I suspect that one part of the problem was that they hadn't adequately prepared for the inevitable end of life rush to move to the new card, that and the whole concept of reapplying for a card that you have (as far as the end user is concerned), pretty much an own goal.
On the other hand I have just been hugely impressed by HSBC systems. They pushed a notification of a new account launch they offered - a
Global Account (ie, multi currency without conversion fees) which sounded excellent to me. I Read The Manual, as I was suspicious, but no, all the fees are £0. So I thought, go on, why not, this sounds useful. Click, click, set your pin, click, click, would you like to add this card to Google Pay? click, click, done. Smooth, and top marks.