No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
How can I tell on my credit report whether an inquiry from CA is hard or soft inquiry?
if you see something like above, that is a soft pull inquiry.
You can surmise from the code used to record the inquiry. A PRM (promotional) inquiry, for example, is well-established as being an inquiry that is not included in credit reports obtained by others. The same holds for inquiries initated by the consumer for their own CR. Others become a bit muddlied, as coding of inquiries is not regulated under the FCRA.
To determine whether it is actually being included in credit reports issued to others, you would have to have evidence that another received a credit report that included the inquiry. The end result tells all.