What I'm wondering is how often do most CCs do soft pulls on our CR, and when they do, do they pull all 3 or usually just the one they pulled with your app? I'm talking about typical CCs, not Cap One (I don't consider them typical! 
). What's standard in the imdustry?
One of my concerns is that I have a collection that I'm currently fighting, which is only on EX. If I get a CC from a CCC that pulls EQ or TU and they do a soft pull of EX in the future (and I haven't gotten the erroneous collection off), then I'll be faced w/AA. (The collection isn't a large amt - it's under $50. It's showing to stay on till 2014, so I'm not sure what date that would make it. I don't owe the money, so I don't have a legit date to go by.)
Also, I've read here about FRs and I was wondering how often those are done and why would they be done. Is it usuallly in response to something we do... like a late pmt or asking for a CLI? Is there a link where I could read more about FRs? I'm assuming a FR is more than a soft pull of our CR... is that right?
Thank you! 
Financial reviews can be done by any card, but Amex is the company that is more prone to do them. I don't know what triggers them, but I think it is more about wild spending or seeking tons of new credit. In any event, if you're searching out information on FR, you might want to narrow the search to Amex FR. They're not common so probably not something you need to worry about all that much. And even if it does happen, so long as you told the truth on your application, you won't have a problem. They're basically just going to verify your income. Your card might not be active for a few days while you go through the process. So long as you have a backup card, it's no big deal.
As for softing your reports, I don't know if there is an industry standard. Amex hits me more often than anyone else. They soft each of my reports multiple times a month. I get pretty regular hits from Discover, Chase, and Cap One as well.
Starting Score: ~500 (12/01/2008)Depends what you mean by something they don't like. In the extreme, yes. If you maxed out all your other cards, started having late payments post, etc., it would not be shocking for a different card that you were treating well to AA you. But one collection that was on your other reports when you applied. I don't know. Probably depends on the lender. Nothing you can do about it though except try to get that collection taken care of.