What are “instant credit cards”?
As with any other form of loans, banks and financial institutions issuing credit cards need to check the potential client’s creditworthiness, to see that the person has a good history of repaying past debt, has a steady source of income, etc. Retail stores introduced the concept of “instant credit,” to induce customers to buy their merchandise by offering reward points and discounts on store purchases for the holders of the store’s special credit card.

Instant credit is not exactly the same thing as instant approval. Banks and stores use instant approval as a marketing trick to keep the customer satisfied while they do the necessary background checks for creditworthiness, but while the customer may get an “instant decision” online, they still have to wait a few days for their actual card to arrive and start making purchases. In the case of store credit cards, customers may also get instant credit, meaning that they get a temporary credit card number with which they are able to make purchases from the store online.

The option of an instant credit card from a store at which you frequently shop may be worth getting, but you must also make sure not to accumulate too many of these store credit cards, since they usually charge a much higher interest than regular bank-issued credit cards, and it may tempt people to spend way above their means–ending up with more debt than they could imagine.

For a comprehensive website on credit cards, instant credit, credit cards for bad credit, and all other related things, check out CreditCards.com.