<prompt> Human: I was on the phone the other day with AmEx looking to get my Blue Cash Preferred CC downgraded to an Everyday card before I had to pay this years annual fee. I was pretty explicit with the representative that I wanted the card with no annual fee and she made it seem like I wasnt applying for a new card. I could tell there was a miscommunication when the representative told me that I could expect a response in the mail within 7 to 10 business days, since Ive downgraded a credit card in the past and was told over the phone that a new card would be in the mail immediately following in the call. After all, they wouldnt need to do a hard pull to switch my account to a lower card, so I didnt think the freeze would affect my request.Fast forward a week and I receive an Everyday card in the mail, but it has a new account number on it. Now, I froze all three credit reports TU, EX, EQ right after the whole Equifax fiasco last year and have been very deliberate with temporarily lifting freezes only when intending to apply for additional credit. I went ahead and checked my freeze status with each credit bureau and, sure enough, the freezes are still in place. So I got on the phone with AmEx again and they mentioned how they didnt know that I only wanted a downgrade and thought I wanted a brand new card so that I could take advantage of the welcome offer. And sure, I wouldnt turn down 150 cash back after a couple months of using this new card. And sure, Im not at a point in my life where I freak out over my credit score being affected by a new hard pull. And sure, Im not exactly pleased with AmEx putting in a new card application for me even though I used the word downgrade in almost every sentence I spoke to them in my first phone conversation.What I am concerned about is the fact that I was able to get a new credit card with all my freezes in place. Was this because I had an AmEx credit card in the past? I tried searching online for someone with a similar experience, but couldnt find anything -- whether thats due to my poor search engine technique or because this is just something new. Now, if theres a certain caveat where creditors who have given you credit in the past can get past a freeze, I could understand that... but I assumed that a freeze meant no one gets in to see your credit information granted, I know that collection agencies can still access your credit reports regardless of a freeze and blah blah blah.  <response>: Amex will sometimes approve existing Amex cardholders with a soft pull instead of a hard pull. 