Using Soft pull pre approvals to test your credit

[Anonymous]

Hy guys i am kinda new here i was wondering if applying for soft pull preapprovals cards and using the pre-approved limit as a way to test whether you have enough credit juice to apply for credit

[jcooks]

Yes, those are the whole purpose of pre-approvals.  My suggestion is going directly to the card sites to see for pre-approvals rather than 3rd party websites (Credit Karma, creditmatch, experian, etc).  The 3rd party websites are more marketing more than anything.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hy guys i am kinda new here i was wondering if applying for soft pull preapprovals cards and using the pre-approved limit as a way to test whether you have enough credit juice to apply for credit

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I don't really understand the question.

1. If you apply for the card, it won't be a soft pull, it will be a hard pull.

2. Most preapprovals don't tell you what limit you're 'preapproved' for.

3. Preapprovals are not really a test of what you can get. Some people can get cards they have never been preapproved for. Some people get repeatedly turned down despite being repeatedly preapproved for the card.

So no, applying for preapproved cards is not a good way to test what you can get approved for.

[Anonymous]

What @SouthJamaica said is true for most pre-approvals. The Goldman Sachs Apple Card does provide you with an interest rate and limit with only a soft pull. I am not sure if there are any other cards that do this?

That being said, just because you get a solid offer on one card does not mean you will get a similar offer on a different product.

[Shooting-For-800]

My preapprovals have all been acurate except BBVA.

Cap One and BB&T are great for preappovals.

If you get Venture preapproval, you should get a $5k+ limit on a Cap One card.

Regions will do preapproval with a CL.

GL!

[Anonymous]

Yes you definitely can use them to see "where you stand" as you build/rebuild. The Apple Card and Lowe's Card even preapprove you for an amount. Things change all the time, but I think Capital One only preapproves for their lower tier cards (not Venture or Quicksilver), Citi has stopped with preapprovals.

Getting a preapproval doesn't necessarily mean much, but if you go from consistent "sorry, no offers" to getting preapproved on everything after 6 months then you're on the right track.

End of the day, creditkarma or similar sites give you a better idea of where your credit is at.

Short list of preapprovals you can check...  Kohls, Chase, Lowe's, Apple, CapOne, Amex, Home Depot, Discover. Pretty much any really good card won't offer preapproval unless they offer it to you (usually with an existing relationship). Just my opinion, the best 2 cards that offer a preapproval (that YOU request) and that you'll keep after your credit grows over time are the Apple Card and Discover It. Some store cards like Lowe's will be "long term cards" as well. Good luck and keep avoiding those "hard pulls" until you know you'll likely get approved.

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys all of your input was helpful...much appreciated 

[Anonymous]

Actually Credit Karma and other sites like it are awful for indicating your odds. They use VantageScore models for scoring, and the lenders use FICO models. Plus, CK and the others get paid referral fees for getting you to app for cards through them (regardless if you're approved). It behooves them to tell you that you qualify for as many cards as they can to increase their odds of getting paid. It's why they constantly push you to apply. I would look at them as the least reliable place to try and gauge real-world odds of approval.

[AlmostNJ]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Actually Credit Karma and other sites like it are awful for indicating your odds. They use VantageScore models for scoring, and the lenders use FICO models. Plus, CK and the others get paid referral fees for getting you to app for cards through them (regardless if you're approved). It behooves them to tell you that you qualify for as many cards as they can to increase their odds of getting paid. It's why they constantly push you to apply. I would look at them as the least reliable place to try and gauge real-world odds of approval.

I did not know that.   That is good to know. Thanks @Anonymous 

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[PandaGirl77]

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@Anonymous wrote:

What @SouthJamaica said is true for most pre-approvals. The Goldman Sachs Apple Card does provide you with an interest rate and limit with only a soft pull. I am not sure if there are any other cards that do this?

That being said, just because you get a solid offer on one card does not mean you will get a similar offer on a different product.

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I think Venmo may have a la Apple