If you receive a credit card offer, this means that you have been selected for a special offer based on your credit report, as you have met pre-established criteria. These kinds of “opportunities” may offer you excellent rewards and promotions, which are a good incentive. Although, it may be worth to carefully evaluate them.
Regarding the current economic situation that all countries are facing, this could be the perfect chance to save some money that you have been waiting for!
Where Do They Come From?
Financial institutions, as well as bank companies, have access to the credit history of each consumer. Therefore, it is pretty easy for them to spot between the different types of customers that they have and offer them the right terms and offers that will better adequate to their needs. Although, if you have received any prescreened credit card offer on your mail, it does not means that you are eligible for them. After accepting the offer, the institution that issued the promotion will then evaluate in-depth your credit score. If your credit it is not in good health, you may be disregarded.
Prescreened credit card offers will give you the opportunity to:
- Have more product choices based on more adequate rates or terms for you.
- These offers will appear on your credit reports as ‘soft inquiries’, where you will see the companies that examined your information.
- All this process will not affect your credit score.
- You can always opt-out of these offers.
If you want to make the most of preapproved credit cards, a good idea might be to compare the different options that every company offers you with those cards that you already have.
Will these Offers Affect my Credit Score?
If you have received a prescreened credit card offer, this is not a factor that will influence your credit score. As above -mentioned, the initial credit check review will not be as exhaustive as the one that will take place right after your application. You have nothing to worry about if your credit score is not in good condition.
Credit bureaus will include your details on a list used by creditors if you meet some specific criteria (credit score, payment history, etc.). If you do not meet the criteria, your application will be automatically declined.
Types of Preapproved Credit Card Offers
If you qualify and decide to go for these promotions, you may get some interesting rates and offers available in the market.
Some types of the credit card offers you may get are pre-approval or pre-qualified. The difference between these two relies on the creditor and the type of loan or credit card you own. In most cases, these terminologies are used interchangeably, but it is recommendable to double-check with your credit card issuer and discuss the different terms that are attached to them. While prequalification does not require detailed assessments, preapprovals will require from you some financial and personal information.
Depending on your credit situation, you may have access to different types of offers:
- Rewards Card. You may be eligible for a reward credit card, which will allow you to accumulate points every time you purchase something. These types of offers usually come from shopping or travel rewards.
- Cash Back Card. Under their premises, cashback cards will reward you with some money back when making a purchase. It will widely depend on the value of your overall expending.
- Bad Credit Cards. Bad credit cards are the perfect choice for those who do not have a good credit score, as using this type of card will enable them to start building on some credit.
- Balance Transfer Cards. Using balance credit cards will allow you to move your current balance to a new card (where some of them have no interest rate at all). This prescreened credit card offer is a paramount method to save on some extra cash.
Some Pros on Using Pre-approved Credit Cards
If you have opted in for these offers, you may also get:
- Better terms and loans. You could access a large number of offers and bonuses that are not available to every consumer. Prescreen credit card offers will grant you access to get both public and private offers, which will be personalised to your own needs.
- Reducing the effect on your credit score. On the other hand, if you apply for only a credit card instead that for a lot of them, you will have many more chances to have a good credit score.
I Want to Opt-Out
Otherwise, if you have decided that you are no longer interested in getting these promotions, you can always drop out without any additional cost. As discussed above, this will not affect your credit score. However, it can take a little bit of time to process the sign out request, although you can always contact experts to help you manage this issue.
To conclude, it is worth examining pre-screened credit card offers and sees what they proposed. They could be an excellent choice if you are looking to build up some credit, or if you want to earn rewards and redeem them afterward. They won’t harm your credit score, and you can always cancel without any extra cost. If you are suitable or not for them, it will largely depend on your credit score.
