@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
so it sounds like you all ar saying to NEVER take a paper pre qual and just use the online ones?
If so.. I have never seen that discussed on here.
I didn't get that from the responses. How you choose to go about applying for credit is really a personal decision. This is what I got from the responses in your thread. Prequals come from two different places: marketing (could be internal or external firm) & directly from Citi via their website. You need to decide which offer best fits your needs. In this scenario, the prequal from Citi's website offers you the best deal. Next time it may be one from marketing. It's a good thing to have choices. Now you know you should check for a prequal, if the CCC offers it, before accepting an offer. As a rule of thumb, I never accept the first, second, third, or fourth prequal offer. Again, it's a personal choice and I've cold app'd for most of my credit cards.
Well, I think a least takeshi's response had a different meaning, which I strongly agree with.
You get prequals because, in some sense, this is the card that the ISSUER wants you to get. It may be a lousy fit for your needs, maybe they are pushing it because the take up rate has been below expectations. Always decide which card you want, then you can check for prequals. (And even if there isn't one, you can still apply).
Consider this more like receiving an ad in the mail, offering say special financing on a particular minivan. Presumably most people here don't go "OK, I will get that one" unless they had already determined this was the vehicle they wanted and were waiting for a deal. Really should be the same for credit cards, but for some reason people assume that prequals are in their best interest.
