The Chase 5/24 Rule Explained
Chase issues some of the best travel credit cards available, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (often our #1 recommended card for beginners). However, they also have some of the strictest application rules, especially if you open a lot of new cards in a relatively short amount of time.
Ideally, you will map out the progression of Chase cards that most fit your travel goals BEFORE you begin applying for credit cards at random. Then, you can get most of the Chase cards that will benefit you the most, without these restrictions affecting you too profoundly.
What is the Chase 5/24 Rule?
The 5/24 rule is an unwritten Chase policy that prevents applicants from being approved for most Chase credit cards when they have opened 5 or more new personal credit cards within the last 24 months, regardless of which bank issued the card (even store credit cards count!)
Being added as an authorized user to personal credit cards can also count against you (however, if this is the sole reason why you are denied for a credit card, you can call the Chase Reconsideration line and ask them to reconsider, taking out the authorized user card from your 5/24 count.)
Why did Chase implement this rule?
Unfortunately, we just have to guess, since you won’t find any mention of the rule on Chase’s website or even a formal admission from them that it exists. We just know it exists from years of data points from credit card applicants.
My assumption is that the main intention of this rule is to limit the credit risk of individuals who are requesting too much credit in a short timeframe. Besides those of us in the points and miles hobby, most of the time when individuals need a lot of credit fast, and are okay to get it at 20% APR or higher, it’s not usually for financially healthy reasons!
However, I do believe the secondary purpose of the rule is to limit frequent credit card churning, where people (like us!) open an account to earn one of Chase’s best credit card signup bonuses, but close the account as soon the renewal annual fee hits. We’re a small niche in the large credit card landscape, but we’re big enough to keep some level of restriction on!
An Example
Although the 5/24 rule is straightforward (if you get 5 personal credit cards in any 24-month period, you will be automatically denied when you apply for a Chase credit card), it does help to use a live example:
For Sha, Card #5 (the American Express Green Card) tripped the 5/24 rule. She won’t be eligible to get a new personal card from Chase until that Chase Sapphire Preferred “falls off” 24 months after she opened it, in February 2024. (To play it safe, I usually wait until the first day of the following month, so March 1, 2024, in this case.)
If she opened a new personal credit card in March 2024, she would again be at the 5/24 threshold until May 2024 when the Southwest Priority card would fall out of her 24-month window. This means she would be eligible to get another personal card from Chase after May.
Personal vs. Business Cards
I think this is the trickiest part of the rule, so try and stay with me!
Most business card applications and approvals won’t be counted towards your Chase 5/24, even Chase’s own business cards (like the amazing Chase Ink Business Cash or Business Unlimited). This makes a lot of sense. If you have a lot of spend on your business credit cards, you don’t want that to negatively affect something like a mortgage application (“Uhh, Mr. Jones, why do you have $93,000 in outstanding credit right now?!)
However, here’s where it gets a little weird: Capital One, Discover, and TD Bank business cards are the exception and DO count towards your 5/24.
And I’m not done. Here’s one more caveat: you can’t apply for a Chase business credit card if you are OVER 5/24 (i.e. you have been approved for 5 or more personal credit cards in the past 2 years - or a Capital One, Discover or TD Bank business card.)
Confused yet? Maybe your brain works more seamlessly than mine, but it honestly took me several years to remember all of this, so don’t fret if it doesn’t sink in right away. Just keep referencing this section in the future, if you need to!
Recommended Strategy
As always, this will depend on you and your unique financial situation and travel goals. However, I do think there is a big opportunity cost by not prioritizing Chase credit cards if you are newer to the points & miles hobby and/or under 5/24.
Here is what I most often recommend (again, don’t plug-and-play this, but use it as a reference point):
Open the high-value Chase cards first (like the Business Ink Cash and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, keep many of them even after the annual fee hits, assuming you are getting more value than the annual fee costs, and move on to other cards/banks once you are over 5/24.
Once you are over 5/24, I personally do not think it is worth waiting around to get back under 5/24 to get your next Chase card. You’ll earn way more points by simply moving on to cards issued by other banks. You’ll run laps around those waiting who are beholden to Chase!
One more wrinkle to this strategy: you can "cool off" by sticking to just business cards for a while if you’re over 5/24. This is what I am currently doing myself! This allows you to continue to earn points & miles, while also inching closer to that date that you get back under 5/24.
To Recap
Due to the Chase 5/24 rule, you cannot open any new Chase cards (personal or business) if you have opened 5 or more credit cards, from any bank, within the last 24 months. Being an authorized user on someone else’s card will count against you. Business credit cards will not add to your 5/24 count, unless it is from Discover, Capital One, or TD Bank.
It’s important for you to internalize this important points & miles rule because you can only get Chase cards (at least the most important travel ones!) while you are under 5/24, so it is likely wise for you to begin with those before moving on to other cards from issuers like American Express, Citi and Capital One.
