Difference in content of a hard or soft pull

[Anonymous]

This is something I've never been able to find an answer to - most searches I can come up with are too general.

We all know that Hard Pulls negatively impact our scores and soft pulls don't - but what I've always wondered about is whether there's a difference in the actual information that's available on a soft pull.

I know what's on my free annual report from the three agencies, what my experian FICO8 is, and what I get on the soft pulls from CreditKarma, Amex, etc.

So do lenders actually find out anything more with a hard pull, or does it serve simply as a way of flagging that someone is seeking credit? I know when I recently got a new cell account T-Mobile did a soft pull (of course they were only deciding whether or not to risk a $50 monthly charge to a credit card)

Apologies if this is answered somewhere I should have found it.

[simplynoir]

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Soft-Pull-vs-Hard-Pull-Viewable-Data-Differen...

This seems to be the closest explaination here and it's from @RobertEG so I'd say it's pretty reliable.

From my understanding apparently the intent of the SP/HP inquiries is to code and clarify on your reports when someone is seeking credit whether it's cards, mortgages, loans, and so on. This is dependent on the creditor/bank to classify what they deem and allow. For example AMEX and BofA only require SPs for CLIs but you can gain increases in credit while others like Chase process the HP for the possibility of credit. Otherwise the info gleaned from a SP is the same pretty much as a HP.

[Anonymous]

Same info from a HP or SP.

Also, HPs don't always negatively impact score.  Sometimes they have no impact. 

The purpose of a HP is simply to leave a mark that one applied for credit, or in some cases additional credit. 

[IPIF]

so why do some banks do  HP to open savings account or CD?

And why do many credit unions do HP to become a member if you don't apply for checking account or credit card or loan?

[FireMedic1]

They want to see if they can give your offers for credit or any other products. Some use that same score to approve certain credit programs.