Why would they be checking if you did not have a card with them? To determine likely candidates? It seems they are offering credit cards to everybody these days, including illegals. Why would they do any research then instead of blanketing the addresses they have? It would make more sense to do the check only after you send in an application.
No, it doesn't make more sense to do the check after I send an application in.
Direct mail solicitation is the single most effective means of reaching potential customers/clients there is.
If it didn't work, do you think all those companies would be filling your mailbox on a regular basis?
Companies prescreen potential candidates for another reason, as well. Not all offers are the same. It's called targeted offers, or targeted marketing. You categorize potential customers into risk groups, and tailor an offer to them.
My credit rating and score are such that companies desperately want me because I'm a VERY good risk. I've never bounced a check, I have an excellent payment history (I show two 30-day lates on my CR, both from when I was switching from one bill payment service to another, I simply forgot to move those two), my debt to income ratio is far below the national average, I've a steady employment history, and as of several months ago my credit scores from two of the three major bureaus were pushing 800.
In today's world, I'm literally one in 200,000 or so.
Discover has floated some rather tempting offers past me, offers that most people never see because they don't have my credit history.
Ever see a 2.5% fixed rate offer from Discover? I have.
Any company can offer anyone a card.
But as we've just seen from the subprime fiasco, companies HAVE to have a strong portfolio of A and B list clients to balance out the Cs, Ds, and the occasional F.
