topic Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull? in Credit Cards

Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

SDMarik — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 14:45:44 GMT

I have heard multiple times that when you apply for an additional Amex they do a soft pull rather than a hard pull, is this still the case? If so, is there a different way to apply to try for the soft pull, like through the app or member portal? Or do I just apply through the website and it will recogognize that I am a current cardholder and do a soft pull?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

Cory88 — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 15:09:59 GMT

@SDMarik wrote:
I have heard multiple times that when you apply for an additional Amex they do a soft pull rather than a hard pull, is this still the case? If so, is there a different way to apply to try for the soft pull, like through the app or member portal? Or do I just apply through the website and it will recogognize that I am a current cardholder and do a soft pull?

Thanks in advance!

I did it the other say and it said "I'm pre approved" for tons of cards and after I took the offer I looked and it again and it said "expand your membership" instead of "I'm pre approved" By the way I was logged in to my account. Hope that helps.

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

SDMarik — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 15:13:30 GMT

Interestng, thank's for the reply!

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

coldfusion — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:19:59 GMT

@SDMarik wrote:
I have heard multiple times that when you apply for an additional Amex they do a soft pull rather than a hard pull, is this still the case? If so, is there a different way to apply to try for the soft pull, like through the app or member portal? Or do I just apply through the website and it will recogognize that I am a current cardholder and do a soft pull?

Thanks in advance!

It was never the case in recent history that it was guaranteed an existing AMEX cardholder would only take a soft pull when applying for an additional card, and while the odds are high it would only be a soft pull there are a number of data points (I'm one of them) that confirm the odds aren't 100%.

You can just log in online and search for the card you want and select the Apply button and it will attempt tp prequalify you. Failure to prequalify doesn't equate to an impending denial if you choose to apply nor is there a correlation as to whether or not you would take a soft pull.

Even if you apply using an affinity link from one of the blog sites or a co-branded site that offers a better SUB, AMEX will still recognize you from the information you submitted in the application so the odds would remain high that the application would only trigger a soft pull.

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

UncleB — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 22:18:39 GMT

@coldfusion wrote:
@SDMarik wrote:
I have heard multiple times that when you apply for an additional Amex they do a soft pull rather than a hard pull, is this still the case? If so, is there a different way to apply to try for the soft pull, like through the app or member portal? Or do I just apply through the website and it will recogognize that I am a current cardholder and do a soft pull?

Thanks in advance!
It was never the case in recent history that it was guaranteed an existing AMEX cardholder would only take a soft pull when applying for an additional card, and while the odds are high it would only be a soft pull there are a number of data points (I'm one of them) that confirm the odds aren't 100%.

You can just log in online and search for the card you want and select the Apply button and it will attempt tp prequalify you. Failure to prequalify doesn't equate to an impending denial if you choose to apply nor is there a correlation as to whether or not you would take a soft pull.

Even if you apply using an affinity link from one of the blog sites or a co-branded site that offers a better SUB, AMEX will still recognize you from the information you submitted in the application so the odds would remain high that the application would only trigger a soft pull.

This ^^^ exactly.

So far I've been one of the lucky ones who have been able to "escape" the HP for an additional account (several times, actually).

Neither here-nor-there, but used to when you applied while not logged in or if you application originated from a non-Amex site, your initial physical card would have the current year as your "Member Since" date, with subsequent cards being updated to have the actual year you first became an Amex cardholder.

Their computers seem to be getting better, though... I applied for a Schwab Platinum a few weeks back - originating from the Schwab site - and in addition to no HP the card I was sent already had my 1995 member since date.

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

HHH71 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 03:37:14 GMT

I too applied in app (logged in) for my Platinum card. I clicked on the check for pre-qualified offers and it listed platinum, gold, and blue cash preferred. I only had the Hilton Aspire at the time. It usually pre-qualifies for 3 cards and lists others. When you click on one of those first three listed, it will say, congratulations (your name), you are pre-approved for the (card name). Get a decision in as little as 30 seconds. I got an immediate approval and they never hard pulled. Just my experience, don't know how consistent it us.

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

KJinNC — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 11:42:05 GMT

Coldfusion's answer is accurate.

I am just replying to remind people that "prequalify" and "preapprove" are two different things. You can check for prequalification on the Amex site. It will list any cards that they think you qualify for, but these are not guarantees. I have been denied for cards I prequalified for and approved for cards I did not prequalify for.

