Capital One Pre-Qualified Credit Card Engine

Capital One has taken a novel approach to the credit card game.

Instead of simply asking consumers to apply for a credit card and hope they’re approved, the company has an engine to see if you’re already pre-qualified.

All you need to do is fill out a short form, providing basic name and address information, along with the last four digits of your social security number.

The company claims the information won’t be used for anything else, and even demands you check a box that says, “I understand that this is not a credit card application.”

Additionally, the request won’t affect your credit score in any way, which is an obvious dealmaker.

*Credit card applications count as inquiries against you and can lower your credit score.

In just seconds, the engine will pump out the results.

They didn’t have any pre-qualified offers for me at the moment, but they said I could check out (and apply for) a few other offers, which they listed.

It’s obvious they tailored credit card offers for me based on the fact that I said I had excellent credit and wanted cash back on purchases.

And clearly this is a great way to soft-sell consumers on their credit cards, as it sucks them in without scaring them off with credit score worries and the uncertainty of getting approved.

But who really knows how many people are actually pre-qualified for Capital One’s credit cards?

All the same, it’s a great idea on Capital One’s part, and will likely result in quite a few sales for the company.

Tip: If you want a credit card, but don’t want to put your credit score at risk, give this engine a shot and look for similar pre-approved offers with your existing credit card issuers.