Know if you're accepted before you apply with QuickCheck

  • Get credit - up to £1,500
  • QuickCheck won’t affect your credit rating
  • Get a fast response in 60 seconds

39.9% APR Representative (variable)
Intelligent Lending Ltd (Credit Broker). Capital One is the exclusive lender

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What do I need to apply?

When you apply for a credit card for the first time, you might be unsure of what information you’ll need to have to hand. Will it be a complicated process where you need to know your National Insurance number, your employer’s address and the day of the week you were born on, or is it relatively straightforward?

The answer is that it really depends on the credit card you’re applying for and the lender. There are a wide range of cards available and some will be more complicated to apply for than others that offer a relatively simple process. Let’s take a look at what you’re likely to need when you apply for a credit card.

“the main things you’ll need to have in order to apply for a credit card are your personal details...”

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Applying for a credit card

To start with, you’ll need to be over 18 – as no lender can offer credit to people under that age – it’s the law!  It also helps if you are registered on the Electoral Roll no matter what credit card you’re applying for. If you’re not on the Electoral Roll, it makes sense to register to vote online. This helps the credit card provider verify that you are who you say you are.

The main things you’ll need to have in order to apply for a credit card are your personal details. This includes basic stuff like your name, current address and income and employment status, but you might also be asked for the addresses of the places you’ve lived over the previous three years, the details of your employer and how long you’ve been with your current bank.

It won’t apply to you if you’ve never had a credit card before, but if you’re opening a balance transfer card to pay off your existing credit and store cards so you can make one monthly repayment instead of several, you’ll need to know the numbers of each of these too.

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Criteria

It make sense to check whether you meet the criteria for your chosen credit card before you consider applying. The credit card provider might tell you what those criteria are (for example, if they will only accept people who earn over £20,000). However, there’s every chance that they won’t state what they’re looking for so explicitly.

There will usually be a few signs to let you know the sort of people the credit card is suitable for though. For instance, it might say that it’s not suitable for people who have had a CCJ – so you know that if this is you, you probably won’t be accepted.

“getting rejected for a credit card can be annoying but don’t be tempted to apply for another one straightaway...”

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Repeat applications

If you just decide to apply for the credit card without being sure of whether you match what the lender’s looking for, there’s a chance that you could be rejected or get accepted at a lower credit limit, or a higher APR, than you wanted. Getting rejected for a credit card can be annoying but don’t be tempted to apply for another one straightaway. Applications for credit will appear on your credit history and if you make a few within a short time you could appear desperate for credit, which may make lenders even more likely to reject you.

Use a credit card eligibility calculator, like the Ocean QuickCheck facility, to give yourself an idea of whether or not you’ll be accepted for a particular type of credit card before you make your formal application. These only do a ‘soft search’ on your credit history, so they don’t show up to potential lenders.

Read part 2 of our guide to applying for a credit card here.

Know if you're accepted before you apply with QuickCheck

  • Get credit - up to £1,500
  • QuickCheck won’t affect your credit rating
  • Get a fast response in 60 seconds

39.9% APR Representative (variable)
Intelligent Lending Ltd (Credit Broker). Capital One is the exclusive lender

Check Now