Advertiser Disclosure

Advertiser Disclosure

The credit card offers that appear on helpmebuildcredit.com are from credit card companies from which this site possibly receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where credit card offers appear on this site. This site possibly does not include all available credit card offers.

Close

List Of Which Credit Bureau Each Bank Pulls

- Feb 14, 2023 Credit Card Info11 comments

Updated: 05/15/2023

There are lots of reasons why people may want to submit several credit card applications at the same time; getting multiple welcome bonuses at once, getting more money on 0% APR, and more. When a credit card issuer sees too many recent credit inquiries on your credit report then they may decline your credit card application due to too many recent inquiries. If you’re planning to apply for several credit cards at the same time you need to do it smartly so you don’t get declined due to the new credit inquiries.

Years ago, it was possible to apply for multiple credit cards by submitting the applications within the same second using different browsers. This used to help avoid the banks from seeing each other’s credit inquiries. This trick is now dead. The credit bureaus update credit reports within a microsecond and it is impossible for you to act faster and submit a second application before the first credit inquiry shows up.

Thankfully, most credit card issuers only pull one of your three credit reports. So you can apply for multiple credit cards by making sure you split up the credit inquiries between the three credit bureaus by choosing the right banks.

If you apply for multiple cards within the same bank on the same day then sometimes the bank will only pull your credit once. More info on that can be found here

Here’s a list of which credit bureau each credit card issuer usually pulls. Alternatively, you can check out our Credit Card Database where users report real-time information on which credit bureau was pulled on their recent applications.

Change the credit bureau the bank pulls

Cool trick on how you can trick the bank to pull a different credit bureau

Watch Now

American Express

American Express will usually pull your Experian credit report.

For existing Amex cardholders, Amex does not pull your credit for new credit card applications.

New! With the new “Apply With Confidence” feature, Amex will first do only a soft pull on your credit report and will let you know if approved or not. Only after you accept the approval will Amex do a hard pull on your credit (this feature is currently only available on Amex consumer cards. See more details below*)

See more data in our Credit Card Database.

Apple Card - Goldman Sachs

Apple card -Goldman Sachs Bank will only do a soft pull when you apply. They will tell you if you are approved or not and for which credit limit you are approved for, and only once you accept the approval will they do a hard pull. They will usually pull either your Equifax or Transunion credit report.

Some have had success of avoiding the hard pull by freezing Transunion and Equifax after the preapproval, but before the final decision).

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Barclays

Barclays will usually pull your Transunion credit report.

If you freeze your Transunion report then Barclays will pull your Experian credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Bank of America

Bank of America will usually pull your Experian credit report for personal cards and Transunion credit report for business cards.

If you freeze your Experian report they will pull your TransUnion credit report for personal cards as well.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Capital One

Capital One will usually pull your Experian, Transunion, and Equifax credit reports.

If you freeze one credit bureau you can still get approved (the credit bureau you freeze cannot be Transunion on Capital One personal applications).

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Chase

Chase will usually pull your Experian credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Citi

Citi will usually pull your Experian credit report, sometimes Equifax, and sometimes Experian and Equifax (depending on your state, search your state in our Credit Card Database).

  • Brooklyn: NY is usually Equifax
  • Upstate NY and Lakewood: NJ is usually Experian

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Citizens

Citizens will usually pull your Equifax credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Discover

Discover will usually pull your Experian credit report, sometimes Equifax.

If you freeze your Experian credit report then Discover will be glad to pull from either TransUnion or Equifax.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Fidelity Elan Financial

Fidelity – Elan Financial will usually pull your Experian credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

HSBC

HSBC will usually pull your Equifax credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Key Bank

Key Bank will usually pull your Equifax credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

M&T Bank

M&T will usually pull your Experian credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Synchrony

Synchrony Bank will usually pull your Transunion credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

TD Bank

TD will usually pull your Experian credit report.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

US Bank

US Bank will usually pull your Experian credit report.

If you frequently apply for credit cards,  first freeze your IDA/ARS bureaus  before applying for a US Bank credit card.

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo will usually pull your Experian credit report (in some states they pull Experian and Equifax).

See real-time data in our Credit Card Database.

 

*The new application experience is currently available for individuals applying for a U.S. Personal Card via HelpMeBuildCredit, at AmericanExpress.com/us/credit-cards, or by calling American Express, and is not available if you apply for a Card after you log into an existing Card Member Account.

