 TITLE: What Is a Firm Offer of Credit and Why Does It Matter? CONTENT: How Do Preapproval and Prequalification Offers Impact My Credit Score?\n----------------------------------------------------------------------\nBoth prequalification and preapproval will show up on your credit report as soft inquiries, which do not impact your credit scores.\nOnce you formally submit an application or accept a new line of credit, a hard inquiry is made on your credit file, which is added to your credit report and has an impact to your credit scores. The impact is minimal unless you are applying for multiple accounts all at once.\nTypically, a hard inquiry subtracts a few points from your credit scores, but usually only for a year, depending on the credit scoring model. You can learn more about the difference between hard and soft inquiries here. END