How to get preapproved for a Discover credit card

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Applying for a credit card usually requires a hard pull of your credit, which can cause a temporary drop in your credit score. That’s where credit card preapproval comes in. With preapproval, you can learn whether you’re likely to be approved for a particular card before the issuer conducts a credit pull.

Not all issuers offer a preapproval opportunity, but if you’re considering a Discover card, you’re in luck. Exploring preapproval will help you determine which Discover card is right for your lifestyle and whether the issuer is likely to consider you eligible for a card.

What is credit card preapproval and how does it work?

A credit card preapproval or prequalification is more of a reassurance than a guarantee. When a credit card issuer gives a preapproval to a prospective credit cardholder, it simply means that it’s determined you meet certain standards required to be approved for a card.

It’s a soft pull on your credit, so it won’t affect your credit score or show up in credit reports, but it also means the issuer hasn’t yet seen your full credit report to determine your actual approval. It doesn’t have all the information about you yet, so a preapproval isn’t a guarantee that you would be approved for that card. Once you accept the preapproval offer, the issuer will likely move forward with a full credit check that could ultimately result in your being declined.

How to get preapproved for a Discover credit card

Getting preapproved is a fairly easy process regardless of the route you take. Discover offers you the option to do it from the website, but there are a few other options to prequalify for the credit cards.

Check for offers on Bankrate’s CardMatch tool

Bankrate offers a CardMatch tool to easily help you find cards that you’re more likely to get approved for. It’s simple to use and can quickly provide you with a personalized list of credit cards that match your credit profile, along with prequalified offers and even special welcome bonuses.

Plus, CardMatch will not affect your credit score because it only requires a soft pull on your credit.

Prequalify on Discover’s website

Many credit card issuers offer a tool to prequalify on their website. Discover has an online tool where you can check for prequalified offers without any impact on your credit score.

Simply provide basic information about your income, expenses, bank accounts and your Social Security number. The tool also lets you filter cards based on the type you’re looking for, such as a rewards card, travel card or business card.

The prequalified offers you’re presented will generally be available to you for a week before they expire, then the page will be refreshed and may have different offers available. If you don’t prequalify for any cards, Discover will communicate a reason and let you try again in about a week.

Additional ways to prequalify for Discover credit cards

If you try to prequalify on the Discover website and are denied, you have another option for how you can attempt to prequalify: You can contact Discover service to appeal your prequalification results.

Best Discover credit cards for prequalified offers

How to increase your chances of getting preapproved

Getting preapproved makes the process of actually getting approved less stressful because you and the issuer already have an idea of whether you are a match for the card. But increasing your chances of getting preapproved will help increase your chances of getting fully approved for the card you’re seeking out.

Improve your credit score and only apply for cards that match your credit profile

Preapproval doesn’t require a full credit pull, but that doesn’t mean your credit history and score aren’t important, so ensure your credit score is in a good spot before even going through the preapproval process.

The information you receive on your credit report should indicate which factors are bringing your score down and which ones present opportunities for you to raise your score. Take heed of that information and do what you can to make those changes and bring your score up.

Lower your outstanding debt and credit utilization ratio

Two major factors in not only determining your credit score itself but also the types of cards you are approved for is your outstanding debt and credit utilization ratio.

A card issuer will ultimately look at your full credit report but pay close attention to those two components because they create an image of your reliability as a cardholder. So, if you can specifically work on those two parts of your credit factors, it can improve your chances to be approved for certain credit cards, even if it doesn’t raise your actual score a significant amount.

The bottom line

Getting preapproved for a card is a smart first step toward becoming a cardholder. Preapproval, however, isn’t a guaranteed approval for the card you’re seeking.

Discover offers easy routes for getting preapproval and finding a good match for you. Bankrate’s CardMatch is also a great tool for finding out which cards you have the highest chance of being approved for so that you don’t waste time with cards that don’t match your credit profile.