FEATURED CREDIT CARDS

Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card

Mission Lane Visa<sup>®</sup> Credit Card
  • No Annual Fee
  • Fair Credit
  • Enjoy coverage from Visa®.
    *See Card Terms

Indigo® Mastercard® - $1,000 Credit Limit

Indigo<sup>®</sup> Mastercard<sup>®</sup> - $1,000 Credit Limit
  • Get the credit limit you deserve—$1,000 guaranteed if approved
    Rates & Fees

Milestone® Mastercard® - 1.5% Cashback Rewards

Destiny Mastercard
  • $700 Credit Limit
  • No security deposit
  • Less than perfect credit is ok
    Rates & Fees

Soft Pull Credit Cards



The vast majority of credit cards require a hard inquiry for the final application, but several companies allow you to check for pre-qualification with only a soft pull. A few secured cards are also available that don't perform a credit check at all.

A soft pull is a preliminary look at your credit history that does not impact your credit score. A hard inquiry, or hard pull, occurs when you formally apply for a new line of credit and can temporarily lower your credit score by a few points.

Several unsecured cards designed for bad credit or those with limited credit history offer soft pull pre-qualification. These tools allow you to check your approval odds without affecting your credit score.

The key distinction is that while the pre-qualification is a soft pull, the official application for the card will trigger a hard inquiry.

Credit cards with soft pull pre-qualification

Many major issuers allow you to check for pre-qualification online. This is an excellent way to gauge your approval odds without affecting your credit score, especially if you have limited or fair credit.

Major card issuers offering soft pull pre-qualification:

  • Capital One: Offers online pre-qualification for a range of cards, including options for those with bad credit.

  • Discover: Provides a "pre-approval" tool on its website. This is essentially a pre-qualification that uses a soft pull.

  • American Express: Allows users to check for pre-qualification on their website for many of their cards.

  • Mission Lane: A fintech company that offers credit-building cards, allows you to check for pre-qualification on its website.

  • Unsecured cards for Bad Credit with soft pull pre-qualification

    Several unsecured cards designed for bad credit or those with limited credit history offer soft pull pre-qualification. These tools allow you to check your approval odds without affecting your credit score.

    The key distinction is that while the pre-qualification is a soft pull, the official application for the card will trigger a hard inquiry.

  • Milestone® Mastercard®: Offers a soft pull pre-qualification on the Concora Credit website. Reports a potential starting credit limit of $700 or higher.

  • Indigo® Mastercard® for Less than Perfect Credit: Offers a soft pull pre-qualification on its website.

  • Surge® Platinum Mastercard®: Offers a soft pull pre-qualification on its website. Initial credit limits range from $300 to $1,000, with the possibility of doubling the limit after six months of on-time payments, though this is not guaranteed.

  • Reflex® Platinum Mastercard®: Offers a soft pull pre-qualification on its website. Initial credit limits range from $300 to $1,000, with credit limit increases possible after six months of on-time payments.

  • Avant Card: You can check to see if you pre-qualify on Avant's website using a soft credit pull that will not impact your credit score. Avant generally targets consumers with fair credit (around a 640 credit score) or better, so it may not be an option for those with very poor credit.

  • Secured credit cards with no credit check

    Some secured credit cards—which require a refundable security deposit—do not perform a credit check at all, avoiding both hard and soft inquiries.

  • opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card: this one can be obtained without a bank account or credit check, though it carries a $35 annual fee.

  • opensky® Plus Secured Visa® Credit Card: This card is known for having no credit check, a $0 annual fee, and being accessible to those with bad credit.

  • opensky® Launch Secured Visa® Credit Card: Like other opensky® products, this card is designed for individuals with bad or no credit, so it does not perform a credit check during the application process.

  • How to protect your credit score

  • Use pre-qualification tools: Before formally applying for any credit card, use the pre-qualification tool on the issuer's website. This will tell you if you're likely to be approved without any credit score impact.

  • Limit hard inquiries: Avoid applying for multiple new credit cards within a short period. Accumulating hard inquiries can signal financial instability and negatively impact your score.

  • Consider a no-credit-check card: If your priority is to build credit without any inquiries, a card like the opensky® Plus Secured Visa® Credit Card is a good starting point.






  • FICO Credit Scores

    A credit score is a number generally between 300-850, based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files. This score represents the credit worthiness of a person. A credit score is assigned to each individual, to rate how risky a borrower he or she is--the higher the score, the less risk the individual poses to creditors. In most cases, your credit score will determine whether you will be approved for a credit card.

    What is a Credit Score?

    A credit score is a number generally between 300-850, based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files. This score represents the credit worthiness of a person. A credit score is assigned to each individual, to rate how risky a borrower he or she is--the higher the score, the less risk the individual poses to creditors. In most cases, your credit score will determine whether you will be approved for a credit card.

    Credit Score Facts

    1. Credit Scores range from 300-850, the higher the better.
    2. Most lenders base approval on your credit score.
    3. Higher Scores mean lower payments and better deals.
    4. Higher Scores mean Lower interest rates.
    5. Scores are determined by 5 main categories:
      • Payment History
      • Amounts Owed
      • Length of Credit History
      • Type of Credit Used
      • New Credit

    Note: Credit scores are used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any credit card product.

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    The card offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Gettingacreditcard.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). Gettingacreditcard.com does not include all card companies or all card offers available in the marketplace.

    About Our Offers:

    The card offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Gettingacreditcard.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). Gettingacreditcard.com does not include all card companies or all card offers available in the marketplace.