The Chase 5/24 rule, explained

Chase never published it, but the pattern is well documented: if you have opened five or more credit card accounts in the past 24 months, Chase will decline you for most of its cards, no matter how good your credit is. This is the 5/24 rule, and it is the single biggest thing to understand before you chase Chase bonuses. We track it as a rule and flag the cards it affects.

How the count works

The "5" is the number of new credit card accounts on your personal credit reports opened in the last 24 months. The details are what people get wrong:

• Cards from any issuer count, not just Chase. Five cards across five different banks still puts you at 5/24.
• Most small-business cards do not add to your count. Business cards from Chase, American Express, and most issuers do not report to your personal credit, so they do not raise your number. But some issuers report business cards to personal credit (Capital One and Discover are the usual examples), and those do count.
• Chase business cards are still blocked by 5/24 even though they do not add to it. If you are over 5/24, you generally cannot get a Chase business card either, but a Chase business card you do open will not push you further over.
• Authorized-user cards can count. A card you were added to as an authorized user may show on your report and count, though Chase can sometimes be asked to disregard those.

Which cards it applies to

Assume 5/24 applies to essentially all Chase consumer cards, including the Freedom Unlimited and the Sapphire and co-brand cards, and to Chase business cards like the Ink Business Preferred. A handful of cards have historically been exceptions, but the safe assumption is that if you are over 5/24, Chase will decline.

How to check where you stand

Pull your credit reports (they are free), and count every credit card account opened in the last 24 months. Include cards from all issuers and any authorized-user cards that appear. That count is your number. If it is under five, you are "under 5/24."

How to plan around it

• Get the Chase cards you want first, while you are under 5/24, before opening a pile of cards elsewhere.
• Use business cards that do not report to personal credit to earn bonuses without raising your count, once you understand which issuers report and which do not.
• Space out applications. As older accounts pass the 24-month mark, they drop off your count and you fall back under 5/24.
• If you are already over, cards from issuers without a 5/24-style rule, such as the Capital One Venture X, are still open to you.

See our credit-card bonuses list for current offers, and the 5/24 rule page for how we track it. This is reference information, not financial advice, and 5/24 is an unofficial rule Chase can change without notice.