Chase says I'm "preapproved" for the Freedom Unlimited. Should I apply now or wait?
I have a Chase Freedom Rise, opened ~4 months ago. It's my first and only credit card. If I keep up with my payments, it's on track to auto change to a Freedom Unlimited next year.
But recently, Chase started sending me preapproved offers... for the Freedom Unlimited. They've emailed me, and on the app it says I'm "already approved". 🤔 So now I'm wondering if it makes sense to get it earlier than expected.
(I've seen people report that they were able to successfully product change their Rise, so if I got approved for the Unlimited, my plan is to eventually ask Chase to product change my Rise too, assuming they'll let me. That way I'd still have a use for both cards.)
The only thing making me pause is that they're giving me this offer when my credit profile is still so thin. I get the feeling that "preapproved" doesn't actually guarantee anything. Is that right? I don't want to take a hard inquiry hit if there's still a big chance I'll be denied.
What do you think? Would you apply, or would you still wait?