Approval Rules No 5/24
Card approval not subject to 5-personal-cards-in-24-months rule
Deep Dive into the No 5/24 Rule
Yes, there are some personal cards that aren't impacted by the 5/24 rule. So this one isn't actually a rule. It's the exception to the rule. But whenever a card is NOT impacted by 5/24, we'll still let you know.
Chase is the only bank that is known to have this rule, and it’s the most common rule referenced when getting into the points and miles hobby. The 5/24 rule says that Chase won’t approve a card if you’ve opened 5 or more cards in a 24 month period. This means any card from any bank, not just Chase cards.
Unfortunately that does not mean that you can go ahead and open 7 Citi cards in 24 months, as Citi has its own, separate set of rules that it applies to opening new cards. In fact, all banks have velocity rules, some written but most unwritten, about how many cards you can open in a certain amount of time.
Below you will find similar rules for each bank. There is a short explanation and a link to more in depth descriptions of each. Like 5/24, many of these rules are unwritten and provide limits to how many cards you can open with that bank within a certain time period. There are other rules for each bank that don’t have to do with card limits, so check out our master rule page that has detailed explanations of all rules having to do with credit cards and rewards.
American Express
- Amex 3/90 Rule: You’ll be declined if you apply for a 4th Amex card in 90 days
- Amex 5 Credit Rule: Amex will decline your application if you already have 5 credit cards
Bank of America
- Bank of America 2/3/4: You can only get approved for 2 cards in 30 days, 3 cards in 12 months, and 4 cards in 24 months (only Bank of America issued cards; business cards don’t count)
- Bank of America 3/12 and 7/12: This isn't a separate rule because it's very inconsistently enforced, but there are enough data points to at least mention it. If you hold a Bank of America deposit account, you can have 6 new cards (from all issuers) before you will be denied for a 7th. If you don’t have a Bank of America account, you can only have 2 new cards before being denied for a 3rd.
Citi
- Citi 1/8: You can only apply for one card every eight days (personal or business)
- Citi 1/95: You can only apply for one business card every 95 days
- Citi 2/65: You can only apply for two cards every 65 days
Capital One
- Capital One 1/6: You can only be approved for one card every six months. This is for both personal and business cards
Wells Fargo
- Wells Fargo 1/6: You may not be approved for another Wells Fargo card if you’ve opened one Wells Fargo card in the last six months
Discover
- Discover 1/12: You can only open one Discover card in a 12 month period
Related Rules
How Does This Affect Your Credit Card Strategy?
Anyone who has been in the hobby for any length of time knows Chase’s 5/24 rule. It’s the main rule that drives most people’s card strategy as Chase Ultimate Rewards are the most valuable points in the game.
No other bank or card issuer has this same exact rule that says they won’t approve you for a new card if you’ve opened five or more cards over the last 24 months. But as we’ve outlined above, most banks have some type of restriction on the number of cards you can open within a specified time period. So it’s important to be aware of all these rules before opening any card or developing a strategy for which card you will open when.
As for this specific rule, it impacts your strategy because we always recommend diversifying your options when it comes to credit card points. So even though you see that Chase is the only bank that has this specific 5/24 rule, that doesn’t mean you can just pick a new bank and open as many cards you want as quickly as you’re able. You want to switch banks often rather than opening multiple cards in a row with the same bank. That will give you the best chances of never tripping any of the myriad of rules that are out there.
Business cards
Opening business cards gives you another important option in your overall card strategy. Business cards don’t count against your 5/24 for Chase, and they also don’t count for many rules that other banks have (but not all). When we talk about diversifying, we want you to alternate not only between different banks and card issuers but also between personal and business cards.
Important to know:
If you want to make things a lot easier on yourself, load all your cards into the Points Navigator. We’ll keep track of all your cards, when you got them, when an annual fee is due, and most importantly, which rules apply to each card. Then we’ll notify you when you’re about to trip an application denial rule. We’ll also recommend cards for you based on your priorities and annual spending.
Importance of this Rule
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Chase’s 5/24 rule is the benchmark for important credit card rules. This exception to Chase’s rule is also important, but the fact that most of the cards this exception applies to also have other rules to be aware of makes it less important. Yes, it’s important to know that all of these cards don’t have the same 5/24 limitations. But some of them actually have stricter limits, so it’s more important to know the rules of each bank and card issuer.
Rule Applies to All Cards from This Bank
Cards Subject to This Rule
FAQs
Are there exceptions to this rule?
This is the exception to Chase’s 5/24 rule.
How do I check my status?
Utilize the Points Navigator to keep track of all your cards and the rules that apply to each. This is why we built it. It can be very complicated to keep track of all these cards and every rule that applies to each. Let us do it for you, and we’ll let you know if you’re about to apply for a card that you will most likely be denied because of one of these rules.
Do business cards count for this rule?
Yes. All business cards other than ones from Chase count for this exception.
Do product changes on existing cards count for this rule?
Yes. Unless we’re talking about Chase cards, every other card is part of the 5/24 exception.
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.