Edited by Peggy BennettWhat Is a No Ding Decline™ Credit Card?
Edited by Peggy Bennett
Quick Answer
- If you’re worried that applying for a new credit card could hurt your credit scores, the Experian Marketplace No Ding Decline™ feature lets you apply with confidence.
- With No Ding Decline™, you could apply for certain credit cards using a soft pull, so your credit scores won’t suffer if you’re not initially approved.
- Learn how it works and how the experience differs from other credit card marketplaces.
A new credit card can do more than help you handle unexpected expenses and unlock rewards like cash back or travel miles. Using your card responsibly could also help you build credit or improve your credit scores. But if you're struggling with poor credit or have previously been denied, you may worry that applying for a new credit card could backfire if you aren't approved and your credit scores take a hit.
Now you can apply for credit cards without concerns about impacting your credit scores. The Experian Marketplace lets you see credit card offers matched to your Experian credit file with no impact on your credit scores. And when you apply for a credit card labeled No Ding Decline™⊛, your credit scores won't be affected if you're not initially approved.
What Is a No Ding Decline™ Credit Card?
When you apply for a credit card, it typically generates a hard inquiry on your credit report, even if you aren't approved. Since hard inquiries could lower your credit scores, you may be reluctant to apply for a credit card if there's a chance you'll be declined.
No Ding Decline™ reduces that risk and allows you to apply with confidence by avoiding unnecessary hard inquiries. Here's how the process works.
- View credit card offers: Just log in or sign up for a free Experian account and visit the Experian Marketplace to see credit card offers matched to your credit profile.
- Apply for a No Ding Decline™ credit card: When you apply for a card labeled No Ding Decline™, the card issuer will perform a soft inquiry to evaluate your creditworthiness. Soft inquiries do not impact your credit scores.
- If you're not initially approved: Only a soft inquiry is added to your credit report; your credit scores aren't impacted if you aren't initially approved.
- If you're approved: A hard inquiry will be added to your credit report, even if you decide not to accept the card offer or are declined during final steps, such as income verification.
Will No Ding Decline™ Affect Your Credit Scores?
Applying for a credit card labeled No Ding Decline™ won't hurt your credit scores if your application is not initially approved. However, it could have an impact if you are initially approved. A hard inquiry will be performed to finalize the card application, even if you are declined in the final steps of verification or decide not to accept the card. This hard inquiry could have a slight negative impact on your credit scores, usually less than five points.
How Do Credit Cards Affect Your Credit?
When applying for any new credit card, it's important to understand other ways a credit card can affect your credit, both positively and negatively.
Potential Positive Impact
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Payment history: Making timely payments on your credit card could help improve your credit scores.
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Enhanced credit mix: If you only have installment accounts such as student loans, adding a revolving credit account (such as a credit card) can improve your credit mix, which could benefit your credit.
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Reduced credit utilization: Adding a new credit card to your wallet increases your total available credit, which can reduce your credit utilization rate, or the percentage of your available credit you're using at any one time. Credit utilization is a key factor in your credit scores, and lower utilization is better, so this could benefit your credit scores.
Potential Negative Impact
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Payment history: Missing a credit card payment or making a late payment could negatively affect your credit scores.
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Credit utilization: If a new credit card tempts you to rack up charges, your credit utilization rate could rise. Consumers with the best credit scores tend to have credit utilization rates in the single digits. Credit utilization of 30% or more tends to have a more pronounced negative impact on your scores.
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Overspending: Racking up debt on your credit cards could make it harder to pay your other expenses, potentially leading to late payments that can damage your credit scores. Unpaid balances on your credit cards accrue interest, which can quickly add up and can lead to a debt cycle that may become difficult to escape.
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Age of account: Adding a new credit card account to your credit report decreases the average age of your credit accounts, which could lower your credit scores.
Learn more: What Affects Your Credit Scores?
What's the Difference Between a Soft Pull and a Hard Pull?
A soft credit pull (sometimes called a soft inquiry or soft credit check) occurs when someone checks your credit report for reasons other than a formal credit application. Soft pulls don't affect your credit scores.
