OK, I might as well add myself to the list of those "patiently" waiting. Here's my timeline so far:
Submitted online application: 11/05/18
Received email receipt and saw card was charged:11/06/18
Called to ask about provisional approval and confirmed receipt: 11/12/18
Just an FYI, I was told that provisional approval would not go into effect until "sometime after January 1, 2018". I was also told that my application probably wouldn't be processed until Later January, which is consistent with the processing times reported here. The sucky part, I was already charged when I submitted my online application.
I'll update as my story unfolds. lol