11 Best Credit Cards That Offer Preapproval in 2025 goodinves.com

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Getting preapproved for a credit card doesn’t guarantee you’ll be approved, but it can give you a better idea of your approval odds with no hard inquiry. There is no impact on your credit score until you formally apply.

Not every card issuer offers preapprovals and this option may not be available for every card. Below, CNBC Select details the top credit cards that may offer preapproval or prequalification and how it works. (See our methodology for more information on how we made this list.)

Standout benefits: You can get up to $120 in annual dining credit (up to $10 in statement credits per month at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys; enrollment is required) and up to $120 in Uber Cash ($10 per month) to put toward rides in the U.S. and dining via Uber Eats (you must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. The Amex Benefit may only be used in the United States). Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit. Terms apply.

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Who’s this for? The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card has an 89% approval rate, so it’s a great fit if you’ve struggled with rejections from other card issuers.

Standout benefits: You can earn up to 10% cash back on select purchases when you take advantage of the special offers provided.

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Who’s this for? The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card has a reasonable annual fee and solid ongoing perks, which make it great for anyone who enjoys traveling with Southwest.

Standout benefits: Every year on your cardmember anniversary, you’ll receive a 3,000-point bonus, and this card makes earning a Southwest Companion Pass much easier. This card’s welcome bonus counts toward earning a Companion Pass and every year you’ll receive a 10,000-qualifying-point boost.

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*For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

Compare CDs before interest rates drop

$325 (see rates and fees)

Notable perks

On top of the American Express® Gold Card’s valuable statement credits, it also offers no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees), *baggage insurance, rental car coverage (secondary), *extended warranty, *purchase protection and *trip delay insurance.

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

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Best for cash back

Rewards

• 5% cash back on the first $1,500 in purchases in rotating categories each quarter (when you activate), then 1% cash back. Check out Discover’s 5% cash-back calendar.
• 1% cash back on all other purchases

The Discover it® Cash Back charges $0 in foreign transaction fees, which can save you money when traveling abroad.

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Best for bad credit

Rewards

• 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically
• 1% cash back on all other purchases

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card has no foreign transaction fees and cash-back rewards that are easy to redeem. It is a secured credit card, but it has a smaller minimum deposit of $200, which is refundable. Discover automatically reviews your account after seven months to determine if you’re eligible to move to an unsecured card and have your deposit returned.

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Best for travel protections

Rewards

• 5X points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 3X points per dollar on dining
• 3X points per dollar on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• 3X points per dollar on select streaming services
• 2X points per dollar on all other travel purchases
• 1X points per dollar on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first three months from account opening.

Annual fee

$95

Notable perks

Each account anniversary year, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card members receive a 10% points boost based on their spending for the previous year. You can also take advantage of a $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, which applies to hotels you book through Chase Travel℠. You can also save on delivery with complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you enroll by Dec. 31, 2027. In addition to the DashPass benefits, you’ll also receive a $10 discount on non-restaurant DoorDash orders once every month.

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The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card doesn’t require a credit check or bank account to apply. This makes it a strong option if you’re building or re-building your credit history. While this card has a high approval rate, you may be rejected if you have two or more credit cards with Capital Bank or have (or previously had) an account with Capital Bank that’s not in good standing. You may also be declined if your monthly income is lower than your monthly expenses or if it’s determined that you cannot afford this card’s monthly payment.

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Best for no credit

Rewards

• 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away, which can increase up to 1.5% cash back after you make 12 on-time monthly payments
• Up to 10% cash back at select merchants

Welcome bonus

None

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

In addition to no annual fee, the Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card has no late fee, no returned payment fee and no foreign transaction fee. If you want to grow your credit line, you can be eligible for a credit limit increase after making qualifying on-time payments for six months.

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Best for balance transfers

Rewards

• 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
• Plus, a special travel offer, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25.

