When can a credit card company look at my credit reports?

When you apply for a credit card or a line of credit, the card issuer or lender will review your credit to understand how recently and how frequently you apply for credit. This is known as a hard inquiry. It will appear on your credit report and may impact your credit score.

If you are a customer of the card issuer, they can look at your credit report at any time for account management purposes. This is known as a soft inquiry, which doesn’t impact your credit score.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit card companies can only pull credit reports for their current customers or those who fill out a credit card application. If you are not a customer, the company must have your permission to pull your credit, which you give when you apply for a credit card.

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