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?

My first suggestion would be maybe to call back Chase and talk to somebody else and see what they'll do. FT motto: HUACA. Chase can be a lot stingier when it comes to business cards.

If not, your wife should be fine to apply. I'm not sure about Discover's rules, but Chase won't show up on her credit report because they don't take SS#.

Thanks for the suggestion!
I called in again this morning and got a different CS. She immediately started asking questions about the business and put me on hold about 4 times. Came back and offered to reduce the CSP line to $10,000 for a $5,000 CL on the new Ink card.

Impossible to say. Even though she's an AU on a couple of your accounts that doesn't mean that her credit is identical to yours. There are a number of other factors that affect one's credit.

That's just one factor that goes into their evaluation. It's not a make-or-break matter in and of itself. I've received CLI's while carrying balances (on intro offers).

Incorrect and whether or not SS is requested doesn't determine whether an account reports for an AU. Chase certainly does report for AU's.