What Is a Promotional Inquiry on My Credit Report?

A credit report serves as a detailed record of an individual’s financial history, documenting borrowing and repayment activities. It includes personal information, credit accounts, public records, and inquiries. An inquiry indicates a party has requested access to this financial information. While all inquiries reflect a data request, their nature and impact can differ depending on the reason.

Understanding Promotional Inquiries

A promotional inquiry, often referred to as a soft inquiry or soft pull, occurs when a company accesses your credit report to pre-screen you for an offer. Lenders, insurers, or other businesses typically initiate these to determine if you meet criteria for pre-approved offers like credit cards, loans, or insurance policies. These inquiries arise when companies purchase lists of consumers from credit bureaus who meet specific financial profiles, such as a particular credit score range or payment history. This allows them to send targeted marketing offers without you submitting a direct application. Promotional inquiries are not tied to a consumer’s application for new credit; instead, the company initiates them to extend an unsolicited offer.

How Promotional Inquiries Affect Your Credit

Promotional inquiries, also known as soft inquiries, have no impact on your credit score. They are recorded on your credit report for your information but are not factored into the calculations used by credit scoring models. This is because they do not represent an application for new credit or a new financial obligation on your part.

Credit scoring models are designed to assess the risk associated with new credit applications. Since promotional inquiries are initiated by companies for marketing purposes and not by you seeking new credit, they signal no increased risk to other lenders. A soft inquiry remains invisible to other lenders viewing your credit report.

This contrasts with hard inquiries, which occur when you apply for credit and authorize a lender to review your report. Hard inquiries can cause a slight, temporary dip in your credit score because they indicate you are seeking new credit, which can be viewed as a higher risk.

Managing Promotional Offers

Consumers have the option to manage the receipt of pre-screened promotional offers. Major credit reporting agencies provide a centralized service allowing individuals to opt-out of receiving these unsolicited offers. This service helps reduce the volume of direct mail and email solicitations for credit and insurance products.

You can opt-out of these offers online through the official website, optoutprescreen.com, a platform jointly maintained by Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion. Alternatively, you can initiate the opt-out process by sending a written request via mail to each of the credit bureaus.

The online service requires personal identifying information, such as your name, address, and Social Security number, to verify your identity. The opt-out choice can be temporary, lasting for five years, or permanent. Electing a permanent opt-out requires completing a signed form provided after the initial online request.