Individuals with very good and excellent credit have a much higher probability of getting an online decision than those with good or even fair credit.  If you do not receive an instant approval notice after submitting your application, the time it will take to receive your “instant credit card” may extend as long as 30 days.  Yes, an entire month!  While this is often the extreme, those who aren’t instantly approved can generally expect to wait at least 5 to 10 days to find out if you will be accepted by a credit card issuer.

One way to shorten the wait time and improve your probability of getting a new credit card if you are not instantly approved is to apply for multiple credit cards.  Oftentimes, a person will not qualify for a credit card from one company, such as Citibank, only to be approved by another, such as Chase or American Express®.  If obtaining a credit card quickly is your objective, applying for more than one card can expedite the process of getting a new credit card in your hand.