How you might get approved for a credit card

Credit cards can be great tools for budgeting, earning rewards and building credit. If you’re thinking of getting a new credit card, there might be one big question on your mind: What does it take to get approved?

While there’s no way to know whether your credit card application will get the green light, following these five tips before you apply could help your chances.

What you’ll learn:

• One way to improve your chances of getting approved for a credit card is to practice good credit habits, like paying on time and staying well below your credit limit.

• Lowering your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio may also help before applying for a credit card.

• Checking to see whether you’re pre-approved for credit card offers can help you determine which ones you may be eligible for, and it typically won’t hurt your credit.

• If you’re still building credit, using a secured card responsibly may be a good option.

Applying for a new credit card triggers a hard inquiry, which can impact your credit. One hard inquiry will typically only lower your credit score by a few points. But multiple hard inquiries in a short time period can have a more significant effect. 

So before you apply for a credit card, you may want to do what you can to help improve your chances of being approved the first time around. Here are five tips that may help.

Using credit responsibly over time is the best way to improve your credit scores. A big part of responsible credit use is paying on time. Credit card issuers may look at your payment history when they consider your application, so it’s important to avoid late credit card payments.

Here are a few other tips for using credit responsibly.

• Pay off existing account balances. Paying more than the minimum amount due whenever possible might help you lower your balances faster. This could also mean paying less in interest. And it may help lower your DTI ratio. 

• Stay below your credit limit. Experts recommend keeping your credit utilization ratio below 30% across all your revolving credit accounts.

Your creditworthiness is based on many factors, like the number of recently opened accounts and your payment history. Card issuers typically look at scores and your credit history when you apply for a credit card. The better your scores, the more likely you may be to get approved. 

Your credit scores are based on the information in your credit reports. And that means errors can hurt your credit. You can get free copies of your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. 

You can also use CreditWise from Capital One. With CreditWise, you can access your credit report and credit score anytime without impacting your credit scores. CreditWise is free and available to everyone—not just Capital One cardholders.

Your DTI ratio is a simple comparison of how much you owe and how much you earn. Credit card issuers may check your DTI ratio before approving your application or setting your credit limit. Lowering your DTI ratio could help your chances of being approved.

Before you apply, credit card pre-approval or pre-qualification can help you compare credit card offers and find the right fit. Pre-approval can show you whether you’re likely to qualify for a credit card. And because pre-approval typically uses a soft inquiry, it won’t hurt your credit scores.

With the Capital One pre-approval tool, you can see what card offers you may be eligible for before you apply. It’s simple and straightforward, and you could receive a response in as few as 90 seconds.

There are no shortcuts to building credit. It takes time and responsible financial behavior. Even if now isn’t the right time to apply for a credit card, there are other ways to build credit. Here are a few options to consider. 

• Become an authorized user. Having a trusted family member or loved one add you as an authorized user to their credit card is another potential way to build credit. But that depends on both you and the primary cardholder using their cards responsibly. That positive activity also has to be reported to the credit bureaus. Capital One reports authorized users to the bureaus. But there’s no guarantee that other issuers will. And keep in mind that if the authorized user or account holder doesn’t use the card responsibly, it could hurt both people’s credit.  

• Apply for a credit-builder loan. A credit-builder loan is a type of installment loan where a lender deposits money into a certificate of deposit or savings account. The borrower typically gets the money back after they’ve repaid the loan. A credit-builder loan offers a chance to establish a positive payment history, which can help build good credit and improve the chances of future approval. 

• Report alternative data. Data that’s not typically included in credit reports is called alternative data. This can include things like rent, utility and cellphone payments. You may be able to self-report alternative data to credit bureaus using a third-party service. If you keep up with your bills and have alternative data reported, it may help improve your scores.

Check out these frequently asked questions about how to get approved for a credit card.

It can be exciting to get a new credit card. But before you submit your application, there are some things you could do that might help you get approved, like monitoring your credit reports, making sure you understand responsible credit use, paying bills on time and keeping your credit utilization ratio low. 

You can also compare credit cards from Capital One to find one that’s right for you.

New to credit or looking for your next credit card?

• Check for pre-approval offers with no risk to your credit score.

• Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day with Quicksilver.

• Explore Capital One’s credit cards for building credit with responsible use.