Lowe's Shopping Cart Trick: How to Get Approved for a Lowe's Credit Card

The shopping card trick takes advantage of periodic offers by credit card companies, prequalifying you for store credit cards without running a hard inquiry on your credit report.

This trick is useful if you have poor credit, may otherwise be declined for a new card, or want to take advantage of promotional deals such as money back, a low introductory interest rate, or bonus points.

The shopping cart trick sometimes works at Lowe’s. Below, we explain how to use it and how to improve your approval odds.

What to Know Before Applying

If you’re asked for your full social security number instead of just the last four numbers, you’ll likely receive a ‘hard pull’, which will show up on your credit report and affect your credit score. When you’re only required to enter the last four digits of your social security number, the lender is only verifying your identity and will not view your entire credit report.

The credit card limits for these cards are generally low. A $500 starting line of credit is common for these offers.

Lastly, keep in mind that many of these store-brand credit cards have very high interest rates — sometimes 26% or higher! If you plan on carrying a balance on these cards, the interest will add up quickly.

How to Use the Lowe’s Shopping Cart Trick

Here’s a step by step break for using the Lowe’s shopping cart trick:

If you have a MyLowe’s account, be sure you’re logged in. If you don’t have a myLowe’s account, sign up for one first.
Add items to your cart. You don’t have to purchase these items, but you must have at least one item in your cart for the Lowe’s shopping cart trick to work.
Go to your shopping cart and begin the checkout process. You may be notified that you have been pre-qualified for a Lowe’s credit card. If you don’t see a notification right away, continue with the checkout process and enter your credit card information and address. You may receive a pop-up to sign up for a Lowe’s credit card. Don’t hit “Complete Order.”
If you still haven’t gotten a pre-approval offer, read our tips below.

Can’t Get the Trick to Work? Try This

If the Lowe’s shopping cart trick didn’t work for you, try a few things before giving up:

Go to the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry’s Opt Out Prescreen website to make sure you’ve opted in to credit card promotions.
Turn off popup blockers. Many of these offers are delivered through popup ads, which you won’t get if your popup blocker is turned on.
Log out from your MyLowes account and try checking out as a guest. Some users have reported success by not being logged into a loyalty program during checkout.
Double check the information you entered is correct and matches the information on your credit report. If you try to sign up for a pre-approved card and your information doesn’t match what’s on your credit report, your application will be declined.
Go directly to Synchrony Bank’s consumer credit card website, search for Lowe’s, and begin the signup process that way.
Try back in a week or two; the shopping cart trick doesn’t always work right away.

For more options, see our comprehensive list of stores where you can use the shopping cart trick.

We also detail which credit bureau Lowe’s typically uses.