@Anonymous wrote:
@yfan wrote:
My personal opinion is that unless your "large purchase" is a home or a car, you should only make other purchase if you have enough cash in the bank to pay it off immediately.Probably should have clarified. I don't really have any suprises looming. As in I don't own a home. I rent. I recently bought a car, so my main concern is something going horribly wrong with the car and needing to put 4k or 5k (worse scenerio) on a card. The car is nice and I don't forsee anything like that but I want to be prepared for suprises.
+1
I'm in the same boat... while ideally I also think it's best to make a purchase only if you already have the money, sometimes 'life happens', and it's nice to know there's a way to take care of an immediate need.
Personally, in the event of something major and unexpected coming up it's easier to use credit for a few months than to disturb savings. (Yes, I know "it's best" to have a certain amount of liquid savings, but again, sometimes 'life happens'.)
You're plan is a good one... good luck with your Amex apps! 
@yapsalot wrote:Uncle B,
My Amex experience with credit inquiries is not as recent but here's what happened. In May 2016, I got a BCE, then a few days later a Platinum, then a week after that a Blue from Amex. Each card resulted in a separate hard pull on Experian and a cumulative 10 point drop on FICO 8 that still has not recovered. In retrospect, I should have got the first and second card on the same day and let Experian combine the two inquires. The third card was a mistake too. My girlfriend had died a few months earlier and after I got my cards, I called Amex to let them know to close her account. The rep offered to let me take it over, along with a boatload of existing points which I'll never use anyway. The rep did advise me that my report would be pulled, and I need a third Amex card like I need a hole in my head, but I took the card.
Later I thought Amex might waive or delete 1 or 2 of the inquiries, so I called. Rep said only way to communicate with the relevant credit bureau staff was via fax. Sent fax nicely requesting removal and explaining why. No response after a month. Called again and asked for supervisor, who instantly said Amex will not remove anything and that credit reporting staff had nothing to do with it because they do not deal with inquiries only the reporting of credit lines. He did, however, credit my account for $100 for Amex's defective advice to send a fax to the wrong people to fix a problem that Amex won't fix anyway. Maybe they've since changed their policy, but it seems like a relatively screwed-up organization compared to the excellent service and accurate information I have gotten from other card companies e. g. Chase and Discover.
First of all, I'm sorry for your loss. 
Each application with Amex does result in a distinct HP if done on a different day (at least until recently - see below), so your experience matches that of most of us. If you app for two cards in the same day, Amex still does two inquiries but they are merged into one HP by Experian. The notable exception has been applying for two revolvers in the same day.. .usually the second app will go to review, making the HP for that card on a different day (meaning it doesn't get merged with the first HP). This generally isn't a problem with a revolver and a charge card... you can usually do one of each in the same day with no problem (i.e. instant approval for both and only one HP).
In your case the HPs were unfortunate, but weren't in error so I'm not surprised they were unable to have them removed. It is regrettable that you were given inaccurate information by the frontline CSR, though. Personally not much annoys me more than 'spinning my wheels' for no reason. 
*Note - there are recent threads that indicate that in some cases existing Amex card holders can apply for an additional (new) account and not get a HP. Historically this has only been the case if the new account was declined (with a HP only if approved). This is still fairly new, though, so at this time I would say it's still YMMV.
@fltireguy wrote:
I think the previous post should be rephrased. Each approved application for an existing card member will result in a hard pool. If the application is denied, it will only be as soft.
If you're referring to my post, there's no need to rephrase... it's being reported in several places (including some threads on myFICO) that some existing American Express card holders are being approved for new accounts without a HP.
Here's an external link with more data points: http://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-credit-card-approvals-without-hard-pull/
I also noted above that since this is new I personally consider it 'YMMV'.