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Instant Online Credit Card Approvals

By: David Benton

It used to be that you’d open up your mail box and find three or four credit offers telling you that you’re pre-approved; that all you have to do is fill out the application, mail it back and begin piling on the debt. This is still the case today; however, credit card companies have branched out in their advertising methods, which is why we are not only bombarded with credit card offers in our mail box, but in our email accounts as well.

These offers we get don’t just stop at our inboxes. We also encounter them on just about every website we visit. All of these ads all have one thing in common: they claim they can approve you instantly over the Internet. But what exactly does “instant online credit approval” mean? At first glance it is easy to see that many people would believe it to mean that they will be able to download some paper version of the card so that they can begin using it right away. However, this is not the case. As many can already attest to when dealing with credit card companies, what seems evident on the surface is not always the actual case.

Let’s clear up the confusion surrounding instant online credit card approval.

The Positives and Negatives of Instant Online Credit Card Approval

As mentioned, upon instant online credit approval you can’t run out to the nearest Best Buy and by that Hi Def television you’ve been coveting. You will have to wait for the company to send you the actual card in the mail, which you will then have to activate by phone. Yes, it seems as if technology should have reached a point where even obtaining a new credit card is fast, but it hasn’t and you can thank identity thieves for this.

For security reasons, credit card companies never transmit credit card numbers over the Internet because there is a chance of them being stolen by someone else. In addition, no credible department store of any kind is going to allow someone with piece of paper with a credit card number printed across it to make a huge purchase. It’s just not done.

Could this change in the future? Absolutely, but society isn’t there yet. Of course, you could argue that people still manage to steal credit cards and use them illegally all the time. Yes, it happens, and unfortunately it is the credit card holders who have to eat the cost of these abuses in the form of higher interest rates and annual fees. Though the credit card industry is not 100% secure, the steps it does take help protect us. Thus, just relax and wait for your new card to arrive. In most cases it will show up within five days.

The Best Candidates for Online Credit Card Approval

Instant online credit card approval is generally geared towards people with good credit. However, even those with bad credit can sometimes beat the system. In some cases the credit card company can’t gain access to your credit history (though this is a rare exception) and decides to go ahead and play the odds on you not being a credit risk. In the majority of most cases when this occurs though, the credit card company is aware of your bad credit, but approves you any way. Why? Because the industry is highly competitive. Americans love to live beyond their means, which means more profits for credit card companies so they are striving to beat their competitors.

From the standpoint of the credit card companies, just about everyone is a good candidate for instant online credit card approval. An increasing number of people are applying online as opposed to filling out the application by hand, mailing it and then waiting a month to find out if they've been approved or not. You might still have to wait for your credit card to arrive with an instant credit card approval, but at least you won’t have to wonder for more than a few minutes if you’re approved.

If you need a credit card, then try applying for one online first. The Internet is rife with companies offering instant credit decisions. However, be wise about what you buy and don’t let consumer madness get the best of you. Make wise credit decisions and wise purchases and you’ll go a long way towards achieving financial freedom.