Definition
A promotional inquiry is a request for a credit report by a lender for purposes of soliciting the consumer with a pre-approved offer for credit.
Analysis
A promotional inquiry is a soft inquiry that is automatically recorded on the credit report at the time of the request. Depending on the report, the symbol PRM may appear to identify the inquiry as a promotional credit check.
Lenders frequently buy batches of credit files from credit bureaus that match certain eligibility requirements of a particular credit offer. A consumer would usually receive a solicitation to open a pre-approved credit account following a promotional inquiry.
Consumers may prevent the selling of their credit file by calling (888) 5-OPT-OUT. This will prevent promotional inquiries across all 3 main credit bureaus and will subsequently reduce credit offers.
