5 Best Credit Cards That Offer Pre-Approval in 2024

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

Getting a pre-approved offer 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 to your credit score until you formally apply.

Not every card issuer offers pre-approvals. Below, CNBC Select details the top credit cards that generally offer pre-approval or pre-qualification and how they work. (See our methodology for more information on how we made this list.)

Who's this for? The American Express® Gold Card is great for earning travel rewards thanks to its generous bonuses on common spending categories like dining and groceries.

Standout benefits: You can get up to $120 in annual dining credit (up to $10 per month at Grubhub, Goldbelly, The Cheesecake Factory and other participating restaurants; 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 add your Amex Gold Card as a payment method in the Uber app to enroll).

American Express pre-approval 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 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.

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Who's this for? The Discover it® Cash Back is a relatively easy-to-get cash-back card with no annual fee and useful rotating bonus categories.

Standout benefits: This card has a unique welcome offer that can supercharge your cash-back earnings. Discover will match the cash back new cardholders earn in the first year. Plus, the card has no foreign transaction fees.

Discover pre-approval process: Fill out this Discover credit card pre-approval form with your name, address, date of birth, housing payment, student status and gross income to see what offers you're eligible for. If you don't qualify for an unsecured card, you may want to consider a secured credit card such as the Discover it® Secured Credit Card which doesn't require a credit score.

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Who's this for? The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is a jack of all trades, with an easy-to-earn welcome bonus, generous intro-APR offer and a lucrative flat-rate rewards structure — all for no annual fee.

Standout benefits: This card earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on every purchase. This simple cash-reward rate takes the headaches out of maximizing the return you get on your credit card spending.

Wells Fargo pre-approval process: Fill out this Wells Fargo pre-qualification form with your name, address and the last four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). If you have a Wells Fargo online account, you can log in to expedite the process.

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Who's this for? The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is geared towards those seeking luxury benefits like airport lounge access, annual travel credits, various travel and shopping protections and more.

Standout benefits: Every year, Capital One Venture X Card members receive up to $300 in travel credits for bookings made through Capital One Travel and 10,000-anniversary bonus miles (worth $100 in travel). Those two benefits alone can offset the card's $395 annual fee.

Capital One pre-approval process: You can see what Capital One cards you're pre-approved 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.

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Who's this for? The Citi Double Cash® Card if you're seeking a strong introductory APR offer for balance transfers and still want to earn valuable rewards.

Standout benefits: Eligible balance transfers qualify for an intro 0% APR for the first 18 months, then a variable 19.24% to 29.24% APR applies. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer completed in the first four months ($5 minimum). The standard balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies thereafter.

Citi pre-approval process: See what Citi credit card offers you're pre-qualified for with this form. Enter your name, email, address and the last four digits of your SSN.

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The American Express® Gold Card is a travel rewards card with a long list of benefits that can easily make the annual fee worth paying. Plus, the Amex Membership Rewards points you earn with this card are some of the most valuable travel points out there since they can be transferred to a variety of airline or hotel partners.

Rewards

• 4X points at restaurants (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.)
• 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X)
• 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amextravel.com
• 1X points on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn 60,000 points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership.

Annual fee

$250 (see rates and fees)

Notable perks

You can receive up to $120 in dining credit per year ($10 per month) at participating partners and up to $120 in Uber Cash per year ($10 per month) after you add your Amex Gold Card as a payment method in the Uber app. The card 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.

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The Discover it® Cash Back is a no-annual-fee cash-back rewards card that allows you to earn a generous 5% back on rotating spending categories.

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

Welcome bonus

For new card members, Discover will match the cash back you earn at the end of the first year.

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

You can receive an intro 0% APR for 15 months on purchases and eligible balance transfers, then a variable 18.24% - 28.24% applies. An intro balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount you transfer applies to eligible transfers. The standard transfer fee on future balance transfers is up to 5% of the amount of each transfer. (See rates and fees)

The card charges $0 in foreign transaction fees, which can save you money when traveling abroad.

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The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is a no-annual-fee card that can help you earn cash rewards while enjoying various money-saving benefits.

