Nope. Starting credit limits are either a pleasant or disappointing surprise -- you won't know til you app. And -- approval is not guaranteed just because you prequaled (just means your chances of approval are high... but you can still be denied for whatever reasons once they actually process the app). Generally speaking - if your prequal offers a solid APR instead of a range (ie. 20% APR as opposed to a range of 15.74%- 24.75% APR), then your approval chances are also solid. But there's no way to tell what your credit limit will be.
@Anonymous wrote:What a difference a week makes.......
Week ago scores were:
Experian 658
Equifax 699
Transunion 665
Fico scores as of today,
Experian 722
Equifax 753
Transunion 722
....
I do so enjoy stories with a happy ending. And, doubtless, now that you've got your eye on the ball, things will continue to improve.
One thought on the free credit reports -- I recommend that you stagger the requests, so that you can get a free full report every four months (e.g. - EQ in Jan, EX in May, TU in SEP).
And again, congrats on getting things under control so expeditiously.
Thornback,
Well you actually answered a second question I had without me asking
I noticed on the AE or do you folks use AX for American Express? Anyway.....when I did the prequal for the AE it did give me a wide range for the APR's not a set rate and did wonder why as Citi gave just the one rate, now I know It is also good to know I am not blind as for the life of me I could not see a CL listed anywhere. I will assume I can do the prequal again for Citi anytime I want, that there is not a waiting period between inquires? If so think I will wait for a couple weeks as the scores should rise.
Expat,
Well I can tell you I sure feel bad for people that are trying to repair things that have negatives or lates or something on the report as it must take quite a long time. In our case it was easy as I had the cash as painful as it was to spend it this way. I did end up throwing an extra 5k on the debt, so 35k total as sooner it is all paid off the better.
@Anonymous wrote:Thornback,
Well you actually answered a second question I had without me asking
Around these parts, American Express is generally referred to as "Amex" (not sure why, but I rarely see forum members using the AE or AX abbrevs.). But with all lenders, you can prequal as much as you want, they will soft pull your credit reports each time.
With Amex -- I had no revolving credit when I apped for my card, only a bunch of student loans and an AU (but good FICOs) and I wasn't prequaled for anything. So.... I took a chance and cold apped and was approved for only $500 (after it went pending for 7-10 days) due to a lack of credit history and low income (was only working part time at the time), combined with high debt. I returned to work full time shortly thereafter and, thankfully, with their generous 3x credit limit increase opportunities every 6 months, I was able to grow the card to a usable limit in a year (2 requests). I'll be eligible for my 3rd request in April.
So don't let an APR range on prequal, or even a lack of a prequal, discourage you... many times, if you feel your profile / income supports approval, just taking the risk and applying turns out very well. Plenty of folks post about never getting a prequal from a lender like Chase -- but then landing an approval on a cold app. Same thing goes for APR ranges... you may even end up with the lowest possible APR for that card upon approval.
Just do everything in moderation... and feel free to post before you app -- get feedback from others. Or search the 'credit card approvals' section for the card that your interested in for data points if you lack confidence in your chances. No two profiles are the same, but data points can be helpful in setting expectations.