What is a Hard Inquiry? What is a Soft Inquiry? [Infographic]

Ever visited a credit card website and learned that you could see if you “pre-qualify” for their card simply by entering a few pieces of information? Or received an email or letter informing you that you’re “pre-approved” for a new credit card?

If you’ve ever read a credit card or loan application, you probably encountered more than a few words that seemed to be written in a separate language. Credit terms can be descriptive and self-explanatory at their best, but also unclear and confusing at their worst. Especially given most of us don’t spend a lot of time perusing credit documents in our daily lives. What follows are 20 common credit terms most everyone should be familiar with. Doing so will hopefully save you some time and head-scratching the next time you review your statement, think about getting a new credit card, or dive into an article about credit.

Your credit reports contain useful information that paints a picture of your “creditworthiness.” But, like any type of report, credit reports don’t tell a reader the complete story about you, your life, or how you’re living it. For that, they’ll have to read your autobiography.