B of A 2/3/4

Understanding the B of A 2/3/4 rule:

This rule places a restriction on the number of new Bank of America issued cards you can open within the following timespan:

• Two new cards per two month period
• Three new cards per rolling 12-month period
• Four new cards per rolling 24-month period

This is different from Chase’s 5/24 rule in that it only applies to Bank of America issued cards. It does not apply to cards issued by other banks. So you could get four Bank of America cards, 2 Chase cards, and 1 American Express card in 24 months. But you could not get five Bank of America cards in that same time frame.

This does impact Bank of America’s co-branded cards like the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard and the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card. It does not appear to include any business cards offered by the bank, though.

The 7/12 Rule

There seems to be another loosely enforced rule that is tied to this one. If you do not have a Bank of America deposit account, you may be limited to three cards from any bank in that 12-month rolling period. If you have a Bank of America deposit account; however, that restriction jumps up to seven cards in 12-months. Again, this applies to cards from any bank, not just Bank of America. So this is like Chase’s 5/24 rule in that it places a restriction on the total number of cards you can get with any bank.

Important to know:

It may be worth it to open an account with Bank of America so you can be eligible for more cards. In fact, did you know that some banks often offer “signup bonuses” like credit cards do when you open an account with them? Bank of America has occasionally offered a bonus when you open a checking account through them and meet certain requirements, much like meeting a spending requirement with a new credit card. They have run promos offering $300 when you open an account and set up and receive direct deposits totaling $2000 or more within 90 days of opening the account. So not only can you be eligible for more cards from the bank with an account, you can get a little bonus for doing so as well.

About Approval Rules

Collecting credit card points is largely driven by understanding and abiding by bank rules regarding approval (or disapproval) of cards.  So here’s what you need to know:

• Approval rules are rarely fully publicized by the banks
• We use our own research and data points from other users in creating the rules listing
• Our goal in sharing/using the rule listings is to provide you guidance to avoid getting declined
• There can sometimes be exceptions to the rules, but we try to take a more cautious approach in advising you.