Q: I received a letter from a credit card company saying I am “pre-approved” for their card, but I never applied for it. Will this hurt my credit score?
A: Pre-approved offers will not harm your score. When you monitor your own credit, or when someone checks it to make you a pre-approved credit offer, that is considered a soft inquiry that is not seen by others, and will not have any impact on your credit score. However, when you submit a credit card application or apply for a loan, a hard
credit inquiry is created and may have an affect on your credit.
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