Opt-out: am I missing out?

[brother7]

Once upon a time, I went thru a "save the environment" phase. With the goal of reducing the amount of junk mail I receive, I chose to opt-out of prescreened offers from credit card companies.  This worked very well to reduce the amount of mail that goes straight to the trash.

Currently, I'm going thru a "get my financial act together" phase.  With only 1 credit card, I'm looking to add 3-4 more, plus 2-3 store/gas charge cards.

Question:  Am I missing out on special deals/offers because I opted-out?  Should I opt-in again?

[ChesterPDexter]

Yes, I believe you are missing out on offers.  You  may have been saving some paper, but you put yourself off the list of companies that will offer you new cards or other financial offers.

[haulingthescoreup]

Being opted-in is interesting, in that it gives you a feel for how companies see you. But there are plenty of threads here about people who got "pre-approvals" in the mail, but were shot down when they applied for real.

I opted out while I was rebuilding, and opted back in about 8 weeks before I planned to get more cards. I don't think that I responded to anything specific that I got in the mail, but it was kind of reassuring to get decent ads.

Many people here are reporting that their mailed pre-approvals have really dried up, doubtless as a result of the economy. I know I don't get many any more.

[Anonymous]

You are missing nothing that you cannot find online searching for credit card offers. HSBC and Orchard still exist, Chase Freedom as well.. Google around for others.

The opt out is a good thing- especially if you worry about mail theft and your temptation to randomly apply.

[ChesterPDexter]

I'm going to have to mildly disagree with USMC.  I have received offers and gotten cards that I am 99% sure would not have happened, I mean - I would not have received even comparable deals - had I just gone around looking for credit cards and applying on my own.

I mean, the highest any of my scored have been is 690 in the last few years, and I've received a card with a $5,400 limit and another card with a $4,000 limit at 9.9% and another at 8.9%.

These came through pre-screened or pre-approved offers, and I can tell you that any applying I've done on my own nets me either nothing or cards with low limits and high rates.  I feel that these offers sometimes slip you through the cracks and get you deals you wouldn't get if you went knocking on their door, instead.

[Anonymous]

By no means am I the God of all things credit.

And I do think that even a year ago you may have had a good pre approval deal or two.

but with the markets being what they are....I am not sure if the pre approvals are as foot loose and fancy free as they are now.

Before I opted out I was applying for many of the pre approvals I got, dinging myself with inquiry after inquiry and in most cases denials.

Opting out was good for me. It lowered my junk mail, my application temptation and my fear that someone in my somewhat bad area neighborhood would be getting my mail.

And you can still find good deals online.

Message Edited by usmc58555 on 02-28-2009 10:09 AM

[score_building]

ChesterPDexter wrote:

 I have received offers and gotten cards that I am 99% sure would not have happened, I mean - I would not have received even comparable deals - had I just gone around looking for credit cards and applying on my own.

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+1

i recently apped discover via preapp w/ > 35% util reporting and received the card with 0% bt offer.  i cold apped more than a year prior with low util and similar scores and was denied 

the lowest apr offered from the preapp was 2% lower than what they were currently offering on cold apps. and the high apr on the preapp offer was two points lower than offered on a regular app. w/o invite.

Message Edited by score_building on 02-28-2009 10:24 AM

[Anonymous]

I have read all of the other replies, and I just want to add my 2 cents.

You will cut your risk of ID theft by staying opted out.  I am permanently opted out due to ID theft back in 1999.  For me, it is nice to know that my "preapproval offers" don't end up misdelivered to a stranger and don't have to be shredded.

I used to get preapprovals all of the time.  Several offers weekly.  Now - nothing.

You wrote that you wanted to open some additional credit cards. You can research cards here or go directly to the websites of the major players:  BoA, Citi, Discover, Amex, etc.

Make the decision that is best for you and your situation.

[Anonymous]

I opted out in 2001 after my wallet was stolen. I opted back in about 6 months ago and haven't gotten anything decent except Discover (that I didn't app for). I've gotten lots of crap though--chain letters, crazy religious tracts, and offers from the low-limit, high-fee card companies. However, even when I was opted out, I got "partner" card offers like a Southwest Airlines Visa. I think most of the good offers are available online. Maybe it's because of the poor financial environment, but I'm thinking about opting back out to cut the junk mail.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

By no means am I the God of all things credit.

And I do think that even a year ago you may have had a good pre approval deal or two.

but with the markets being what they are....I am not sure if the pre approvals are as foot loose and fancy free as they are now.

Before I opted out I was applying for many of the pre approvals I got, dinging myself with inquiry after inquiry and in most cases denials.

Opting out was good for me. It lowered my junk mail, my application temptation and my fear that someone in my somewhat bad area neighborhood would be getting my mail.

And you can still find good deals online.

Message Edited by usmc58555 on 02-28-2009 10:09 AM

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As someone who works at a credit union, you're right and the other guy is wrong. Your chances are exactly the same applying online as they are if you get a preapproval (though those that get preapprovals are more likely to have higher fico scores than those who don't -- assuming both are "opted-in").

If you're preapproved for a card, it basically means that a financial institution pulled your credit score and based on that and any other information they have on you, they tell you that if you applied today, you'd get approved for this card with a certain limit. This is entirely subject to change and BOTH the decision and the limit on the card are re-evaluated at the time of application. So yeah, if the only reason you're opted-in is to learn about offers you wouldn't have otherwise seen, that makes sense. But if you're relatively computer literate and are able to use the internet to find offers, you might as well save the trees, reduce your chance of identity theft and just opt-out.

I recommend FiLife.com for researching credit cards and all other financial products and services. It's a subsidiary of the Wall Street Journal and has pretty much every single type of account, product or service for every single financial institution in the country (or comes close to it).