American Express Announces “Apply With Confidence” Pilot Card Application Feature

American Express has begun showing some credit card applicants their new “Apply With Confidence” feature, in which select applicants are notified before finalizing the application if they will be approved for the card. With the preapproval, there’s no immediate impact on an applicant’s credit score since they can decide to not continue the process if approval is not likely.

This makes the application process clearer, and it gives many people who might want an Amex card the peace of mind that comes with a soft credit check. Amex will do a hard credit check on the applicant if they decide to accept the card. This is standard for almost every credit card application.

How It Works

While applying for a U.S. personal Amex credit card, applicants will be shown a banner that says “Apply with confidence” and “Know if you’re approved with no effect on your credit score.” Currently, only select customers see these banners, but this step is expected to become commonplace. Amex will then do a soft credit check and let you know “with 100% certainty” if you are approved. Because of how soft credit inquiries work, they won’t hurt your credit score. Moving forward, Amex will also provide this application experience on its co-branded partners’ websites. This includes Hilton Honors and Delta Air Lines.

While this will help new customers feel comfortable applying for a new Amex card, existing cardholders may find it irrelevant because Amex is not known to pull credit when an existing customer applies for a new card. Nonetheless, this is a revolutionary idea that may lead to other card issuers doing the same and adding more transparency to the application process.

Apple also offers a similar application experience with its Apple card.

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