Rewards

• Unlimited 2% cash rewards on all purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn $200 in cash rewards after spending $500 in purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

You can take advantage of cell phone insurance when you pay your monthly bill with the card. This insurance covers damage, theft and loss of a cell phone and has a $25 deductible. You can be reimbursed for up to two claims per 12 months and up to $600 per claim.

You can also save on interest with the card's intro-APR offer. Purchases and eligible balance transfers qualify for an intro 0% APR for 15 months. then a variable 20.24%, 25.24% or 29.99% applies. To qualify for the intro APR, balance transfers must be completed within 120 days of opening the account. There is an intro balance transfer fee, and for the first 120 days, you'll pay 3% of the amount of each transfer ($5 minimum). After the intro period, the balance transfer fee increases to 5% of the amount of each transfer ($5 minimum).

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The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium credit card with a straightforward rewards structure, a long list of benefits and a lower annual fee than other high-end cards with similar features.

Rewards

• 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 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, Plaza Premium Lounges and Capital One Lounges.

Other benefits include:

• *Complimentary Hertz President Circle status
• (enrollment required)
• No foreign transaction fees
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® application fee credit (worth up to $100)
• Cell phone protection
• Visa Infinite Concierge
• Rental car collision damage waiver (primary)
• Trip cancellation and interruption coverage
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Extended warranty protection
• Return protection
• Purchase security

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The Citi Double Cash® Card is a cash-back credit card, but it earns cash back in the form of Citi ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed in lots of ways, including the option to transfer them to travel partners.

Rewards

• 5% total cash back on Citi travel bookings (through Dec. 31, 2024)
• 2% cash back on all purchases: 1% back when you buy and 1% back as you pay

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. Cardholders 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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If you're pre-approved for several credit cards, you can narrow down 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.

You should also consider the type of credit card rewards you'll earn with your spending. Cash back is straightforward to earn and use, but rewards points can give you far more value depending on your redemption options and lifestyle. If you love to travel, look for a card that earns points you can then transfer to a network of airline and hotel loyalty programs, which can save you thousands of dollars on a trip.

Benefits

Credit card benefits come in all shapes and sizes. A card can have statement credits for specific brands or categories of purchases, insurance protections or elite status perks, just to name a few options.

Determining the value of a card's benefits goes beyond tallying up the numbers. It's more about how it matches your lifestyle. After all, a card that grants you airport lounge access will be more useful to a frequent flyer than someone who only steps into an airport once or twice a year.

Determining the value of a benefit is easy when it's a straightforward statement credit — a $100 credit is worth $100. It's trickier to put a price on benefits such as airport lounge access. If you're a frequent flyer who needs a little luxury before boarding, then that's an enticing benefit. But if you fly once or twice a year, you probably don't care too much about this perk. You always want to match a card to your lifestyle, and not the other way around — otherwise you could find yourself spending money just for the sake of the benefits.

Costs

The main costs of having a credit card are the fees and interest. By paying your card balance on time and in full, you'll avoid the credit card expenses that often get people in debt, such as interest and late fees.

Many credit cards have no annual fee, however, the credit cards with the best benefits can charge roughly $100 to $700 every year. In these situations, you need to take a look at how frequently you use the card's perks and see if it's worth keeping compared to an option with no annual fee.

Pre-approved 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 pre-qualified doesn't guarantee your approval since your credit isn't reviewed.

Pros

• Getting pre-qualified/pre-approved for a credit card can help you avoid applying for a credit card(s) you are likely to be denied for.
• Card issuers may offer you targeted card offers that aren't publicly available. You may be able to apply for these deals through mailers or as part of the pre-approval process.
• Going through the pre-approval/pre-qualification process won't result in a hard credit inquiry. So you don't need to be concerned about the temporary dip in your credit score.

Cons

• A pre-approval/pre-qualification doesn't guarantee approval, other factors go into your credit card application that aren't part of the pre-approval/pre-qualification process.
• Receiving a pre-approved credit card offer could entice you to open a credit card you don't need, so be sure to only apply for a credit card that you were already considering.

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 review 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.

To determine which business cards offer the best value and pre-approval, CNBC Select analyzed the most popular credit cards available to U.S. consumers that also had a publicly available pre-approval or pre-qualification 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.

*Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply

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