Amex approval for second card, soft pull?

[SDMarik]

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!

[Cory88]

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@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!

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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.

[SDMarik]

Interestng, thank's for the reply!

[coldfusion]

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@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!

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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. 

[UncleB]

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@coldfusion wrote:

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@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!

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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. 

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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. 

[HHH71]

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.

[KJinNC]

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!

[Anonymous]

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@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!

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

[dunn2500]

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@Cory88 wrote:

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@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.

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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

[coldfusion]

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@dunn2500 wrote:

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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

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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).