Worthknowing "preapprovals"

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by Karen, Oct 4, 2002.

  1. Karen

    Karen Well-Known Member

    I just checked my Worthknowing report and I got a score of 90. Everything on report is perfect with the exception of high utilization.

    Most of you know my story. I lived on credit cards while recovering from two serious illnesses. The creditors jacked my rates to an average of 20% APR when my balances went up. I always pay on time and am current on everything. No negatives on any credit report. But, I can't get any of the creditors to lower my APR. The minimum payments are $1200 per month, and $1100 is interest. I can make the payments, but can hardly make a dent in the principal.

    I have balance transfer rates with four of my current cards, but cannot take advatage of them because I have almost no available credit. If I could get another card for BT's, I could get all my APR's down. By the way, I have not had to use the cards for over 18 months, so this is not an effort to get a card to live on.

    Now here is the question. Worthknowing says that based on my reports, I am approved for the following deals, then it lists seven cards, one chase and six Amex. Some of them have a low BT rate which sure could help me in my goal to get my APR's down. You know the drill - pay off one card, use the BT rate on that card to pay off another and so on.

    I know what people here think about Worthknowing. But, they indicate that my reprot qualifies me for these cards. Is it worth the try, or am I wasting an inquiry and wasting my time?

    Millscbs shows only one entry for my state for Amex, and that is EQ. My EQ score is 704. Both EQ and TU show my high utilization, which is 95% if you count only Visa and Mastercard accounts, or 74% if you include all credit card accounts, including store accounts. The Chase offer is not a good one, so if I apply it wil be for one of the AMEX products with a BT offer.

    Can anyone give me any advice? Specifically, how legitimate are the Worthknowing "preapporved" offers? And, would AMEX even consider me under these circumstances?

    I do not have any AMEX products and never have. I have only one hard inquiry on TU and that was three months ago. But if they pulled EQ, I have three in the last six months, so that could be aproblem
     
  2. padderwock

    padderwock Active Member

    *Bump*

    This is a good one.... how good is the Worthknowing recommendation ?
     
  3. LKH

    LKH Well-Known Member

    I have the exact same offers from Not worthknowing. I've never applied for any of them. The fine print says you have either self qualified or have been preapproved. If you are preapproved, it supposedly takes you somewhere other than an application when you click on details. I have never gotten anything but an app, which leads me to believe that with my score I would qualify if based upon score only. I really don't have an answer though. Amex has pulled nothing but Equifax for me.
     
  4. Karen

    Karen Well-Known Member

    I just spent a lot of time reading old posts here on AMEX and get the impression that the Optima card is reasonably easy to get. Am I right? They are the one preapproval that was offering the best BT rate.

    LKH: What is the difference between the preapproval and the self qualified? Which gives you the better chance of getting the card?

    Anyone else: Does anyone know how legitimate these offers are and whether or not I should bother to apply?

    Is it easier to get if you ask for a BT with your appllcation?

    Thanks
     
  5. Karen

    Karen Well-Known Member

    I just looked again. The offers I got were self qualified. It says to read over the details of the offer, then click "accept" to accept the offer of the card. Does this mean I will get it, or is that just some come on language?
     
  6. LKH

    LKH Well-Known Member

    Based upon your credit report and score, you have self-qualified for the following credit card products. Please note that some lenders may offer you preapproved offers of credit while others require that you complete an application to determine if you will ultimately be approved for that credit card.

    Click on the Details link for each of the preapproved credit cards to read the terms and conditions of the offer, then after reviewing the terms and conditions you can click on ACCEPT to complete your acceptance of an offer. We recommend that you carefully read your offer, paying special attention to annual percentage rates (APR), Fees, and Grace Period. Notice that preapproved offers have an expiration date and those offers will only be available until the Expires date.
     
  7. Karen

    Karen Well-Known Member

    I just went back and played with it some. When I hit the "preapproved" button, it takes me to the self-qualified list. On each of those, an application is required. Unless I am doing it wrong, I think I do not have any "preapproved" offers without a credit application. It is strange that clicking the "preapproved" button sends me to the self-qualified link.

    If I am doing something wrong, let me know. Also, any opinion of my chances, given the circumstances?

    Thanks
     
  8. dep_tx

    dep_tx Well-Known Member

    I get a "web server error" message every time I click on it, it says to try back in a few hours but it never works.
     
  9. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY "PRE-APPROVED" ON www.worthknowing.com

    It won't even work for me any more!!! ERROR
     
  10. whyspers

    whyspers Well-Known Member

    Amex always pulled EQ for me too...until yesterday. I was so excited to only have two inquiries on EX, and since I had none on EQ because of TAB, I thought I'd try Amex again. They pulled EX!!!! Rats! Scores were about the same, but the inquiries gave me a six point drop :(


    L
     
  11. Butch

    Butch Well-Known Member

    What kinds of offers are on WorthKnowing?
    Once you have received your WorthKnowing credit profile, you can view pre-approved and self-qualified offers based on your credit report and score.

    Credit offers on WorthKnowing are indicative of the types of offers you should expect to receive elsewhere. Please be aware that pre-approved offers in the mail often promise a lower APR than you might actually qualify for once you submit your application.

    You may compare offers on WorthKnowing at no obligation and without a harmful inquiry on your credit report. You will notice that there may be credit offers which are designated as pre-approved offers and other offers which will require that you apply. Should you make an application to a lender or accept one of the pre-approved offers, the lender whose offer you choose to pursue will be required by law to retrieve a copy of your credit report and post a hard inquiry to your account.

    WorthKnowing pre-approved credit offers have an expiration date. If you return after that expiration date, previous offers may no longer be available. However, additional offers may be accessible. WorthKnowng provides a free WorthKnowing credit profile, along with new offers, once every 3 months. If you would like to retrieve a WorthKnowing credit profile within 3 months of previously applying, there will be a cost of $5.00.

    Why WorthKnowing offers are better?
    There are other Internet sites that allow consumers to apply for multiple credit cards at once. The consumer is either shown sample offers for which they can apply, or they are given real offers within 48 hours. In either case, the Internet company has obtained a copy of your credit report from one of the bureaus and posted a hard inquiry, indicating an application for credit before the consumer has even evaluated the various offers available. In the case of the sample offers, the consumer must blindly apply without certainty that the offer is valid. In the case of the real offers, delayed by as much as 48 hours, each lender who makes the offer has reviewed the consumer's credit report and posted a hard inquiry, which can result in as many as five hard inquiries!

    WorthKnowing respects your privacy and your right to make an informed credit decision. When your credit report is evaluated against our lending partner's criteria, the lender never knows who you are. In addition, there are no hard inquiries. You simply see a list of pre-approved offers for which you are qualified based on your credit report. The decision to pursue a specific offer is up to you. Should you decide to accept an offer, there will be only one hard inquiry from the company whose offer you accepted.
     
  12. jrjr35

    jrjr35 Well-Known Member

    What type of scoring models to these idiots use?. My dad has FICO scores that range in the mid 700's, yet had a worthknowing score of 10? wtf?
     
  13. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    1-100
    OR 5-100
     

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