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AnnaStills/Adobe Stock August 25, 2022 Bankrate expert Garrett Yarbrough strives to make navigating credit cards and credit building smooth sailing for his readers. After regularly featuring his credit card, credit monitoring and identity theft analysis on NextAdvisor.com, he joined the CreditCards.com and Bankrate.com teams as a staff writer to develop product reviews and comprehensive credit card guides focused on cash back, credit scores and card offers. Mariah Ackary is a personal finance editor who joined the Bankrate team in 2019, excited by the opportunity to help people make good financial decisions. Send your questions to Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to: Meet you wherever you are in your credit card journey to guide your information search and help you understand your options. Consistently provide up-to-date, reliable market information so you're well-equipped to make confident decisions. Reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible, so you can make the right decision for you. At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
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Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. What is Bankrate s Approval Odds feature
Researching which credit card is right for you can be intimidating and time-consuming, especially if you’re unsure which cards you’ll qualify for. To get you started, each credit card on Bankrate carries a recommended credit range so that you can roughly estimate your approval odds before applying: : an 800 to 850 FICO Score, or a 781 to 850 VantageScore : a 670 to 799 FICO Score, or a 661 to 780 VantageScore : a 580 to 669 FICO Score, or a 601 to 660 VantageScore : a 300 to 579 FICO Score, or a 300 to 600 VantageScore : No credit history is required to apply An on-par credit score doesn’t always guarantee you’ll qualify, though. Issuers for other reasons, like multiple recent credit applications or a lower income than they’d prefer. In fact, the Bureau for Consumer Financial Protection’s latest notes that credit card approval rates have been declining since 2015, with a large 10 percent to 11 percent drop for those with prime or near-prime credit (a score of 620 to 719) as the economy tightened during 2020. Considering that applying for a card can — which can be a big setback if you’re on the edge of a favorable credit score or you don’t have much credit history — knowing your approval odds ahead of time helps you prioritize your picks. Fortunately, Bankrate’s Approval Odds feature can give you a heads up about how likely you are to qualify for a credit card on our site — with no impact on your credit score. That way, you can apply for the perfect card confidently. Our tool compares your credit report with historical approval data and issuer criteria to comprehensively calculate your odds of being approved. If your odds are excellent, you also might receive personalized card recommendations and through CardMatch. How to use Bankrate s Approval Odds
Getting started with the Approval Odds feature only takes one click. First head to a or a . On participating credit card tiles, you’ll find two ways to access your approval odds: a “see your approval odds” link and a button. Once you’ve clicked “See your approval odds” on the card you like, you’ll be prompted to enter your: First and last name Mailing address Social Security number’s last four digits Email address After that, clicking “Agree and see results” will finish setting up your account. Bankrate will immediately authorize a , which won’t affect your credit. Congrats! The legwork is already done. If you’re on a card review page, you’ll see your approval odds for that card expressed as a score from “poor” to “excellent.” If you’re on a comparison page with multiple cards, you’ll see your approval odds for participating cards on that page. From there, you can confidently proceed to the final step in the process: applying for a credit card. Of course, the credit card issuer has the final say in whether you’re approved, and you won’t know your status for certain until you’ve formally applied. What do the Approval Odds ratings mean
Each of the four Approval Odds color-coded ratings you’ll see in card tiles describe how likely you are to be approved for that card: Excellent chance of approval: You are highly likely to qualify for this credit card. In fact, your high approval odds may also grant you access to “Special Offers” — meaning for this card and possibly an elevated welcome offer if you apply through Bankrate. Good chance of approval: You’ll probably be approved for this card. However, there’s a small chance that a few credit profile variables may slightly affect your likelihood of prequalifying for the card or nabbing its lowest APR. Fair chance of approval: You may not have a perfect application, but you have a fighting chance of approval. However, know that there is a risk of being declined or receiving a higher APR. But if this card is the perfect fit, you might want to revisit it in the future after and which factors you can work on to increase your approval odds. Poor chance of approval: You’ll want to avoid applying for this card. Although you probably won’t qualify right now, there are several ways to improve your credit score even . Your credit score takes a small hit with every credit application, so it’s best to get it right on the first try. Although the credit card issuer always has the final say on whether you’re approved, knowing your Approval Odds can help you approach your next credit card application with an extra layer of confidence. SHARE: Bankrate expert Garrett Yarbrough strives to make navigating credit cards and credit building smooth sailing for his readers. After regularly featuring his credit card, credit monitoring and identity theft analysis on NextAdvisor.com, he joined the CreditCards.com and Bankrate.com teams as a staff writer to develop product reviews and comprehensive credit card guides focused on cash back, credit scores and card offers. Mariah Ackary is a personal finance editor who joined the Bankrate team in 2019, excited by the opportunity to help people make good financial decisions. Send your questions to Related Articles