I'm way over 5/24, so I figured I'd try my luck walking into a Chase branch and asking if I had any pre-approved offers available. The banker told me I was pre-approved for everything. (!) So I applied for the CSR and then the Freedom Unlimited.
The CSR application was instantly approved, with an absurdly high credit limit. The FU application returned the 7-10 business days message, to the banker's surprise. He tried calling the lending department to argue on my behalf, but not dice - rejected due to 5/24. He even offered (with my permission) to close an extra Freedom account that I don't use to free up the credit line, but that didn't work. He was very apologetic (and he tried to talk me into CPC).
I'm not sure what to do now. Sit and wait and try again in a few months? Or call to convert the spare Freedom account to FU and forego the 15k-point bonus? (Is it safe to assume that, if I convert Freedom to FU now, I could close the account at some point in the future and apply for a new one and be eligible for the bonus then?) I'd need to spend $30k on the FU (not including anything I'd charge to a different card in any case, like Freedom bonus categories and dining/travel) to offset the "lost" 15k points - but I suppose they aren't lost if I can apply at some point in the future.
Is it worth trying to apply for the FU online today, even though I already tried in the branch just a few hours ago, or would that confuse everything?