I think Chase uses an internal score that excludes all store and AU cards from your report. AU cards don't help with Chase. Now that you have other cards give them a year to age and you will have an auto approval for the Freedom.
If you are still looking for a card to apply for, I like Discover IT for thin files. It seems like a luck of the draw who they approve or not. But the IT is worth the chance. Especially, if you are an online shopper.
