. 

My approval was for an ongoing 21.24% and it was my first time checking the site and having an offer (I had been checking every few months). 

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all - I'm working on increasing my overall credit limit as I continue to rebuild my scores. Currently I'm at 671 on Experian and my biggest limit card is Cap 1 starter at $3,300.

Over the last few months I sometimes checked the Discover Prequal site and always only got it for their secured card.  I had a few derogs on my report that recently came off, and when I tried it this morning, it gave me a preapproval for a Discover IT Cash Back Card at 23.24%.

Question - is there any way to know the odds of actual approval and then what the SL will be? Should I do an HP and a new tradeline for this or just continue trying to get CLI's on my existing cards like PayPal 2% card, Barclays and Capital 1?

Thanks!

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Their pre approvals are pretty solid, but there is absolutely no way to predict the SL with Disco

As far as should you apply for new credit, the question is do you need new credit vs applying just because you have pre approval. 

You could definitely benefit from 5% rotating categories, tho. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

23.24% instead of a range is a very good approval indicator. It’s also not the cap of 25.24% so while it’s not an excellent approval, it’s not fully borderline either. 

Discover likes to be your primary card and they are known for SLs that achieve that if you have a thin file but it’s never a guarantee. For some perspective, I had a $6250 Capital One, $2000 PlayStation, and $1000 Ollo in my wallet last March with a 650-660 EQ (they pulled EQ for me) and they gave me a $7500 limit that is now $11,200. 

My approval was for an ongoing 21.24% and it was my first time checking the site and having an offer (I had been checking every few months). 

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Thanks! My utilization will actually go down in 2 days so I imagine my score will go up even more, so I think I will run this one more time and then apply. 

Quick question - I see you also have the PayPal 2% card with an $8k limit. They started me at $800, it's been 3 months and I've tried to get a CLI a few times and I keep getting the "not enough experience at current limit" message.  Did you start at that limit or did you increase over time and any tips on that?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

23.24% instead of a range is a very good approval indicator. It’s also not the cap of 25.24% so while it’s not an excellent approval, it’s not fully borderline either. 

Discover likes to be your primary card and they are known for SLs that achieve that if you have a thin file but it’s never a guarantee. For some perspective, I had a $6250 Capital One, $2000 PlayStation, and $1000 Ollo in my wallet last March with a 650-660 EQ (they pulled EQ for me) and they gave me a $7500 limit that is now $11,200. 

My approval was for an ongoing 21.24% and it was my first time checking the site and having an offer (I had been checking every few months). 

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Thanks! My utilization will actually go down in 2 days so I imagine my score will go up even more, so I think I will run this one more time and then apply. 

Quick question - I see you also have the PayPal 2% card with an $8k limit. They started me at $800, it's been 3 months and I've tried to get a CLI a few times and I keep getting the "not enough experience at current limit" message.  Did you start at that limit or did you increase over time and any tips on that?

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Discover lets you check every 10 days but how much of a percentage are you talking in utilization drop? It may not lift you as much as you expect unless it’s a sizable score increase by changing buckets to under 28.9%. 

My PayPal, I actually started at that limit. Blew me away when I saw the numbers but my TU was up to 706 at the time (Sync had just approved me for the Amazon Store Card about 2 weeks prior at 652 for an $1800 SL). 

From what I have seen about the MasterCards, Sync likes to see 5-6 months of history before they grant CLIs on them. 

[Anonymous]

@Saeren my utilization will go down from 22% to 17% in a few days. I had a card that reported a high balance last month because of a mixup on my end on the statement cut date, but this time I paid it off (about $500). If you don't think that will change things much, then I could probably go ahead and apply now.

Congrats on the great SL right away!  I'll just keep asking for a CLI after every statement... I figure it's a SP so can't hurt.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@Saeren my utilization will go down from 22% to 17% in a few days. I had a card that reported a high balance last month because of a mixup on my end on the statement cut date, but this time I paid it off (about $500). If you don't think that will change things much, then I could probably go ahead and apply now.

Congrats on the great SL right away!  I'll just keep asking for a CLI after every statement... I figure it's a SP so can't hurt.

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22% to 17% isn’t a FICO bucket but it could help on the app. Honestly Disco likes to have customers that carry balances though so I can’t see 22% hurting you. 

Yeah my PayPal card blew me away... I mean the largest post-BK SL I had before that was my $7500 Disco and before that it was my $2000 PlayStation. 

[Anonymous]

EXCITING UPDATE: After my utilization went down, my Experian FICO went up to 684.

Applied for Discover yesterday and was APPROVED for $12,500!

Thanks everyone!

[K-in-Boston]

@Anonymous  Congrats!  Please feel free to start a new approval thread over in Credit Card Approvals.