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What Happens When You Apply for a Credit Card?

6 min read

Published September 3, 2025

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

When you apply for a credit card, the card issuer will likely confirm your identity and evaluate your financial background.
Your credit history and income level may affect your approval, interest rate, and credit limit.
If the card issuer denies your application, you may request an adverse action notice explaining why.

After you apply for a credit card online or over the phone, you might receive a response in as little as a few minutes or as long as a few weeks. But a lot happens in that time before you get your credit card offer or denial.

When you hit “submit” on your application, you set off several automated processes that determine your approval and the terms you’ll be offered. Understanding how a credit card company processes your application can help you get ready to apply for a new credit card.

Credit card issuers may review some of your background

Most credit card applications ask for information about your financial circumstances, employment, and credit background, as well as some personal information. Credit card companies use this information to confirm your identity and determine whether you meet their eligibility requirements.

If you qualify for a card, your application info helps the credit card company determine the interest rate and credit limit you’ll start with at account opening.

Identity verification

Most credit card issuers ask for your legal name, birth date, Social Security number, and address (sometimes including previous addresses). This background information helps the credit card company verify your identity as protection from credit card fraud and ensures you meet any age requirements to apply. If you’re applying for a student credit card, you may also have to provide your graduation date.

Employment

Credit card providers want to make sure you have the income necessary to afford a credit limit. Therefore, applications often ask about your employment status (full-time, part-time, student, unemployed, self-employed, etc.). You might also have to provide information about your employer, like the company name and phone number, for verification.

Financial history

Credit card issuers often request more information about your annual income and expenses to assess how much credit card debt you may be able to handle. That’s why the application might include questions about your annual income and your monthly rent or mortgage costs.

The amount of money you make matters, but it’s also important to show you’re not already overburdened by housing expenses. If you have a high salary but your rent costs half of your monthly take-home pay, for example, you may not be able to manage a large credit limit.

If you’re not employed but receive income some other way, a credit card application might require additional financial information (like proof of government assistance or rental income) to show how you can afford payments.

Credit history

The credit card issuer usually uses your Social Security number to conduct a credit check. Your credit history and credit score show how you have handled credit cards and loans in the past. If you’ve kept your credit card balances low and paid your bills on time each month, you may qualify for more credit than someone who has a high credit utilization ratio and a habit of paying late.

Any credit check associated with a credit application is considered a hard credit inquiry. While one hard credit check may lower your credit score a little temporarily, multiple hard credit checks in a short timeframe might do more lasting damage to your score. So, you may only want to apply for a credit card if you’re reasonably sure you meet the minimum qualifications.

Some card issuers may have a minimum required credit score, but requirements aren’t always that straightforward.

For more clarity, you may request credit card pre-qualification. Then, the card issuer conducts a soft credit check to determine what credit card offer you might qualify for, if any. See what Discover^® offers you could be pre-approved for with no harm to your credit score.¹

See If You’re Pre-Approved

Pre-qualification and pre-approval don’t guarantee you’ll qualify for a credit card. If you’re interested in a pre-qualified or pre-approved offer, you’ll still have to apply and undergo a hard credit check.

What factors don’t impact your credit card eligibility

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, credit card issuers can’t legally base credit decisions on your age, sex, orientation, marital status, race, color, religion, national origin, or whether you receive public assistance income. None of these factors should impact your credit approval.

Credit card issuers evaluate your application

Once a credit card issuer has reviewed your information, it can make a decision about your application. This process is often automated, but a person may review your application in some circumstances.

If the credit card provider approves your application, you’ll receive an offer for an annual percentage rate (APR) and credit limit. You might receive a virtual credit card for your digital wallet with your new card number, expiration date, and CVV upon credit approval. In that case, you can start using your credit card to shop right away. Otherwise, you have to wait for the physical card to arrive, usually around a week later or less. With Discover, start shopping and earning rewards in minutes with your digital card, before your card arrives, if eligible.²

Sometimes, the credit card issuer may neither approve nor deny your application. Instead, the issuer might request more information about your background, like a source of income if you bring home more than your full-time salary.

Of course, the credit card company may deny your application. While obviously denial isn’t the most desirable outcome, don’t panic if it happens to you. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit card company has to notify you of an adverse action within 30 days of receiving your credit application. The notice explains why your application was denied and which credit bureau provided the information. You may be able to use that information to correct errors on your credit report or take steps to resolve credit problems and improve your creditworthiness.

Did you know?

If your credit isn’t as strong as you’d like, you may still qualify for a secured credit card. There’s no credit score required to apply for a Discover it^® Secured Card.³ And you can build credit with responsible use,⁴ making it easier to qualify for the best credit cards possible in the future.

Learn More

The bottom line

Before you apply for a credit card, make sure you know where your credit stands by checking your credit report for free through AnnualCreditReport.com. You might also want to research the card issuer’s requirements. If your credit is lower than you’d like it to be, work on honing responsible credit habits, like maintaining a low credit utilization ratio and paying bills on time each month. That way, when you’re ready, you might qualify for the best credit card for your unique needs.

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