So I was applying for credit cards the other day and realized most people don't know about pre-approvals. Like, you can actually check if you'll get approved before you even formally apply, and it won't ding your credit score. Wild right? I wish I'd known this earlier.

Basically here's what I learned about how to get pre approved for a credit card without the hard inquiry. You just go to the card issuer's website and look for their pre-approval page. Sometimes it's called pre-qualification or pre-selected offers, but it's all the same thing. Takes like a minute to fill out - just your name, address, last four of your SSN, maybe some income info. Then they run a soft check and show you what cards you actually qualify for.

The cool part? The offers they show you in pre-approval can be better than what's publicly available. I've seen sign-up bonuses that were higher than the standard offers. So if you're thinking about getting a new credit card, definitely check pre-approvals first instead of just randomly applying.

Most of the big issuers have this - American Express, Chase, Bank of America, Capital One, Discover. Just search the company name plus 'pre-approval' and you'll find it. The process to get pre approved for a credit card is honestly painless, takes like two minutes, and gives you a real sense of what you actually qualify for before you commit to an application. Beats the guessing game of just hoping your application gets approved.