This raises an excellent question: what is the minimum value for which one should consider incurring a hard pull?

Obviously, the answer won't be the same for everyone, e.g., someone getting ready to take out a mortgage/refinance ought to be much more conservative in most cases. And some hard pulls aren't reported across all 3 major CRAs. (For example, Barclay's seems not to report to Experian, in my experience.)

A few months ago, every hard pull carried a heavy opportunity cost: one fewer Citi AAdvantage cards. But with the apparent death of Citi AA churning, and Chase's new 1-card-every-6-months rule, the opportunity cost seems much lower.

So what's a sensible minimum threshhold benefit for pulling the app trigger? $150 (ballpark value of the current Amex MR 15K pts bonus, at 1c/pt)? $100 (CitiForward signup worth 11K TYP)?