In general, formally applying for most credit cards requires consenting to a hard inquiry (also known as a hard pull). A hard inquiry appears on your credit report and could cause a slight, temporary decline in your credit scores.
Tip: Multiple hard pulls for credit cards within a short time could have a greater negative impact on your credit scores. For this reason, it's usually a good idea to wait at least six months between credit card applications.
Learn more: Hard Inquiry vs. Soft Inquiry: What's the Difference?
Where to Find Soft Pull Credit Cards
"Soft pull credit cards" is a term sometimes used for cards that only require a soft inquiry for prequalification. This type of credit card offer is labeled No Ding Decline™ in the Experian Marketplace.
To see soft pull credit card offers, just log in to or sign up for an Experian membership, which you can do for free. Then navigate to Credit Cards to see the offers you're matched with. Experian provides credit card offers based on your credit profile in one place, making it easy to compare the cards that you are more likely to be approved for. Viewing and comparing credit card offers in the Experian Marketplace has no impact on your credit scores.
Learn more: When Should I Apply for Another Credit Card?
What Makes No Ding Decline™ Credit Cards Different?
There are other credit card marketplaces where you can get prequalified or preapproved for cards. What makes the Experian Marketplace different is that you can apply for credit cards labeled No Ding Decline™ with no impact to your credit scores if your application is not initially approved.
Here's how shopping for a new credit card works on other sites compared to the Experian Marketplace.
Competitor Sites
- Input your information, making your best guesses about your credit status, income, and other factors.
- See a list of credit cards.
- On many credit card marketplaces, applying with a lender triggers a hard inquiry, even if you're not initially approved.
- If you apply with multiple lenders and are not approved, you may accumulate multiple hard inquiries, which can amplify the negative effect on your credit scores.
- Once you are approved, the hard inquiry and the new credit card account will appear on your credit report.
Experian's No Ding Decline™
- Log in or sign up for a free Experian membership and visit the Experian Marketplace.
- See a personalized list of credit card offers[BH3] [MT4] matched to your credit profile. You don't have to input lots of information or guess about your credit scores. You can view and compare these cards with no impact to your credit scores.
- Apply for a credit card labeled No Ding Decline™ without dinging your credit scores if you aren't initially approved.
- If you are approved, a hard inquiry and the new credit card account will appear on your credit report, which may impact your credit scores.
How Can You Improve Your Chances of Credit Card Approval?
Try these tips to enhance your chances of getting approved for a credit card.
- Check your credit scores. There isn't one minimum credit score you need to get approved for credit cards, but higher scores usually translate to better terms and lower interest rates. For example, rewards credit cards and balance transfer credit cards typically require good to excellent credit (a FICO® ScoreΘ of 670 or higher). Before applying for a credit card, check your FICO® Score for free from Experian and get insights into how to improve it.
- Pay down your debt. Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) indicates how much of your gross monthly income goes toward debt. Having too much debt relative to your income could cause your credit card application to be denied. Paying down high credit card balances or loans could enhance your approval odds; so could increasing your income.
- Enlist a cosigner. If you have poor credit or are new to credit, consider applying for a credit card with a cosigner who has good credit. Many credit card companies do not allow cosigners, but if you can find one that does, a cosigner with a solid payment history could help you get approved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Explore No Ding Decline™ Credit Card Offers
Credit cards can be valuable financial tools to help you manage your spending, cover large purchases, earn rewards, or enjoy travel and purchase protections. Responsible use of credit cards can even help improve your credit scores. If you've been nervous about applying for a new credit card after being declined in the past, No Ding Decline™ cards could help.
Visit the Experian Marketplace to view your personalized credit card offers and see which ones are labeled No Ding Decline™. With No Ding Decline™, you can explore a range of credit cards matched with your credit profile, so you can apply with confidence.
⊛Applying for cards labeled No Ding Decline™ won't hurt your credit scores if you aren't initially approved. Approval of your application will result in a hard inquiry, even if you're unable to pass final verifications, which may impact your credit scores.
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About the author
Karen Axelton
Karen Axelton is Experian’s in-house senior personal finance writer. She has over 20 years of experience as a journalist and has written or ghostwritten content for a variety of financial services companies.
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