I called again to see how the manual processing was progressing and was flat-out rejected
Why? I'm not sure
The first answer was that I'd increased the credit limit on my Edge in the last 6 months
(I'd actually only transferred some of my Accelerator limit to my Edge in the eWISH glory days)
Second answer was that I had too many cards-explained I was happy to close one-no budging
Also said happy to take down the limit on one or more cards.
Then said I couldn't apply again for 3 months.
Asked who I could escalate to-"already gone to the highest level"
Asked how long I would need to close down one of the cards to increase my chances next time-no sensible response
They then said it wasn't a 3 month embargo but 6
Luckily it was only a "nice to have" card but surprisingly painful considering never missed a payment in 5 years over 4 cards. Maybe I'm costing them too much in travel and statement credits
On the bright side, it looks like they didn't do a formal credit enquiry