Same here told it was only if you were elite. If you have elite card you could send in copy. No hard pull either.

It's frustrating how YMMV it is. According to CreditKarma no hard pull was done by Barclays for my rejected application last week.

i'm curious if any of you who were rejected without hard pulls (and told the rejections were because you were not preferred members ) currently have or previously had the us airways card? maybe those of us who have had the card previously are somehow coded in the system as preferred members even tho we're really just general members? sorry if i'm not making any sense - it's getting late and i'm tired :p

I used the current 30K link a few months ago because people were having these "Preferred" problems with the now-expired 30K. Thought this link might be different. I was wrong. I had closed my US card a few months earlier. Instant approval. No longer had the "DMS" status that the US card confers.

Small Datapoint, today. Approved for my third card.

1st. Card - July 2011 (cancelled)
2nd. Card - December 2012 (still open)
3rd. Card - May 2014 (APPROVED)

I have a US Air Card from 5/2013 and the 10k bonus miles just posted. I'm going to call in to cancel and see if they offer me retention.

Either way, if I want to do another US Air card should I cancel and then apply for a second card or apply before I cancel? I applied for the arrival card a few months ago and went to retention then was approved so I'll probably go pending again this time and have to call in to retention.

I'm not sure how I would justify this card if I just canceled it or why I'm getting a second one if I keep it. Any thoughts?

Some people get approved despite having their previous card, but others get denied because of having their previous card.

I see no way that keeping the previous card, while applying for the new one, would help, and it might hurt.

(Basically, if you get instantly approved, you're lkely to get a second card even if you have one still open, but if you don't get instantly approved, then the previous card is likely to hurt when a human takes a look at your application. And, no, no one here knows the magic ritual to guanantee instant approval!)

Very well put! ^

I was rejected without hard pull 3 weeks ago. Letter said that denial was because I am not preferred member. I had several USAir cards before but no longer have any. I am wondering if I can reapply using 40K offer (with annual fee) or I have to wait 60 days? I assume that even though there wasn't a hard pull it still counted as application.

Good point. I'll see what happens with retention first but I'm pretty sure I'll go pending and have to call recon line. So if I cancel the card, I still need to tell them why I need another one even though I just canceled right?

FYI, I have 6 inquiries on my TU report

7/12 - Citi
9/12 - Barclays (NFL Card)
5/13 - Barclays (US Air Card)
4/14- Chase
4/14- Barclays (Arrival - had to call recon line)
4/14- Citi

No, you don't have to call unless you're denied (for a reason you think they can reconsider). You can just wait. I've had multiple Barclays automatically (but slowly) approved without any call-in, despite going "pending" at application time, just by waiting a week or two. And if I don't call (and they don't call me), they can't ask such a question, right? :)

Sometimes trying to "speed things up" by calling "pro-actively" can actually hurt your chances of being approved fpr a card (compared to just waiting it out). Perhaps this is one of those situations?

I'm not sure if things changed or I was just unlucky but my AF of $89 posted a week ago and so far no 10K miles, US confirmed 10K will post on my anniversary May 24

For my last card the 10K posted before the AF so I was able to cancel before I paid the AF.

This time I will have to pay the AF and wait for a refund check.

I have never cancelled a card after the AF posted, do i have top make a point that I would like my AF refunded when I Sm to cancel ?

No big deal but I figured I would post my data point.

Ah that's very true, maybe I'll cancel my original card today and wait a month or so and then apply for a second us air card. If I go pending (probably will), I'll just wait it out and see what happens. If I get denied, then I'll call recon line and have to figure out a good reason why I canceled the card and then applied for it again a month later :)

I'd like to know this too, my 10k points just posted, no AF yet though. I guess I could just call in right now to cancel since the AF hasn't posted yet but I thought you had a month to get the AF refunded no?

Data point:

Instant Approval for 2nd US Air MC via the first link with AF waived 1st year. My 1st US Air MC IS still open (but the AF just posted, so will cancel soon). I also entered my Dividend Miles # on the app. I only had 2 hard inquiries in the last 6 months (1 in oct, 1 in feb)!

So yay! im exited… wasn't really expecting Instant Approval.. :)

when did you apply for the 1st US air card?