I'm fairly new to the whole credit card bonus game. I received a Discover IT card back in November (CL $1,700) and a Chase Sapphire Preferred (CL $15,000) in March and added my wife to both as an authorized user. We're planning a trip to South America in December so I tried to apply earlier today for the Ink Plus card to get the 60,000 mile bonus. It was pending, so I called it in and the representative told me that I was declined due to recently receiving two new cards and that they wanted to see how I would manage with the high credit limit on the CSP (even though I've never held a balance). I asked if mattered that this was a business card and I would be using it for business expenses and she said no.

Now my question is: if my wife applies for the same card (her score is in the mid 700s) would she be denied on the same grounds or does she have a shot at getting it? Because she is an authorized user, these cards and their respective limits, also appear on her credit report.

Or should I take a different approach and call in again and ask for a CL reduction on the CSP to get attempt to get the Ink?