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If you want to stop receiving preapproved offers for credit cards, loans and insurance coverage, you can do so easily online or by phone. Both options let you pause prescreened offers for five years or stop them permanently, and also allow you to resume receiving offers anytime you wish. Here's how it all works.
What Are Preapproved Credit Offers?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) permits the national credit bureaus to include your name on lists they provide to creditors and insurers who wish to use them to make firm offers of credit or insurance. The national credit bureaus include the three major consumer credit reporting agencies—Experian, TransUnion and Equifax—as well as Innovis, another credit reporting agency.
Prescreened lists help companies avoid sending offers to consumers who may not need, want or qualify for a new account.
How Do Preapproved Credit Offers Work?
Upon request, credit bureaus may create prescreened lists of consumers who meet a company's requirements, such as a geographic area and credit score range. Alternatively, a company could provide a credit bureau with a list of potential customers and ask it to identify names on the list that meet specific qualifying criteria.
A card issuer's requirements may include people with credit scores of 700 or better who haven't applied for credit in the last year, for example.
Prescreened lists let companies selectively deliver offers of credit or insurance coverage to individuals with a strong likelihood of qualifying, without wasting postage and other resources on individuals who wouldn't be eligible or who aren't interested in their products.
Pros and Cons of Preapproved Credit Offers
Here are some potential benefits and disadvantages of receiving preapproved credit offers:
Pros
Comparison shopping: Prescreened offers can help you learn about options available to you and what they cost so you can find the best deals based on your credit.
Exclusive deals: Some credit and insurance companies limit certain products to prescreened offers, so terms you are offered through a prescreened solicitation could be better than those the issuer offers the general public.
High approval odds: While you'll only receive a preapproved credit offer if your credit report meets or exceeds the issuers' credit requirements for a given product or service, final approval depends on confirmation of eligibility. But unless your creditworthiness has drastically changed for some reason, it's highly likely you'll be approved for the product offered in a preapproved offer.
Cons
Inconvenience: If you're not interested in seeking additional credit or new insurance policies, preapproved offers can just clutter up your mailbox, inbox or voicemail.
Potential overextension: If you have difficulty reining in spending when credit is available, a flurry of preapproved credit offers could tempt you to take on more debt than you need or can afford.
Risk of identity theft: If criminals steal a preapproved credit offer from your mailbox, they could combine it with other stolen personal information, such as your date of birth and Social Security number (which are not found in preapproved offers themselves), to seek credit in your name.
How to Opt Out of Preapproved Credit Offers
There are actually two types of credit offers you're likely to see in your mailbox (or your online inbox): firm credit offers based on credit report information and direct-mail marketing appeals that are sent more broadly. Here's how to deal with each.
How to Opt Out of Firm Credit Offers
To opt out of preapproved credit and insurance offer lists, call 888-5-OPTOUT (888-567-8688) or submit a request online at OptOutPrescreen.com. You'll need to provide your name, Social Security number and date of birth along with the request.
You can opt out of prescreened offers for five years using the phone or online option. If you want a permanent opt-out, you'll need to complete and mail in a form you can print from the website or request by mail using the phone line.
The OptOutPrescreen phone line and website are run cooperatively by Experian, TransUnion, Equifax and Innovis. Submitting one request removes you from lists maintained by all four bureaus.
How to Opt Out of Other Direct Marketing Offers
Credit and insurance solicitations are not always based on credit criteria, so opting out of preapproved offers won't necessarily halt all mailings and phone offers of those products. You can further reduce the number of unsolicited offers you receive (for financial products and many others) by doing the following:
- Visit DMAchoice.org to create an account with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and decide which mail you want to receive from DMA members. There's a service fee for removing your name from target lists for 10 years—$6 if you place the request online, $7 if you submit it by postal mail.
- Request to be taken off non-DMA mailing and marketing lists, such as those by Epsilon, RetailMeNot and Valpak.
- Add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Preapproved Credit Offers Affect Your Credit Score?
No, the type of inquiry used to make firm offers for credit or insurance (soft inquiries) are not used in calculating credit scores. So your credit scores will not be affected either way by a decision to opt out of prescreened offers or to opt back in.
Can I Opt Back In to Preapproved Offers After Opting Out?
Yes, you can opt back in anytime via the same methods used to opt out: Call 888-5-OPTOUT (888-567-8688) or visit OptOutPrescreen.com and choose the opt-in option.
The Bottom Line
Depending on your needs, preapproved credit offers can help you sort through options or add needless clutter to your life. The ability to opt out (or back in) to these offers can help you regulate the volume of unsolicited information you receive.