Pre-qualification and pre-approval are two ways to check the likelihood of being approved for a type of loan or credit card.
For credit cards, issuers might use the terms pre-qualification and pre-approval interchangeably. Neither pre-qualification nor pre-approval typically impact your credit score. But, depending on the lender, pre-approval may be a slightly more rigorous process and require more information. Here’s what you need to know about pre-qualification and pre-approval.
What does pre-qualified mean?
Pre-qualifying for a credit card means the card issuer has done a preliminary review of your credit and decided that you may be eligible for a particular card.
To pre-qualify, you may need to provide basic financial information like:
- First and last name
- Email address
- The last four digits of your Social Security number (SSN)
- Mailing address
When you submit a request to pre-qualify for a credit card, the issuer performs a soft credit inquiry, which won’t impact your credit score. You may also get pre-qualified offers by mail or email.
Getting pre-qualified doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be approved if you apply, but it does mean you’re likely to be approved.
What does pre-approved mean?
Like pre-qualification, pre-approval means a card issuer has reviewed your credit and decided you may qualify for a particular card. Card issuers may send a notice of pre-approval in the mail or via email to consumers who they believe may meet a card’s eligibility requirements. If you receive a pre-approval offer, you can respond to the card issuer by formally applying for the credit card.
A pre-approval is not a guarantee that you’ll be approved; it simply means you may be more likely to be approved based on the financial information the card issuer obtained. Like pre-qualification, the pre-approval process generally triggers a soft inquiry on your credit report, meaning there won’t be any impact on your credit score until you officially apply.
Pre-qualification vs. pre-approval
Whether being pre-approved and pre-qualified for a credit card mean different things can depend on the card issuer. In general, there aren’t many differences between pre-qualification and pre-approval when it comes to credit cards. For some issuers, pre-approval may involve a more rigorous process than pre-qualification, but that is not always the case.
In some cases, pre-approval is initiated by the card issuer, meaning you’ll receive outreach via physical mail or email. Pre-qualification, on the other hand, is initiated by the consumer by completing a pre-screening form, calling the card issuer, or stopping into a physical location.
