Hard vs soft inquiries

How to shop without wrecking your score

Every credit pull is either soft (no score impact) or hard (small temporary drop). Knowing the difference lets you shop for rates without losing points.

Soft inquiries: checking your own credit, pre-approved offers, employer background checks, creditor account reviews. All free.

Hard inquiries: actually applying for credit. Each costs 3 to 7 points and stays on your report for 2 years.

Key points

• Pre-qualification uses soft pulls. Most card, loan, and mortgage sites let you check approval odds with a soft pull. Start there. Rate estimate, no score hit.
• Rate shopping has a grace period. For mortgages, auto loans, and student loans, hard inquiries in a 14 to 45 day window count as one. Do all rate shopping in a single week.
• Credit cards don't get the grace period. Each application is a separate hard inquiry. Don't apply for 5 cards in a weekend.
• Impact fades fast. A hard inquiry affects your score for about 12 months even though it shows for 24. After a year, mostly invisible.