They will have to pull your CR, because that's part of their agreement to participate in credit reporting.
But you can print out your myFICO EQ report (many, many CU's pull EQ), take it with you, and show it to the loan officer, asking for an opinion as to whether they would "probably" issue you a CC based on this report. If you do this with several CU's, and pick one as a result of your visits, that one will pull a hard on your credit report.
The way that the whole credit reporting industry works is that all lenders agree to report the good, the bad, and the ugly on your credit history. This is why it's so wonderful when they agree to a GW or a PFD. Not only are they not required to do so, it's also a violation of their agreements with the CRA's. Sure, it's a nod-nod, wink-wink arrangement, but it's still not something that they're supposed to do, so be nice.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007