they are the same, one effects (hard) you the other one doesn’t (soft). and yes they can, they use that as a reason to raise your interest rate.

They will only do soft pulls after you are customer with them. They don’t need to do hard pulls periodically, they have your credit file on information. They will however do soft pulls periodically to see if they need to adjust your rates, increase your balance, or change your terms. They can do this without your permission, especially if they are a “universal default” lender, which means they can change your terms, raise your rates, lower your limit or close your account completely….if you are negligent on a completely different account from a totally different lender.

Yes credit cards can pull up your credit score whenever they fell the need to. That is how they assess your account at various intervals.