What Credit Bureau Does Capital One Pull?

What Bureau Do They Pull?

Unlike other card issuers, it isn’t necessary to look at data for each state when it comes to Capital One and what credit bureau they will pull. That’s because unfortunately they will pull credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax & Experian. It isn’t clear why Capital One does a triple pull when other banks usually only pull one of your credit reports.

Most likely it’s due to the fact that focus on consumers with sub prime credit and want to reduce their risk by getting the most complete information possible.

You can read other posts in this series by clicking below:

What Happens If Your Report Is Frozen?

If you have one of your reports frozen, it’s still possible to get approved for credit cards with Capital One. In fact it’s still possible to get instant approval. If you have more than one report frozen, then it won’t work. From the data we’ve seen you can have Experian or TransUnion frozen, but never Equifax. More information can be viewed here. 

Our Verdict

The fact that Capital One does this triple pull (or even double pull with one report frozen) makes them a less attractive option for most people chasing sign up bonuses. That being said, as other banks crack down on their application rules it’s likely that cards from Capital One will become more attractive. I’d recommend reading this post for more information about Capital One credit cards.

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fdic
fdic (@guest_1504261)
December 7, 2022 16:51

I wish I knew this earlier. I am missing out in $600 and $800 bonuses just because I am 1 inquiry over what they wil approve : )

Bali
Bali (@guest_1468508)
October 18, 2022 22:18

I’ll add yet another. Applied to Venture X with frozen Experian and was instant approved.

VL
VL (@guest_1198220)
May 30, 2021 20:32

 William Charles  Chuck . Another fresh DP on Capital One. Applied on Venture (current elevated offer with $20K/100K or $3K/50K). Locked Experian (not even frozen). You can lock it when you elevate your membership to CreditWorks Plus, which you can do for free for the month. Easy live locking/unlocking. It is not a full freeze, but works the same for Hard Pulls for credit applications. So did just that specifically for applying for CapOne card. You can change your membeship back to Basic pretty much right away, you will still have CreditWorks Plus for the remainder of the month.

Approved instantly without Experian being pulled. Q.E.D.

Experian alerts clearly show the attempt of the pull right away, and that it was blocked by CreditLock. Also, immediately see the pull on TU. Still do not see the pull on EQ, but that is probably due to CreditKarma being slow on reporting Equifax changes. Will update later if EQ was not really pulled. Would be cool, but really do not care much about EQ HP, as from my experience the only bank who pulls it is Citi and only when applying for Business cards (applied for AA Biz on few occasions). Even Citi pulls EX for personal apps, in my experience. That obviously depends on where you live. All in all, most often use report is EX and protecting it worked!

Good luck!

VL
VL (@guest_1198427)
May 31, 2021 11:49
  VL

Just confirmed. Equifax was also pulled (as expected). To sum up – freezing or locking Experian still works.

Rowan
Rowan (@guest_1287625)
November 23, 2021 04:03
  VL

Updated DP: Immediately approved for Venture X with Experian locked via the 7-day free trial options discussed above. Note that its now called “CreditWorks Premium” instead of Plus.

Ben
Ben (@guest_1139294)
February 4, 2021 09:52

 William Charles  Chuck Recently applied for Cap One Spark Business with Equifax frozen. Was auto approved. Capital One pulled Experian and Transunion. When I received the paperwork, Cap One specifically listed my Transunion score as what went into my approval decision.

BETTY COPPER
BETTY COPPER (@guest_769348)
June 11, 2019 20:55

SO DOES THAT MEAN I CAN HAVE ALL BUT EQUIFAX FROZEN AND STILL APPLY AND GET APPROVE OR I CAN ONLY FREEZE ONE?

dk
dk (@guest_678931)
November 27, 2018 15:31

If I have equifax un frozen and experian and transunion frozen will they still issue? immaculate history and 2/24

Slidellian
Slidellian (@guest_621686)
July 25, 2018 13:03

Just a note… Cap One also pulls all three bureaus for their businsss credit cards.

Ecmomtg
Ecmomtg (@guest_550946)
January 15, 2018 20:18

Trans union is so difficult to deal with I didn’t unfreeze it and that is the reason for denial of a capital one credit card

Austin
Austin (@guest_405031)
May 11, 2017 14:30

I got the quicksilver for the intro bonus 100 bucks back for spending 500 in the 1st 3 months. Not sure if that’s still going on. Only opened 5 new accounts in the last 2 years so the inquiry on each of the 3 bureaus didn’t hurt as much as if I had double the new accounts in the same time frame. Having said that I doubt I’ll get another Capital One card unless they have a great intro bonus or other perks.

Ovid
Ovid (@guest_292902)
September 8, 2016 12:18

Note: Co-Branded GM Buy Power only pulls Equifax for some reason. World Elite MC w no annual fee. Decent Builder card as they will issue with low limits to lower scores.