I have four cards that I would like to apply for in the immediate future. They are in order of importance....

Chase Ink Plus
Citi AA Executive
US Bank Club Club Carlson
Barclays US Airways

My credit scores are in the high 700's. No hard pulls in the last 6 months. 3 hard pulls in the last year. I currently have Chase Ink Bold, Sapphire Preferred, and Southwest personal card. Have regular Citi AA card. No previous US Bank or Barclays cards.

Any advice on application order/timing since several of these are notoriously hard approvals? Initial thoughts are to apply for Club Carlson first. Proceed to Ink Plus after hopefully getting approved message from Club Carlson card. Proceed to US Airways card after hopefully getting the 2 week message from the Ink Plus. Proceed to AA Executive after hopefully getting automatic approval from US Airways card. Any problems with this plan. Most concerned about getting approved and then unapproved by US Bank if they see multiple apps and having to justify multiple applications with Chase if I need to call reconsideration. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Might as Well add

BOA - Alaska Air
AMEX - BCP
US - Flex

If you do, makesure you do US & Barclay first. It's a pain for their recon from me.

Id do them all the same day and apply for the arrivals first, carlson next and then as you please. These two banks typically give the most grief with multiple apps

And I'd do the Executive last. It'll be the easiest to get.

I would do the Barklay first. I have a 801 score but had 8 inquiries over the last year and got turned down. 3 of the 8 were from buying a new car, dealership, Ford, and a local bank. 1 other was opening a new checking account. So Barklays can be tough, they said to many inquiries, no US card from us. I do have a Choice CC that I use 4-5 stays a year.
They also said they didn't do a hard pull.

I'd do the Barclay's and club Carlson first, those will be the toughest. And citi last, and you'll have to call in about the ink after you apply.

If you're applying for the ink plus why not throw in a chase personal and hope your hard pulls get merged?

Make sure you freeze IDA and ARS files before applying for that club Carlson card.

The first 3 cards are worth a lot more than the US Airways card in my opinion. I see little to no value in the US Airways card, the same way I see little to no value in the CITI Churnable Hilton card. If you plan to use the 2 $99 companion passes, the higher airfare is going to take a big chunk out of your savings and you can't even use the passes for Hawaii or Alaska. It doesn't matter if you freeze IDA and ARS for US Bank. I would apply for Club Carlson first as you have planned to do.

Second this.

Not only would I apply to Club Carlson first (after freezing IDA / ARS), I would wait on the rest a few days until you get the approval message on the phone status (even if you see instant approval online, they review them all and it can be reversed). Then do Barclays, Chase, Citi in that order once US has cleared. There's minimal benefit to same-day apps anyway, so don't risk US considering it's highly unlikely you'll be declined on the others.

Depending on the size of your business, it might be hard to get both Ink Bold and Ink Plus at the same time, so consider closing the existing one first.

In my experience it absolutely does matter. I have three cards with us bank. First one before freezing, denied at first, had to call in several times to get them to reconsider. Next two after freezing, instant approval.

No harm in freezing anyway.

Your right no harm in freezing them. But I read for awhile that was the key to get approved. I got flat out denied because of X inquiries. I had those reports frozen months before I applied. I've also read lately that other people that have froze them aren't getting the automatic approvals either.