by Dan Sullivan
Having a negative credit score is worrisome. A negative credit score may be as a result of:
You can check: Hard vs. Soft Inquiries: How They Affect Your Credit Score
Among several things, a bad credit score will result in the following:
To avoid all of these, you may need to apply for a new credit account or fix your existing negative credit . Both of these methods can be strenuous and challenging. To help you get passed this challenge is the reason we will be discussing the shopping cart trick .
Contents
Before we go on to discuss the shopping cart trick, let's briefly look at a few terms that will help you understand the shopping cart trick better.
A soft pull is a word used to describe an analysis of a credit report that is not thorough or detailed . When a company looks at your credit report without performing a detailed analysis of it, it is said to be a soft pull. The information provided to the company is limited, but it is still enough for them to make a credit decision for you.
A hard credit pull allows a company to do a complete inquiry on your credit report . The effect of a single hard pull on your credit score may be small. However, you may be damaging your credit score if you allow it to be subjected to multiple hard pulls, especially in a short time. For example, applying for 10 different credit cards having the mind that one of it may get approved. Doing this means that your credit report will be subjected to several hard inquires. It could lead to your credit score decreasing by between 3-5 points per application. For this reason, it is recommended that you cut the number of applications you file for a card.
Now you know what a soft and hard pull is, let's go into details discussing shopping cart trick.
The shopping cart trick is a strategy that enables you to get a pre-approved credit card offer from a retailer website during the checkout process. It works based on the fact that most retail websites do not check your credit score during checkouts, before pre-approving you for a credit. The shopping cart trick is sometimes referred to as a soft pull trick . This is because it affords you the opportunity of getting a card without your credit report being subjected to a hard pull. One good thing about this trick is that the stores which offer you this opportunity are your frequently visited shops. Besides the advantage of getting a new credit card with the shopping cart trick, you also enjoy other benefits which include:
i. Discounts
ii. Bonus of coupons
iii. Promotional offers (free merchandise and gift certificates)
Once you get a new store credit card, you can start building your credit score again.
Opting out of pre-approved offers simply means that you are putting a stop to you receiving notifications of these offers either by mail or through the phone. Chances that the shopping cart trick will work for you depends on you receiving this promotional offers from shopping cart trick stores. You can skip this step if you are certain that you have never submitted a form to opt-out of this pre-approved credit card offers. You as well could have opted out by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT . So, be sure you haven't opted out before skipping this step.
If you have opted out, you will need to opt-in again. To do so, you either:
Opting in will not take your time. You can decide to opt-out again once you are approved for a store credit card(s).
To use the shopping cart trick successfully, you need to turn off pop-up blockers or ad-blockers you activated in your browser . This is because the retail store you are shopping on will send you their offers for credit cards during the checkout process. If you activate any form of pop-up blockers on your browser, you will not see a credit card offer display on the checkout screen. You will miss this offer even if you are qualified for it. Therefore, you must disable pop-up blockers to enable the preapproved offers to appear on the screen. Once you receive the card(s) you want, you can always turn back on the pop-up blockers.
Before visiting your favorite store's website, you need to clear your browser history. This involves wiping out the cache and cookies of the browser . The steps to clearing your browser history in Google Chrome is as follows:
i. Browsing history
ii. Download history
iii. Cookies and other site data
iv. Cached images and files
You can skip all of the above steps by using your browser's incognito window .
On Google Chrome, you can locate the incognito window by:
With incognito mode, your browser history will not interrupt the shopping cart trick.
The next step on how to use the shopping cart trick is to visit a store website that allows you to use the shopping cart trick.
You can check out: best travel rewards credit cards
Now you've known how to go about the shopping cart trick, you need to decide on the online store to try out. The shopping cart trick will only work on:
The table below is a list of some retail store cards from Comenity Bank, Synchrony and Wells Fargo
Comenity Bank Retail Store Cards | Synchrony Retail Store Cards | Wells Fargo Retail Store Card |
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You probably need a new store account to help rebuild your credit score . If you feel you can't meet up with paying the monthly bills of your new store credit card, don't apply for it. Remember, debts and overspending were part of the reason you had a bad credit history before. Only apply for a new store card if you are determined to rebuild your credit history.
The discipline with which you use your shopping card has an impact on your credit history. You must do all you can to keep this new store card in good standing to help fix your credit report. A new store card will reduce the overall age of your credit accounts. The older your accounts, the better your score in the "length of credit history" category. The length of credit history accounts for 15 percent of your total credit score. Payment of dues on your card every month should be done on time and in full. This will help reduce your credit utilization, hence, building your credit score. Your payment history contributes 35% to your total credit score.
The chart below shows how FICO credit score works.
Payment History : How frequent and early you are in paying your bills
Credit Utilization : Debts you owe to creditors and lenders
Length of Credit History : How long you have had access to credit
Credit Mix : Diversity of the types of card you have
Credit Inquiries : Number of inquiries you have had in the past 2 years
Recent reports tell that the shopping cart trick is dying off. Most companies now resort to hard pulls even when they ask you for only the last 4 digits of your SSN. You can be successful with this trick on a few stores only now. With consistent effort, you can get through with this trick. Once you get your new store card, try to avoid the temptation of going for items you cannot afford. With this, you will be on your way to improving your credit score.
About Dan Sullivan
Dan Sullivan is a renowned professor and esteemed education writer with a passion for inspiring students and transforming the field of education. With a diverse background in academia and practical teaching experience, he has become a leading figure in educational research and pedagogy.
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