Ok, so this is really bizarre.
Last night I was looking into cash-back cards and doing some prequals on different creditors' websites. I was prequalified for the Amex BCE and, after a lot of reading, decided this is the card I want so I pulled the trigger and applied. Based on my credit & everything I read, I expected an instant approval but got the "we need to review your application more carefully" message. I was disappointed, but then started thinking maybe they just need to verify my identity (first time applying for a CC under my married name and also I just successfully disputed a collection account with Equifax & had it removed from my report). Hopefully I'll get approved, but that's not the point of this post.
I got an alert from Credit Karma about a new hard inquiry on EQ almost instantly after completing the Amex app... which made sense, or so I thought. When I logged into CK, it still showed zero HPs on EQ but I figured it was probably just delayed.
I had promised myself I would only apply for one card and not rack up HPs... then when I didn't get the instant approval from Amex, of course I had the itch to apply for another one. My 2nd choice was the Citi DC, I had filled out their prequal form online (before Amex app) and it didn't come back with any offers. Bummer. But then I read that a lot of people in this forum with similar credit to mine have gotten approved for Citi cards without being prequalified, so I thought about applying anyway... and then I fell asleep with my tablet and all browser windows still open.
When I applied for the Amex and got the HP alert from CK, it was about 12:30am. By the time I was thinking about applying for Citi and fell asleep, it was a little before 2am. I woke up this morning to an email from Citi (timestamped 2:35am) saying I was approved for the DC card with a $9200 SL and to expect my card in the mail within 7-10 days. The email seems legit, it says "citi security zone" on it which according to them is how I'm supposed to know it's real. ***EDIT: I also just used the "check application status" tool in Citi's website and it confirmed the approval and SL.
Here's the kicker: Credit Karma is now showing 1 HP on my EQ report, but it's not from Amex... it's from Citi.
I guess it's possible that I applied for the card right before I fell asleep and don't remember doing it, but that seems awfully far-fetched and the only Citi page open in my tablet when I woke up was the prequal page. Is Citi known for doing unsolicited HPs on people who fill out their prequals? Should I be freezing my reports and worrying about fraud? Don't want to go through that headache if I don't have to. Of course I can't get through to Citi's customer service... the thing is, if it's not ID theft, then I'm really not mad about this approval. I'm just so confused!
Would you share profile stats at the time you applied, such as scores/UTI/etc?