Instant Approval Credit Cards - How Instant Are They?

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

Instant approval credit cards appear to be offers that sound too good to be true, but many people are benefiting from them in their daily lives. Our tendency is to see things skeptically, which is a reflection of the society we are living in. But such apprehensions are misplaced at least in the case of instant approval credit cards, which are often times misunderstood.

It is called an instant approval credit card because, after submitting the application, the person concerned could get the response from the credit card company regarding the status of the application within a short duration irrespective of whether it is an acceptance or a rejection. If it is a rejection, then the battle, as it were, is over. If it is an acceptance, the customer could receive the credit card by mail in a few weeks time.

But keep in mind that all of these type of credit card approvals may not be that instant. It is highly dependent on the applicants credit history and credit rating. The following article will demonstrate the exact grounds on which the credit card approvals will be instant and situations in which it may be a pending approval.

Instant approval credit cards online generally happen within a matter of seconds if the applicant has the security of an excellent credit history. The credit card company may have some credit score benchmark requirements and if the applicants figures match their criteria, they immediately approve the request. Such cases are generally cleared in less than a couple of minutes.

On the other hand, if the credit card company feels the credit rating of an applicant is less than ideal or if the credit score falls short of the benchmark, they may seek some additional information and until they finish with their background check on your credit worthiness, they will keep the application under pending status. True, such a procedure cannot be called an instant approval. But it will not lag to the degree that a traditional credit card application can. Most applications should be approved or rejected in a couple of days time.

Once the credit card has been approved, the card will be mailed to the cardholder and the entire process should take only about two weeks. So, even if it is an instant approval credit card, the applicant still has to wait around 2 weeks to receive the credit card and start using it. But, as previously mentioned, the entire process is still quicker than the traditional application/approval process. So if you want to expedite the credit card application process, instant approal credit cards online are definitely worth considering.

Caution  Look out for those instant approval credit card companies that charge a processing fee for the instant approval. Also it is advisable to compare the benefits and reward programs associated with the instant approval credit cards against a traditional credit card before applying for one. If there is no much advantage with an instant approval credit card offered by a credit card company, what is the point in applying for one?