When you have an Amex card and can log into the Amex site, you can then check preapproval by clicking the blue "Apply" button on any card you are interested in. The top of the page will say "congratulations, [insert name], you're preapproved!" or it will say something else (get a decision in 30 seconds, applying to expand your membership is easy). If it says "you're preapproved!" you are overwhelmingly likely to be approved if you complete the application.

I have not had a HP doing this, but SP is not guaranteed.

Good luck!

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 12:10:33 GMT

@SDMarik wrote:
I have heard multiple times that when you apply for an additional Amex they do a soft pull rather than a hard pull, is this still the case? If so, is there a different way to apply to try for the soft pull, like through the app or member portal? Or do I just apply through the website and it will recogognize that I am a current cardholder and do a soft pull?

Thanks in advance!

I have 5 Amex cards. The only HP I got from them was on my first card. Everything else was a SP

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

dunn2500 — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 04:58:48 GMT

@Cory88 wrote:
@SDMarik wrote:
I have heard multiple times that when you apply for an additional Amex they do a soft pull rather than a hard pull, is this still the case? If so, is there a different way to apply to try for the soft pull, like through the app or member portal? Or do I just apply through the website and it will recogognize that I am a current cardholder and do a soft pull?

Thanks in advance!
I did it the other say and it said "I'm pre approved" for tons of cards and after I took the offer I looked and it again and it said "expand your membership" instead of "I'm pre approved" By the way I was logged in to my account. Hope that helps.

so "expand your membership" means approved for a second card because i got that on an app for hilton surpass?.....or you meant something different?

funny thing is after i was approved yesterday today i went on for platinum for kicks.....had to fill everything out just same as first card (i didnt submit it)

went to hilton surpass card and it said " expand your membership" and all i had to do was name and income ( again didnt submit)......just trying to understand odds

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

coldfusion — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 12:15:13 GMT

@dunn2500 wrote:
so "expand your membership" means approved for a second card because i got that on an app for hilton surpass?.....or you meant something different?

funny thing is after i was approved yesterday today i went on for platinum for kicks.....had to fill everything out just same as first card (i didnt submit it)
went to hilton surpass card and it said " expand your membership" and all i had to do was name and income ( again didnt submit)......just trying to understand odds

No.

That reads as they first got a preapproval and continued with the application which wasin fact approved. After that approval they want back and checked for more preapprovals and this time there were no preapprovals. That's no surprise either as the approval in effect reset everything.

The "expand your membership" message should never be interpreted as a preapproval. It shouldn't be interpreted as signaling a probable denial either, it only means that you don't have what they consider to be a very high probability of approval (e.g. you could still have better than 50-50 odds, just not something like say a 95+% chance of approval).

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 00:23:48 GMT

@coldfusion wrote:
@dunn2500 wrote:
so "expand your membership" means approved for a second card because i got that on an app for hilton surpass?.....or you meant something different?

funny thing is after i was approved yesterday today i went on for platinum for kicks.....had to fill everything out just same as first card (i didnt submit it)
went to hilton surpass card and it said " expand your membership" and all i had to do was name and income ( again didnt submit)......just trying to understand odds
No.

That reads as they first got a preapproval and continued with the application which wasin fact approved. After that approval they want back and checked for more preapprovals and this time there were no preapprovals. That's no surprise either as the approval in effect reset everything.

The "expand your membership" message should never be interpreted as a preapproval. It shouldn't be interpreted as signaling a probable denial either, it only means that you don't have what they consider to be a very high probability of approval (e.g. you could still have better than 50-50 odds, just not something like say a 95+% chance of approval).

When I got 3 cards from Amex all in a one week time period after the first one was approved I went back to the site and still had me approved for other cards. Got two more then ended it. But it still got approvals for at least 2 weeks after I got approved for the first card.

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 18:37:46 GMT

I've had my AMEX Everyday for 6 years, and every app except the first one were all SP... Except for my latest app. Now, I had requested manual review from the underwriters because they were using a SP from 2 months ago, so that could be on me. But I think the concensious is if it says "You're already approved" then its almost always going to be a SP. "Prequalified" is usually SP, if you're a member, but can still result in a HP anyway. Just be prepared for both

Re: Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

Gat — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 20:22:51 GMT

I have the delta sky miles...I asked for a cl increase... was denied ... checked on Amex website for pre approved offers several... applied for Hilton honors

approved no hard pull

this was several weeks ago