Most big card issuers will show you which cards you’re likely to get before you apply, and their check is a soft inquiry that doesn’t affect your credit score. Check the issuer’s pre-approval page first, and apply only for a card it offers you, because the application itself is a hard inquiry that can lower your score.
A denial wastes that inquiry. You leave without the card, yet the inquiry stays on your credit report for two years, and for most people it takes fewer than five points off a FICO Score for the first year.
The check you run first goes by two names. The usual distinction is that you request a pre-qualification, while a pre-approval arrives unasked, often by mail or email, after the issuer screens your credit file. Issuers don’t stick to it. Chase, Capital One, and Discover call their online checks pre-approval, while Citi and American Express call theirs pre-qualification. Either way, it’s a soft inquiry, and the label tells you nothing about how firm the answer is.
With most issuers, approval comes only after you apply, when the hard inquiry runs and the issuer may verify your income. Capital One and American Express go further. Capital One’s check tells you whether you’ll be approved, though you may still need to verify what you entered. American Express does the same through Apply With Confidence, which gives you its decision before the hard inquiry.
Run the check with every issuer whose card you’re considering. It takes a few minutes and basic details such as your name, address, and income. If you already bank with an issuer, sign in first, since some post offers for existing customers in your account or app.
For a wider view, Credit Karma rates your approval odds on the cards it lists, from Poor to Outstanding, though those ratings aren’t a guarantee of approval either.
Then apply for one card the checks turned up and hold off on the rest. FICO treats several applications in a short window as one inquiry only for mortgages, auto loans, and student loans, so each card application counts on its own.
If nothing turns up anywhere, take that as your answer for now. Skip the application and run the checks again in a few months, since they cost your score nothing.
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