When appying online for pre-qualified Credit Cards

[glamchick]

So I came across Capital One credit card pre-qualification.  It says does not hurt your credit score but it asks for my SS#?

Also, well they pull a soft report?   Has anyone else had any experience with doing pre-qualifications and it not hurting their score?

[SpeedingWheels]

The pre-qualify sites do not hard pull, they simply look to see if you have any offers available. 

There should be a little box on the page that says something like 'this is not a credit app and will not effect your credit score' 

[glamchick]

This is what it says on the site:

• Your credit score is not affected
• Find the right card in 3 easy steps
• See your offers in 60 seconds

I am applying for a house this year and trying to bump up my CC limits.  But don't want to apply if their not going to give me a card and steal points from me LOL

[Revelate]

You'll statistically lose more points on an approval than you will a denial.

If you're going for a house, just close the browser window in my estimation and go on with life.   Capital One's limits are nothing to write home about in general anyway, and if you already have 2+ credit cards, just let time do it's magic in the runup to a mortgage.  You can always pre-pay the cards anyway, once you get the house closed then see what you want.

[glamchick]

On all my reports it says that my credit lines are to low.  My CL's equal to 1800 and I've read you should at least be over $2000.00 is taht correct?

[shakalaka]

Hm, I do not know that. But a CL above 2K with CapOne? Very seldom at least for all cards, which does not require "excellent credit".

[Revelate]

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@glamchick wrote:

On all my reports it says that my credit lines are to low.  My CL's equal to 1800 and I've read you should at least be over $2000.00 is taht correct?

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What report?  Sometimes have to take report advice with a grain of salt, aggregate CL doesn't matter at all for FICO scoring, it's simply how much of it you're using percentage-wise.

One can build a 800+ score on call it $400 or maybe $600 in credit card limits if managed properly; there's other reasons to obtain larger credit lines, but all of them are irrelevant to FICO, and also irrelevant when compared to obtaining a mortgage.  If your mortgage is a year+ out then we could likely recommend a limit boosting card, but if you're looking to pull the trigger this year, that's not ideal for opening up a new tradeline.

What are your current credit cards?  May be possible to get a CLI on one of them without a hard inquiry.

[glamchick]

I have two First Permier (1 which already gave me an increase 6 months ago)

1 Chase card (gave me an increase 6 months ago, can't apply for another 6 months)

[slippy84]

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@glamchick wrote:

So I came across Capital One credit card pre-qualification.  It says does not hurt your credit score but it asks for my SS#?

Also, well they pull a soft report?   Has anyone else had any experience with doing pre-qualifications and it not hurting their score?

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Just to be 100% clear about the terminology here:

When you input information online to see if you are pre-qualified for an offer, the credit card company is just using a soft pull. The fact that it asks for your SS# doesn't change anything. This is not the same thing as applying for the card.

However, your title uses the word "applying". If you actually apply for the card after receiving pre-qualification, then yes, you would receive a hard inquiry on your credit profile.

[Revelate]

You have three credit cards, and you're on the bubble on the liberal assumption that current score in your signature is your EQ score here (it may not be) so just hang out.  The time window is too short and an increase on the Chase card is a HP anyway generally.

Just need to zealously manage the reported balances when it comes to mortgage time.  Once you're past that financial hurdle, then see about replacing your two FP cards.