Is it worth to apply for a card if you are not prequalified?

[Anonymous]

My wife went through the "pre qualify" Cap1 web site and she got a message saying they couldn't match but they based on her answers they recomended  to apply for a cap1 platinum.

My question is, does she really has a chance if  she is not gettin a prequalification ?  Is it possible to not be prequalified and the get the card when you actually apply?

Her TU FAKO Score is 630.

[dodgerslv]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

My wife went through the "pre qualify" Cap1 web site and she got a message saying they couldn't match but they based on her answers they recomended  to apply for a cap1 platinum.

My question is, does she really has a chance if  she is not gettin a prequalification ?  Is it possible to not be prequalified and the get the card when you actually apply?

Her TU FAKO Score is 630.

---

definitely sitll has a chance. Just like still getting denied even though you are prequalified you can get approved not having any card offers.

[AvadaKedavra]

Out of all my cards the only one I was pre-qualified for was the Citi TY Preferred. Even then, I didn't get an offer in the mail, I checked the website one day because I was bored. So yes, it is possible to get a card even if you're not pre-qualified. What matters more is her credit history. 630 is a bit on the lower side so we'll need more info. Does she have any cards now? How long has she had them and whats the utiilization on them? Any baddies on her report?

[Anonymous]

I see, she doesn't really have any baddie, she has a secured BOFA card with a 40ish utilization. Other than that, that's it.

[Dw4250]

Discover and Chase (Freedom and Slate via pre-qual site) are the only cards I have that pre-qualified me.  Most of them I just applied cold turkey.  For example, Barclays pre-qual site "could not find an offer for me" so I went ahead and applied for Sallie Mae...instant approval.  Same with Arrival+, Cap One Venture, Citi TYP, etc, etc.  In fact, every card I have on my siggy except for Fidelity Amex were instant approvals (had to recon FIA to push Fidelity through).

You can get a much better idea if you are prequalified by asking on here!   Better yet, pull your credit reports.  If you have decent scores and income, low UTIL and your baddies (if applicable) are old old old, you have a decent chance at many cards.  Also you can use some sites like whogaveme and creditpulls to get a rough idea of acceptance criteria.

[Anonymous]

Nice! thanks for the tip !! I wasnt aware of sites like  whogavemecredit, looks very helpful, thanks again!

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

The only card I have gotten "prequalifed" was the CSP. Everything else was cold app/ no offers.

[CreditDunce]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I see, she doesn't really have any baddie, she has a secured BOFA card with a 40ish utilization. Other than that, that's it.

---

I am sure you are aware of it, but a FAKO score of 630 cannot be compared to a FICO 08 score.  The real score could be higher or lower.   She may not even have a FICO score if she hasn't had a CC for 6 months.  If she doesn't have a FICO credit score, it is unlikely she will be pre-approved for anything.     However, Cap1 will probably be willing to give her something.    I just don't know if I would rather have a Cap1 card with an AF or something like a SDFCU secured CC without an AF but also won't graduate.

I would recommend she reduce her utilization before applying.   If you have any clean, long history cards, you could also consider adding her as an AU.  It may not help, but it won't hurt her at this stage either.

[heyarrnold]

The cards that I have, none of those I was pre-qualified for lol. You definitely still have a chance

[hyprble]

I tried the Chase pre-qualify site, and it didn't match me with anything (it claims I could've opted out from offers, but I don't remember doing that).  I appd for CSP and was approved.