AMEX: No INQ for pre-approvals?

[AvadaKedavra]

Is it a new thing for AMEX not to pull CRs on pre-approvals? When I applied for my SPG Luxury when it was released, I didn't get any inq notifications. Is this because I was pre-approved? Wondering if this is a new thing AMEX is doing or if I'm just late to the game. Another possibility is that it's delayed since my account hasn't showed up online yet. Anyone else experience this?

[simplynoir]

If you are a current cardholder of any AMEX card future applications usually result in a SP of your credit. There are occasional reports that slip through the cracks and report a HP was done with their app but those seem to be few and far between.

[K-in-Boston]

Since about January 2017, most people who have personal Amex acccounts report no HP from Amex when opening additional personal accounts.

[Anonymous]

So if you do not incur a HP, do gardeners get to stay in the garden when acquiring a new Amex product via SP, or is that technicality a “proceed back to seedling status” ticket? Just wondering. I don’t plan to do it even though I have checked everything from SPG Luxury, the various Hilton and Delta products, etc and I have gotten the Pre-Approved language, I still don’t want any new accounts until after I decide next Spring whether I want to buy a house or continue being a lowly “renter.”

[K-in-Boston]

@Anonymous anything that results in a new tradeline or a new inquiry (with few exceptions, see post #1 in every garden thread) resets gardening dates.  For Amex, this was true even when backdating was a thing.

[ridgebackpilot]

I was recently approved for two new AMEX cards (Platinum and SPG Luxury) with no HP. Love AMEX for approving new cards with only a SP!

After all, it's not like a SP is less accurate than a HP, right? One wonders whether the distinction between the SP and HP is outdated...

Of course, HPs would still be needed if you don't have a prior relationship with the lender. But if you do, why does any card issuer do a HP when you apply for another of their cards?

Discover issues frequent CLIs and new cards based only on periodic SPs, so perhaps AMEX has started a trend that is beginning to spread...

[Anonymous]

I could have sworn that Amex initially pulled all CRs for the recent opening of my first ever Amex card (PRG) but that these HPs have since disappeared. Is this possible? I went the prequal route on their website.

[SBR249]

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@ridgebackpilot wrote:

I was recently approved for two new AMEX cards (Platinum and SPG Luxury) with no HP. Love AMEX for approving new cards with only a SP!

After all, it's not like a SP is less accurate than a HP, right? One wonders whether the distinction between the SP and HP is outdated...

Of course, HPs would still be needed if you don't have a prior relationship with the lender. But if you do, why does any card issuer do a HP when you apply for another of their cards?

Discover issues frequent CLIs and new cards based only on periodic SPs, so perhaps AMEX has started a trend that is beginning to spread...

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I'd say that it matters because HPs are generally for when the consumer initiates a request for credit whether it be a loan or a new CC or even CLIs. When banks SP to give you a CLI, it may be because they wish to calculate an internal limit for the max exposure they are willing to undertake on your accounts whether or not you actually requested new credit. 

In the end, HPs are flags to lenders that someone is actively seeking or sought credit whereas SPs are generally an way to keep tabs on someone without biasing future lending decisions.