Best credit cards that offer preapproval or pre-qualification of August 2024 (2024)

When you want a new credit card but aren’t sure if your credit standing will pass muster with an issuer, seek out a credit card company that lets you get preapproved or pre-qualified for the card you want. This can reduce the chance of your credit getting dinged from a creditor’s inquiry that doesn’t end in your favor. Here are the best preapproval credit cards of 2024.

What does preapproval mean?

Preapproval is a process by which lenders determine how likely someone is to be approved for a specific credit card. Being preapproved means there’s a good chance of full approval, though it’s not a guarantee and the individual still needs to formally apply to find out for sure. Credit card companies are able to quickly assess whether someone meets preapproval standards by verifying their identity and receiving answers to some basic financial questions, which can include a “soft inquiry” into the individual’s credit. Unlike the “hard inquiry” involved in a formal credit card application, this doesn’t risk damaging one’s credit score, even if it’s carried out many times over. Think of it like a prescreening.

Online, preapproval is as much a tool for weeding out unrealistic options as it is a way to gauge one’s chances with a specific card. Credit card company websites often prompt visitors to fill out a preapproval form before providing a narrowed down list of preapproved options. One of the main benefits here is simply keeping customers from wasting their time considering cards they’d have little chance of getting approved for. It’s also a marketing strategy for credit card companies, as it makes customers feel one step closer to success with the options in front of them. Offline, preapprovals are still used to entice customers to consider specific cards, with preapproval notices and offers sent through the mail.

Preapproval vs. pre-qualification

Pre-qualifying for a credit card is very similar to being preapproved. Pre-qualification also indicates which cards a borrower has a good chance of getting approved for before they undergo the hassle, hard inquiry and potential waiting period of a formal application. Some people and credit card companies will use the two terms interchangeably, but they’re not exactly the same. In this case, pre-qualification is the simpler of the two, involving a review of the most basic metrics of creditworthiness. Sometimes all that’s needed to proceed with pre-qualification is a name, address and Social Security number (SSN).

Preapproval, by contrast, often goes a step further. It’s more likely to involve an actual soft credit check and require information such as income, expenses and existing debts — though, again, the terminology here isn’t set in stone. As a result, preapproval is sometimes considered to convey a slightly higher degree of accuracy and likelihood of approval. Preapproval is also more likely than pre-qualification to result in specific credit card offers, such as a specific APR figure rather than just a range.

How to get a preapproval or pre-qualification for a card

Receiving preapproval or pre-qualification for a credit card is a straightforward process. Most people start by visiting the websites of major banks and other credit card issuers. From there, it should usually be easy to find a link to a preapproval or pre-qualification form — sometimes it’s built right into the webpage with credit card offerings. After filling this form out, it won’t be long before the website will indicate preapproval or pre-qualification.

Prospective cardholders might also find credit card preapproval offers through online advertisem*nts, emails or mailed promotions.

Issuers/cards that offer preapproval or pre-qualification

American Express

Visitors to American Express’s website are offered a preapproval check after clicking on most credit card offerings. Though the site bills this process as “Apply With Confidence” and sometimes simply labels the option as “Apply.” The form for doing so is most often a preapproval check. It requires providing one’s full Social Security number (in these cases, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number works for those without a SSN), total annual income, non-taxable annual income and main income source along with other basic personal identifying information. American Express cards that offer a preapproval step include:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card
• American Express® Green Card*The information for the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• Blue Cash Cards
• Amex Everyday Cards
• Delta Sky Miles Cards
• Hilton Honors Cards
• Marriott Bonvoy Cards

All information about American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Blueprint.

Bank of America

Bank of America calls its form of pre-qualification “personalized offers.” It offers this to all prospective cardholders. Its processing form asks for a name, a birth date, the last four digits of a Social Security number, address and card preference before suggesting cards. The prospective cardholder may have an easier time receiving approval for the cards this process recommends, though it’s not as accurate a gauge of one’s prospects as more thorough checks offered by other companies.

• Bank of America’s “Personalized Credit Card Offers” page.

Capital One

Capital One offers a preapproval process for some of its credit cards and thoroughly advertises preapproval across its website, though many of its most popular cards do not allow preapproval. A generic preapproval page asks for basic identifying information, annual income, monthly rent or mortgage payments, type of bank account one and Social Security number. Capital One credit cards that offer a preapproval step include:

• Capital One Platinum Credit Card
• Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card
• Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Citi

Citi® does not advertise preapproval or pre-qualification steps on its website, though it does offer a “prescreen” page that parallels pre-qualification. It does not indicate whether this feature applies only to specific cards.

• Citi Credit Card Pre-selection feature

Discover

While Discover advertises credit card preapproval on its website, it doesn’t indicate specific cards it’s available for. The preapproval page asks only for very basic personal identifying information, total income and housing expenses.

• Discover Credit Card Preapproval form

Wells Fargo

The form for Wells Fargo’s pre-qualification opportunities, which it refers to as “pre-selected credit card offers,” is among the most basic to complete. Its website’s pre-qualification page asks only for some very basic personal identification info and the last four digits of one’s SSN. Its credit card offerings include:

• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
• Bilt World Elite Mastercard®
• Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card*The information for the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• Wells Fargo Reflect® Card*The information for the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

Whether a credit card company calls it preapproval, pre-qualification or something else, such as preselection or prescreening, these opportunities are worth exploring when searching around for the right credit card. It’s important to remember that these are different from completing a formal credit card application, which is almost always still necessary regardless of the steps taken beforehand. It’s still possible to receive preapproval for a card and then be denied after officially applying, though it won’t hurt your prospects (or credit) to seek preapproval or pre-qualification first.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)