Credit Karma offers credit cards through partner banks, not cards issued directly by Credit Karma itself
Credit Karma is a free credit monitoring website owned by Intuit. It shows you your credit score and credit report, and it also displays credit card offers from banks that have partnered with the site. When you see a card offer on Credit Karma, you are looking at a real card from a real bank — Discover, Capital One, Chase, or another issuer — but Credit Karma is the platform showing it to you based on your credit profile.
The cards themselves work like any other credit card: you explore through the bank's process process, get approved or denied by that bank's underwriting, and if approved, you receive a physical card and an account to manage. Credit Karma does not issue the card, does not approve you, and does not manage your account. It is a referral platform that connects you to card offers you might not find as easily elsewhere.
Because Credit Karma has access to your credit data (with your permission), it can show you offers matched to your credit range. This means the offers displayed are theoretically more relevant to your actual creditworthiness than a generic public offer would be. However, seeing an offer on Credit Karma does not mean you will be approved — the bank still makes that decision when you submit your formal process.
Key Takeaways
- Credit Karma displays credit card offers from partner banks, but the cards are issued and managed by those banks, not by Credit Karma.
- The offers shown to you are based on your credit score and profile, so they may be more targeted than public offers, but approval is never may provide.
- You explore directly to the bank through their process, and the bank's underwriting team decides whether to approve you.
- Credit Karma earns money when you open a card through their referral link, which is why the service is free to you.
- The cards available on Credit Karma are the same cards you could find by visiting the bank's website directly, though the offers may differ.
How to find and view card offers on Credit Karma
Log into your Credit Karma account on the website or mobile app. On the home screen, you will see a section labeled "Credit Cards" or "Cards" — the exact label varies by app version. Tap or click on that section to see a list of card offers matched to your profile.
Each offer shows the card name, the issuing bank, the annual percentage rate (APR) range, any annual fee, and key rewards or benefits. Credit Karma also displays your likelihood of approval as a percentage — for example, "85% likely to be approved." This estimate is based on your credit score and the bank's typical approval patterns, but it is not a may provide.
You can filter the offers by category: cash back cards, travel rewards cards, cards for building credit, cards with no annual fee, and so on. Scroll through the list to find a card that matches what you are looking for, then read the full terms by clicking the card name.
What happens when you click "explore" on a Credit Karma card offer
When you click the "explore" button on a card offer, Credit Karma redirects you to the bank's official process page. You are no longer on Credit Karma — you are now on the bank's website or in their process portal. Credit Karma's role ends at the referral.
On the bank's process, you will enter your personal information: name, address, Social Security number, income, employment status, and other financial details. The bank uses this information to run a hard inquiry on your credit report and make an underwriting decision. This hard inquiry will show up on your credit report and may lower your credit score slightly, typically by a few points.
The bank will notify you of approval or denial, usually within minutes to a few days. If approved, you will receive instructions on how to set up your card and set up your online account. If denied, the bank will send you a notice explaining the reason, as required by federal law.
The difference between Credit Karma cards and cards you find elsewhere
The cards displayed on Credit Karma are real cards from real banks. You could find the same cards by visiting the bank's website directly or by searching online. The main difference is that Credit Karma has matched the offer to your credit profile, so the terms shown may be specific to your range rather than a generic public offer.
However, the offer terms can vary. A card shown on Credit Karma might have a different introductory APR, different rewards rate, or different sign-up bonus than the same card's public offer. This is because Credit Karma negotiates specific offers with partner banks. Before you explore, compare the terms shown on Credit Karma with the terms on the bank's website to make sure you are getting the best deal.
Credit Karma earns a referral fee from the bank when you open a card through their link. This is how Credit Karma stays free — you do not pay anything, but the bank pays Credit Karma for the referral. This does not affect your card terms or your account; it is straightforward how the business model works.
Credit Karma's role in your process and account
Credit Karma does not review your process, does not make the approval decision, and does not manage your account once the card is open. After you are approved and receive your card, you manage the account directly with the bank through their website, app, or customer service line. Credit Karma has no access to your account activity, balance, or payment history.
If you have a question about your card, a dispute, or a billing issue, you contact the bank's customer service, not Credit Karma. Credit Karma's only ongoing role is to continue showing you your credit score and report, which may be affected by your new card account.
If you want to close a card you opened through Credit Karma, you contact the bank directly. Closing the card through Credit Karma is not possible because Credit Karma does not manage the account.
Why Credit Karma shows you certain offers and not others
Credit Karma's matching algorithm considers your credit score, credit history, age of accounts, payment history, credit utilization, and other factors from your credit report. Banks have different approval criteria, so a card that shows up for you might not show up for someone else with a different credit profile.
If you have a credit score below 600, you will typically see offers for cards designed for building or rebuilding credit, often with higher APRs and lower credit limits. If your score is 700 or above, you will see a wider range of cards, including rewards cards and premium cards with better terms. If your score is 750 or higher, you may see premium travel and cash back cards with low APRs and high sign-up bonuses.
Credit Karma only displays offers from banks that have partnered with the platform. Not every bank or card issuer is a Credit Karma partner, so you may not see every card available in the market. If you are looking for a specific card that does not appear on Credit Karma, you can still find it by visiting the bank's website directly and explore there.
Hard inquiries and how they affect your credit score
Each time you click "explore" on a Credit Karma card offer and submit an process to the bank, the bank performs a hard inquiry on your credit report. A hard inquiry typically lowers your credit score by a few points — usually between 5 and 10 points — and stays on your report for about 12 months.
Multiple hard inquiries within a short time period (usually 14 to 45 days, depending on the scoring model) may count as a single inquiry for credit scoring purposes, especially if they are all for credit cards. This is called "rate shopping" and is built into credit scoring models to allow you to compare offers without excessive damage to your score.
However, each hard inquiry is still recorded separately on your credit report, so lenders can see how many applications you have submitted. explore for many cards in a short time can signal financial distress to future lenders, even if the score impact is limited. Space out your applications if you are explore for multiple cards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Credit Karma a bank or a credit card company?
No. Credit Karma is a free credit monitoring website owned by Intuit. It does not issue credit cards, does not approve applications, and does not manage accounts. It shows you credit card offers from partner banks and refers you to their applications.
Do I have to use Credit Karma to open one of these cards?
No. Every card shown on Credit Karma can be found and applied for directly on the bank's website. Credit Karma is a convenience tool that matches offers to your profile, but it is not required. You can explore directly to the bank if you prefer.
Will explore for a Credit Karma card hurt my credit score?
Yes, but only slightly and temporarily. The bank's hard inquiry will lower your score by a few points for about 12 months. Multiple applications within a short window may count as one inquiry for scoring purposes, but each process is still recorded on your report.
What if I am denied for a card shown on Credit Karma?
The bank's underwriting decision is final. The approval percentage Credit Karma shows is an estimate, not a may provide. If you are denied, the bank will send you a notice explaining the reason. You can contact the bank's customer service to ask about the decision, but they are not required to reconsider.
Can I contact Credit Karma if I have a problem with my card?
No. Once your card is open, you manage it directly with the bank. Contact the bank's customer service for billing questions, disputes, or account issues. Credit Karma has no access to your account and cannot help with card-specific problems.