When applying for a credit card online, you’ll often encounter an "instant decision" process. Using eligibility checking tools, like those available through our partners at Experian, can give you quick results, usually within minutes, and even help you get pre-approved for certain credit cards.

Pre-approval significantly reduces the likelihood of rejection, but it doesn’t guarantee approval. Once you apply for a pre-approved offer, the lender will still perform their own checks, including a hard credit inquiry, and your application could still be declined at this stage.

How to choose a credit card with instant decision

The fastest credit cards to get are typically those with less stringent eligibility requirements. This means that even individuals with poor credit may have better chances of getting approved for bad credit or credit builder cards.

To find out which cards you're most likely to be approved for, it's best to check your eligibility using tools like those from our partner at Experian. They use a "soft search" credit check, which won't impact your credit score, and provide you with a list of cards that match your approval chances.

If you're looking for a credit card with the best chance of being pre-approved, your most likely option would be cards that have more lenient eligibility requirements.

In most cases, these will be cards that cater to people with lower credit scores or limited credit histories, such as bad credit credit cards, or credit builder cards.

These cards typically have low credit limits and high interest rates. It's always a good idea to use an eligibility tool like those found through our partner at Experian, which will find you any cards you're pre-approved for.

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