It's been a year-long project but I finally got in 
Applied last summer and was shot down due to my 5 y/o BK. After reading the community members comments and experiences on how U.S. Bank "typically" operates I established a banking relationship with them. Picked up a few CC's since last summer while waiting to make my move and checking the PRE-qual quite frequently (getting hits for 6 mos. now) but not confident because of the range of APR's. Finally received TWO letters ( Krogers and Platinum Cards) with solid APR's. Pulled the trigger for the Platinum only, app went to review and 4 days later logged into my account and saw a card for $3,300!
The community really, really gives valuable strategies for cards on people's "hit list" so thank you all. Happy Dance!