Welcome bonus

Earn a $200 cash bonus after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

The ThankYou® Points can be redeemed for cash back, gift cards and travel at a rate of one cent per point. Citi Double Cash® Card members also have access to a small number of Citi’s travel partners, including Wyndham, Choice and JetBlue. If you have a Citi card that enables full transfers, such as the Citi Strata Premier^℠ Card (see rates and fees), you can combine the points you earn with your Double Cash and then transfer those points to all of Citi’s partner hotel and airline loyalty programs.

There are also several special cardmember programs, including Citi Entertainment℠, which gives cardholders first access to purchase tickets for thousands of concerts and events. The card also provides access to Citi® Identity Theft Solutions, a service that will help you if you’re a victim of identity theft.

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Southwest offers everyone free checked bags and no change or cancellation fees, so you don’t need a Southwest credit card to take advantage of those perks. But with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, you’ll get two EarlyBird Check-In®s every year, which can cost $15 to $99 per person each way. You can also receive 25% back on Southwest inflight purchases you make with your card, including beverages and Wi-Fi.

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• 10X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel portal
• 5X miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel
• 5X miles on Capital One Entertainment purchases (through Dec. 31, 2025)
• 2X miles on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Annual fee

$395

Notable perks

In addition to the annual $300 Capital One Travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card comes with airport lounge access for the primary cardholder and authorized users. One great feature of this card is that you can add up to four authorized users for free and each cardholder gets access to Priority Pass lounges and Capital One Lounges.

Other benefits include:

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• American Express preapproval process: See what American Express card offers you may be eligible for by filling out this form with your name, address, last four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN) and your annual income. If you already have an Amex account, you may need to open the form in incognito mode or clear your browser’s cache to access the page.
• Capital One preapproval process: You can see what Capital One cards you’re preapproved for by filling out this form. You’ll need to enter your name, address, email address, phone number, employment status, education, income, housing payment, date of birth, SSN and what type of bank accounts you have.
• Chase preapproved offers: You can view Chase preapproved offers by entering your name address and SSN on this page.
• Citi preapproval process: See what Citi credit card offers you’re prequalified for with this form. Enter your name, email, address and the last four digits of your SSN.
• Discover preapproval process: There is an online preapproval process for Discover credit cards. You simply enter your relevant information (address, date of birth, housing cost, bank accounts you own, etc.) and you’ll be able to see what offers you’re prequalified for.
• Wells Fargo preapproval process: Fill out this Wells Fargo prequalification form with your name, address and the last four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). You can log in to expedite the process if you have a Wells Fargo online account.

Use CardMatch

You can receive preapproved offers from several banks by submitting your information to CardMatch. With the CardMatch tool, you can select the type of card you’re interested in and fill in some basic info to generate your offers.

Check your mail (and email)

Credit card issuers will occasionally send out prequalified or preapproved offers through the mail or email. If you’re targeted for an offer, you may have access to a special link or code for the deal.

If you’re preapproved for several credit cards, you can narrow your choices by focusing on each card’s rewards, benefits and costs.

Rewards

Credit cards offer different levels of rewards for certain types of purchases. One card might give you 3X points for every dollar spent on gas purchases, for example, while another might dole out high rewards for grocery spending. Look at your budget to see where you spend the most money, and find a card that offers more rewards for those purchases.

Preapproved credit card offers are great because you can get a sense of your approval odds without submitting a full application and having a hard inquiry on your credit report. However, being prequalified doesn’t guarantee your approval since your credit isn’t reviewed.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best credit cards that offer preapproval.

To determine which credit cards offer the best value and preapproval, CNBC Select analyzed the most popular credit cards available to U.S. consumers that also had a publicly available preapproval or prequalification process at the time of writing. We compared each card on a range of features, including the annual fee, employee card fee, rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR and foreign transaction fees. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is to redeem points.

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For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the  Discover it® Cash Back, click here.

For rates and fees of the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, click here.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.