Some cards will give you a range of rates you could get, but often that window is pretty wide, says Nick Bourke, director of the Safe Credit Card Project at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Other cards may offer a specific rate (or terms) and either approve or reject you.

If you're operating totally in the dark, you have another option: Apply by phone and push for an answer on your rate and credit line before the account is opened.

While there are no guarantees, sometimes you can get an answer, says Bourke.

"I've actually done this myself," he says, admitting "you do have to go pretty far in the process."

You may have to ask for the department that's actually evaluating your application to get an answer, he says.

"The thing that you want to do is when you're talking to the person on the phone taking your application is you want to push them as hard as you can to get your APR and credit line," Bourke says. Then, once you have the information and before the account is opened in your name, "you can say yes or no at that point," he says.