Frequently asked questions
Which credit bureau does Chase pull credit from?
Most of the time Experian. In some rare cases they can pull Experian plus Equifax.
If a credit card only pulls Equifax, will it report the card once approved to all three credit bureaus?
Yes
Do banks pull different credit bureaus in different states?
Yes. Even the exact city can matter. When filtering credit cards by "credit bureau" on our website you can enter your zip code to get results based on your city
When I log in to Amex I see they have my score low due to a high balance. But in my Experian account (which gets updated daily) the balance already shows as paid. If I apply for an Amex card do they look at their score or the Experian score?
The score you see in Amex login is just an educational score. The score Amex will use is a real FICO score (usually FICO 08)

Was this article helpful?

avatar_logo
Sam Sam has nearly a decade's worth of experience educating his many readers on everything credit. Sam spends his days checking out credit cards for a full report, from the minute benefit details to the shebang of welcome bonuses. Plus studying the ins and outs of building proper credit. It’s his favorite pastime and he loves sharing it with others.

Leave A Comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

11 Comments

  1. Amex, will usually pull by personal cards, rarely they do a soft pull.
    Barclay can pull Equifax as well when it is pending.
    Bank of America will only pull trans union lf Experian is frozen, never equifax.
    Chase, sometimes though rarely pull trans union usually only by bzns card.
    Citi pulls in the city both equifax and Experian sometimes if you freeze Experian they will let through with only equifax, upstate is equifax only most of time YMMV.
    Discover, when Experian is frozen They will gladly Paul either or transunion or equifax .
    HSBC won’t let through app if Experian is frozen

    Reply
    • Thank you the Card Master. Will update post accordingly.

      Reply
    • Barclay can pull experian when requesting an increase on a credit card.

      Reply
  2. 1) In Jan 19 2020, I have applied for an avianca credit card, they have pulled my TransUnion report,
    On the letter they had sent me it said that decision was based on TransUnion and Equifax, so might be they hard pulled TransUnion and soft pulling Equifax

    2) discover card, if you freeze Experian, you can ask them to pull TransUnion

    Reply
    • Thanks, Eli for sharing

      Reply
  3. If my Trans Union score is 720 and my experience score is a 665 and my Equifax is a 610 which credit card can I get that will best suit me

    Reply
    • Try one of these cards

      Reply
  4. how to best strategize with applying for specific cards
    use of tradelines

    Reply
  5. i sent you a few months ago that by barclays when you close transunion the poll experian i just want to let you know that its only when you request a limit increase not by new applications

    Reply
  6. what banks pull equfax and transunion in texas

    Reply

Recent Posts

Follow us

Click here to subscribe to
our WhatsApp channel

Todays
best offers

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

Earn 100,000 points after spending $15,000 within the first 3 months.

more info

New Business Card! Ink Business Premier(SM) Credit Card

Earn $1,000 after spending $10,000 within the first 3 months.

more info

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

Earn 150,000 points plus a Free Night Reward after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months (terms apply).  Expires 07/19/23.

more info

The Business Platinum Card from American Express

Earn 150,000 points after spending $15,000 within the first 3 months.

more info

You May Also Like

Your Downgrade Options For Chase Cards [2023]

Your Downgrade Options For Chase Cards [2023]

Inflation is on the rise, income is tight, you have no time to travel. These, and other factors, may make you regret opening the credit card (the one with the high annual fee). It may not seem worth it for you to hold onto the credit card and keep paying the high...

read more
X1 Credit Card Full Review

X1 Credit Card Full Review

Do you not have the best credit score but you still want to be able to swipe and earn rewards on a charming credit card?  Welcome to the X1 Card.

read more
The 7 Best Cards For Shipping [2023]

The 7 Best Cards For Shipping [2023]

Do you run an online business and spend a lot of money on shipping? Then these are the best cards for you to use to help your business get rewards on those parcels being shipped.

read more
Offer Ending! New Offer On Chase Sapphire Preferred Card!

Offer Ending! New Offer On Chase Sapphire Preferred Card!

Offer is expiring 05/25/2023 at 9am EST. Chase just released a great new offer on the Sapphire Preferred Card. With the new offer you will earn 80,000 points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months. This is one of the highest offers we have seen on the card...

read more

Download link sent
succesfully

Got it * please check your promotional inbox

Error sending download link

Try Again