What is CardMatch? And how can it help you find the right credit card?

If you’re in the market for a credit card, CardMatch is a great tool to use to begin your search. Easy to navigate and designed to provide personalized offers, CardMatch can give you access to prequalified or preapproved credit card deals and potentially even better bonus offers than those available to the general public.

The best part is that checking offers on CardMatch won’t knock any points off your credit score. That’s because the tool only triggers a soft inquiry on your credit report, and you’ll only face a hard inquiry if you proceed with a card application.

Since CardMatch is easy to use and may lead you to a higher score in the end, it makes sense to use it each time you plan to apply for a credit card. Keep reading to learn how the tool works and the best CardMatch offers to watch for right now.

What is CardMatch? The details

CardMatch is a safe, secure service offered by Bankrate that matches users with personalized credit card offers based on their credit profile. The tool can match you with the best credit card offers that you have a good chance of being approved for, including targeted introductory bonuses and special offers.

Since using the platform only requires a soft pull, your credit score won’t be affected. There’s no obligation to apply for any of the offers you’re matched with, and there’s no fee to use the CardMatch service.

Bankrate also offers other credit card tools worth checking out, including our:

• Spender Type tool: This tool helps you think about your spending habits and find credit cards that match your profile.
• Card Comparison tool: This tool allows you to perform side-by-side comparisons with up to three credit cards of your choice.

Types of offers you can find using CardMatch

CardMatch partners with a range of major issuers, including Bank of America, Discover, Wells Fargo, American Express, Citi and Chase. Offers you can find are targeted to your individual profile, so they can vary dramatically from person to person.

With that being said, you may find offers for some of the best travel and rewards credit cards if you use the tool, and they may even include more generous sign-up bonus offers than you can’t find elsewhere. You can also use CardMatch to connect with the best balance transfer offers on the market today.

How CardMatch can benefit potential cardholders

CardMatch is a useful tool for a few reasons. With your credit profile, CardMatch can:

• Help you compare an array of credit card offers all in one place. CardMatch shows multiple cards at once, which can make it easy for potential cardholders to jumpstart their research process.
• Match you with credit cards you’re likely to be approved for. By using a soft credit pull, CardMatch can show individual approval odds based on credit score and other factors.
• Provide you with better bonus offers than you can typically find elsewhere. Because CardMatch offers are prescreened and tailored to each person’s credit profile, it can show users who meet certain criteria a range of targeted perks, called special welcome offers. These include higher welcome bonuses and rewards spending bonuses.

Current offers to consider in CardMatch

CardMatch offers a variety of special welcome offers — which are labeled as such on each card preapproval when applicable — depending on each user’s credit profile. Because they vary from user to user and may change every time you check the platform, you might not be able to find the exact offers described below. But although you may not be eligible for every CardMatch offer available, you could still snag some exceptional deals. Here are some special welcome offers you could be matched with:

Earn $300 with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Through CardMatch, you could earn a $300 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first six months from account opening. This card is a popular option for those looking for an everyday credit card, and for good reason. The card earns:

• 6 percent cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1 percent)
• 6 percent cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
• 3 percent cash back at U.S. gas stations
• 3 percent cash back on transit purchases (including taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains and buses)
• 1 percent cash back on all other purchases

Earn up to 150,000 bonus points with The Platinum Card from American Express

You could get a special welcome offer of 150,000 Membership Rewards points for The Platinum Card® from American Express when you spend $8,000 within the first six months of card ownership. This premium travel rewards card offers a slew of benefits and can earn cardholders:

• 5X points on flights directly booked with airlines, as well as flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amextravel.com (on up to $500,000 per calendar year in combined purchases)
• 2X points on prepaid car rentals through Amextravel.com
• 1X points on other purchases

Earn up to 75,000 points with the Amex Gold

Another possible special welcome offer is 75,000 American Express Membership Rewards points on the American Express® Gold Card — provided you can spend $6,000 on your card within six months of account opening.

This card also gives you:

• 4X points on up to $25,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each year, then 1 percent
• 4x points on dining at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
• 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amextravel.com

Previous offers on CardMatch

Because CardMatch updates its special welcome offers constantly, some offers that were previously available might not be anymore — at least not right now. But that doesn’t mean we won’t see similar deals pop up on the platform, or maybe even these same deals some time in the future.  Some examples of previous CardMatch deals include:

• 45,000 Membership Rewards point bonus for the American Express® Green Card* with spending requirements (now 40,000 on the Bankrate site at the time of writing)
• 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card with spending requirements (still 130,000 on the Bankrate site at the time of writing, after spending $3,000 in purchases on the card in your first 6 months of card membership.)

How to check for targeted offers on CardMatch

Checking for targeted offers on CardMatch is a breeze. To use the tool, all you have to do is head to the CardMatch page on the Bankrate website and prepare to share some of your personal information before creating an account.

From there, you’ll enter information like your name, your address and the last four digits of your Social Security Number before being shown prescreened credit card offers targeted to your profile. You also have an option to opt-in and receive information about card offers in the future, as well as other useful information on credit scores and credit card news.

The CardMatch tool will then use this information to pull a soft credit inquiry only — so like mentioned before, your credit score won’t be impacted.

Going forward: Come back to CardMatch regularly

As previously mentioned, CardMatch offers can and likely will change over time. For example, you could easily see new and better offers if your credit score goes up over time or if credit card issuers roll out new targeted bonus offers.

The bottom line

Since the CardMatch tool can match you with better credit card offers than you can find elsewhere on the web, it’s worth using any time you plan to apply for a new credit card. And since your offers could change over time, you might want to plan a day every few months to explore your options. Doing so could mean getting better bonus offers and more perks than you could otherwise, and the process only takes a few minutes.

Just remember that even with a preapproved card offer in hand, you’re not guaranteed approval for that card. The issuer still has the final say in whether your application is approved.

Issuer-required disclosure statement

The information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.