Approved for Citi Custom Cash after pre-qualification denial

My bi-annual car insurance premium payment is coming up and it's been a little while since I got a new CC so I decided to put that premium spend towards a SUB. I've been eying the Custom Cash for a while, but $1,500 for a $200 SUB seemed like a bit much compared to some other cards, but with this large transaction expected, I decided to finally pull the trigger. I went on Citi's website, filled out the pre-qualification tool and… they were not able to pre-qualify me for the Custom Cash. Dejected, I almost gave up, but I figured my score was pretty good and could survive a minor ding from a denial, so I decided to risk it and fill out the application anyway, and wouldn't you know it… I was approved! Just goes to show you that the pre-qualification tool goes both ways. Sometimes if you're pre-qualified you may still be rejected, however sometimes, you can be explicitly NOT pre-qualified, and still be approved.

Hard pull on Experian only
Inquiries with Experian: 0/6, 1/12, 3/24
Experian FICO: 796 (immediately dropped to 793 upon application)