What does it mean when you’re pre-qualified for a credit card?

  • Blog
  • What does it mean when you’re pre-qualified for a credit card?
Contact Us
1
2
3
22 Apr, 2024
Daniel Cohen
8 min
789
what does pre qualified mean for a credit card

Pre-qualified means you fit some of the criteria needed for a specific credit card

Does a pre-qualified credit card impact your credit health?
What to do when you get a pre-qualified credit card offer

Being pre-qualified for a credit card is taken from several factors related to your credit.

Have you ever received a credit card offer in your mail with the word “pre-qualified” written on it?

If you did, you might have wondered what the term means. This post discusses what it means to be pre-qualified for a credit card and some things you should keep in mind.

Being pre-qualified for a credit card simply means your credit health, as well as your credit score, fits some of the initial criteria required to be a credit cardholder at the relevant credit card company. Some criteria the companies will check might include:

  • Annual income
  • Savings
  • Housing payments

The offer usually stems from a credit card company teaming up with a credit bureau to check your basic credit details. The check typically reveals to the card company that you’d make a good customer, hence the term pre-qualified. It is termed pre-screened by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Thus, you haven’t applied for the card, but the company, judging from basic details about your credit health, deems you qualified to apply. Obviously, you’re not automatically entitled to obtain a credit card from the company. 

It’s a signal and invitation to apply for a credit card. You still have to apply and go through additional screening before finally obtaining the card.

Does a pre-qualified credit card impact your credit health?

A pre-qualified credit card has no negative effect on your credit score or credit health in general. Being pre-qualified for a credit card does not mean you’re applying for a new line of credit.

Instead, the credit card company, with the help of a credit bureau, is pulling some of your credit information. This counts as a soft credit check which, unlike a hard credit check, does not reduce your credit score at all.

What to do when you get a pre-qualified credit card offer

In the event of a pre-qualified credit card offer, you’re at liberty to advance with the application for a credit card. The application now gives the company the permission to conduct a hard credit check, which may reduce your credit score.

This is when you need to consider the interest rates and possible card terms to determine whether or not to apply for the card.

A pre-qualified credit card suggests that your credit health is in at least a fair condition. If you’re approved for the credit card, use it responsibly because your credit card usage affects your credit health. 

To learn more about your credit, reach out to us.

Daniel Cohen is the Founding Partner of Consumer Attorneys
About the author
Daniel Cohen
See more post

Daniel Cohen is the Founder of Consumer Attorneys. Daniel manages the firm’s branding, marketing, client intake and business development efforts. Since 2017, he is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the National Consumer Law Center. Mr. Cohen is a nationally-recognized practitioner of consumer protection law. He has a wealth of proven legal experience in the US in: collective claims, representing visually impaired people who believe their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act have been violated in both the physical and digital environments, corporate governance and dispute resolution. Read more

Practice Areas
All News
Popular Articles
Judicial gavel on the table because victim have been wrongly sent to collections
Can I Sue For False Debt Collection?
bill sent to wrong address now in collections
A bill was sent to the wrong address and is now in collections: What do I do?
alarm clock on the dark background
How Long Does It Take to Dispute a Credit Report?
how to add utility bills to your credit report
How to add rent and utilities to your credit report
if Certegy does not correct errors on your report, you have the right to sue
Certegy Check Services Declined Check. File Had Errors. Can You Sue for Damages?
Contact Us
+1 877-615-1725
[email protected]
INVESTIGATIVE ENGAGEMENT AGREEMENT

You, (“Client,” “you”), and Consumer Attorneys PLC (“CA” or “we”), located at 8095 N. 85th Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 (“CA”) , hereby enter into this limited scope retainer agreement whereby you agree to grant CA the exclusive authority to investigate your potential consumer law claim(s), including but not limited to potential violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”), Electronic Funds Transfer Act “EFTA”), Fair Credit Billing Act (“FCPA”), and/or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA”) (collectively referenced as “consumer protection statutes”). 1Please read carefully before signing:

Authorization

You authorize CA to investigate your potential consumer law claim(s) under state and federal consumer protection statutes. You authorize CA to contact third parties on your behalf for the limited purpose of investigating your potential consumer law claims. “Third parties” include but are not limited to consumer reporting agencies, creditors, lenders, debt collectors, rental agencies, employers, courts, and law enforcement agencies.

CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period

CA agrees to investigate your potential consumer law claims in good faith. By signing this agreement, you agree to give CA the exclusive right to investigate your potential consumer law claim(s) for the next 180 days (“Exclusive Investigative Period”). For the duration of the Exclusive Investigative Period, you agree that you will not communicate with any other law firm or legal representative about your potential consumer law claim(s). You agree to forgo any previously scheduled consultation or case review until CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period concludes.

Termination of Exclusive Investigation Period

CA agrees that the Exclusive Investigative Period may not extend beyond 180 days without your prior written consent.

At any time between the date of this agreement and the expiration of CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period, CA may inform you of the outcome of its investigation. If CA’s investigation reveals that you have an actional consumer law claim, CA may ask you to sign a formal retainer agreement. If CA’s investigation does not reveal an actionable consumer law claim, you will receive an e-mail that states CA will not represent you in any further pursuit of your potential claim(s).

The relationship between you and CA automatically terminates at 5pm on the 180th day of the Exclusive Investigative Period or your receipt of CA’s written notice to decline representation, whichever comes sooner. At the conclusion of the Exclusive Investigative Period or upon receipt of CA’s written declination of representation, you are permitted to seek alternative legal counsel without penalty.

Nothing in this agreement should be construed as a promise or guarantee that CA will represent you in a consumer lawsuit at any point in time. CA reserves the right to decline to represent you for any reason permitted by relevant laws and ethical rules.

Your Involvement and Promises to us

You agree to meaningfully participate and cooperate in CA’s investigation of your potential consumer law claim(s). You agree to immediately inform CA if your mailing address, e-mail address, or phone number changes at any point during the Exclusive Investigative Period.
You agree to provide all relevant information, communications, documents, materials, and all other similar instruments to CA and its representatives during the Exclusive Investigative Period. You understand that your failure to provide all relevant information, communications, documents, and materials to CA during the Exclusive Investigative Period may hinder, delay or otherwise frustrate CA’s investigation of your potential consumer law claim(s).

You agree, under penalty of perjury, to provide complete, accurate, and truthful information to CA. All documents and communications, oral or written, past or future, provided to CA during the Exclusive Investigative Period and anytime thereafter are presumed by CA to be true, complete, and accurate.

Fees and Costs Incurred During Exclusive Investigative Period

CA agrees that you will not incur any out-of-pocket fees or costs during CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period. However, if CA agrees to represent you in a consumer lawsuit, CA may recover the fees and costs incurred during the Exclusive Investigative Period from the Defendant pursuant to a future settlement or judgment.

You agree that CA has a right to place a lien on any future monetary recovery obtained by client related to the claims identified during CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period or as a result of CA’s investigative efforts. If you refuse to cooperate with CA in the formal pursuit of the consumer law claim(s) it identifies during or after the Exclusive Investigative Period, you agree that CA has the right to recover the fees and costs it incurred while investigating your potential consumer law claim(s).

Authorization to Use Your Electronic Signature

CA will send you any and all documents that require your signature. You authorize CA to affix your electronic signature to requests, disclosures, or other forms that CA deems reasonably necessary to the investigation of your potential consumer law claim(s) upon receipt of your approval or after the 7th day after the document was sent to you, whichever comes first. Your electronic signature will be used on any and all other subsequent documents that will need signature, affirmation, acknowledgment, or any other forms of authentication in reference to this matter under the above referenced procedure.

1You also agree to give CA the exclusive authority to investigate potential violations of state-specific consumer protection statutes.

All Rights Reserved. Without Prejudice. CONSUMER ATTORNEYS

FORM # INV2024CA119

Attorney Advertising, Prior Results Do Not Guarantee A Similar Outcome. This website is for informational purposes only and does not contain legal advice. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

© 2024 Consumer Attorneys PLC. All Rights Reserved.