Very sorry about the denial @Aim_High
I read on other sites about Amex finally tightening up since a few days ago but still with your profile applying for a charge card I am surprised. A sign of the times.
That said I don't know if right now is good time to get into MRs or any travel points or miles unless you were already in it.
Shocked you were denied.. Sorry to hear that :/.. Maybe that is why my Amex stock for the year is down 35%ish give or take sigh. I have a slew of cards as you know and still pre-approved for all their cards.. Currently have 3 amex revolvers 2 business and 1 personal no charge cards axed as part of CV-19 response to get rid of AF cards overall unless hotel cards with free nights until this has passed. They must be seeing uptick in CO's as stock is in the dumps and limiting cards to 4 revolvers and strong profiles getting turned down 
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@EverForward wrote:Sorry to learn of your AMEX denial @Aim_High ... best wishes with the next time around.
@FieryDance wrote:
Very sorry about the denial @Aim_High I read on other sites about Amex finally tightening up since a few days ago but still with your profile applying for a charge card I am surprised. A sign of the times. That said I don't know if right now is good time to get into MRs or any travel points or miles unless you were already in it.
@CreditCuriosity wrote: Shocked you were denied.. Sorry to hear that :/.. Maybe that is why my Amex stock for the year is down 35%ish give or take sigh. I have a slew of cards as you know and still pre-approved for all their cards.. Currently have 3 amex revolvers 2 business and 1 personal no charge cards axed as part of CV-19 response to get rid of AF cards overall unless hotel cards with free nights until this has passed. They must be seeing uptick in CO's as stock is in the dumps and limiting cards to 4 revolvers and strong profiles getting turned down
Thanks @EverForward, @FieryDance,and @CreditCuriosity Yes, it looks like they tightened up. I wouldn't have applied with my recent apps but I thought the prequalification was a more safe tool. Agreed that this wasn't the best time to get into MRs but I was thinking about doing it at some point. That can wait.
@wasCB14 wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:I debated (and still do) whether I want to divide my travel rewards between MRs and URs. My next objective was and still is the Bank of America Premium Rewards card. Now I just need to garden for it longer than I had planned since I got greedy in the past year with other candy.
I'm pretty happy with my PR and WWFCR. Both were instant approvals but I didn't have a lot of new accounts and was Platinum Honors.
WWFCR 3/20
PR 12/19
Delta 6/19
Savor 2/19
Aviator 8/18 (closed after ~12.5 months)
CSR 5/18
The rewards are nice and simple, and Visa has broader acceptance. On the few occasions I've had to call customer service, though, the experience has not been pleasant. And these were before widespread covid, with the recording recognizing me as PH.
1. (Dec) I requested my new PR be expedited. ~20 minute wait to talk to a person, who told me I'd have to call back the next day.
2. (Dec) Calling back the next day. ~15 minute wait to talk to a person, but the card was expedited.
3. (early March) Calling to remove my card from a mobile wallet after my phone was stolen. Waited for 10 minutes before I figured out how to do it via the app in my replacement phone and hung up.
PR is good for SUB chasing, but if you're serious about wanting to keep URs and even add MRs, that might be all it's good for. If you can use URs well, PR isn't that great in the long run vs. a multiple-card UR setup. It's conceivable that someday I'll revive my UR setup.
That's interesting. I thought you liked your Premium Rewards from other postings and this may be the first time I've seen anyone say it's not that great. My idea with it, though, was diversification. I don't like the idea of having all my cards earning travel points and want the flexibility to decide I just want a great cash payout at any time. I got the AOD 3% Visa which actually outearns the PR card on uncategorized spend, but it may or may not be around in two or three years. I think the PR is here to stay regardless so I thought I'd proceed with it whenever I get around to app'ing again. Probably not until the fall now.
@Anonymous wrote:I cannot say that I'm ever truly shocked anymore, but I was surprised by this outcome. And i think it's more to do with perhaps bruised ego more than anything? I mean you do have a strong profile and likely a better chance at approval than a lot of us, so you have every rigth to be confused, bewildered etc. by the decision.
Whether it's the times we're curently living though or not, thers is something about you that Amex apparently isn't interested in. Sometimes having a very strong profile just isn't enough, or possibly too much. Maybe they don't see you as profitable enough with so many other cards and current available CLs. While you've not taken any recent Amex SUBs, the fact you have other rewards cards might paint a picture that you're simply chasing their SUB.
At the end of the day they can say anything about why they denied an app, and as flimsy as it may seem they don't have to justify it.
There may well have been several other factors on why.
Thank you. Yes, of course there's a little bruised ego anytime someone gets a denial. Some on My Fico choose to apply for credit knowing these denials will come and they will get send to the garden by default. That's not how I've ever operated or want to operate, so I truly thought if I applied with my other stats I could be approved. I never saw an AMEX denial coming so it was really surprising.
They may not see as much profitability from me in general since I have other cards that would dilute my spending, but this was a charge card with an AF. I guess that is what surprised me even more. That AF goes a long way in making me profitable to them. I wonder if they are cutting back to keep out churners? I am not a churner, but I could see how I might appear to be one with that many recent cards. Other than the recent new accounts, I doubt that they don't want to lend me credit. In a couple of years, maybe I'll look at reapplying like I did with Chase. I had been gardening for years and was 0/24 when I started this spree with a Chase CSR application two years ago. Time to do that again.
@wasCB14 wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:That's interesting. I thought you liked your Premium Rewards from other postings and this may be the first time I've seen anyone say it's not that great. My idea with it, though, was diversification.Mathematically, 2.625% just isn't that great if someone travels a lot and can consistently get 2+ cpp from a UR. CSR/CF/CFU becomes (in terms of travel value) 6%/10%/3%.
However, that isn't me because:
1. I have a lot of United miles and Hyatt points that I am using gradually. I downgraded CSR because I didn't need more URs anytime soon.
2. I generally prefer MRs, both in terms of airline transfer bonuses and the BBP/Schwab combo with a 2.5% cash. Platinum's 2020 boost to travel insurance added protections to the rewards program I favored.
CSR isn't bad in itself, but so much spend goes to a non-UR card for one reason or another now that there's not enough spend left to bother with CSR.
I face a similar choice. I have a lot of points accruing from SUBs and spending that I don't have immediate use for. I don't travel nearly as often as many do so I could even be earning 10% cash back on a travel card that could be essentially worthless to me if I don't redeem the points. Likewise, I don't use travel partners and I'm not sure I would try to get the full 2ccp value from URs when getting 1.5 ccp on the Chase portal is easy and straightforward. Even at 1.5 ccp, I'm still out earning most cash back options such as the 4.5% UR return on Dining out I get with CSR. So to me, having a card that gives me a base cash back floor of 2.625% (or 3% with the AOD) on all uncategorized spend is an important part of my strategy. And whenever I want to focus on URs for travel, I can still get that potential 6/10/3. Best of both worlds, IMO. 
A NFCU Flagship would more than make up for Amex's loss
Just Sayin
Again thanks for all the valuable input!