-
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE:
Packed with Points is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as MileValue.com and bankrate.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE:
Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
When you're starting out on your award travel journey, there are some bank rules and regulations you'll want to be aware of, most notably, Chase’s 5/24 rule.
This unofficial rule from Chase bank will impact your ability to open cards with their bank, and trust me, you’ll want to know all about this policy when you’re planning your card strategy! 💳
And as of September 2026, we are seeing a new 3/24 policy being enforced for Chase business card applications….so let’s dive into the need to know info!
So what is 5/24?
📆The 5/24 rule from Chase bank means that you cannot be approved for a card from their bank if you have opened 5 or more personal cards in a 24 month time frame.
And this includes cards from any bank or store, not just personal cards from Chase. Luckily, most business cards don’t count toward 5/24, so this is a great way to strategize your card opening long term.
Keep in mind that business cards from Discover and some business cards from Capital One will count toward 5/24.
Let’s see this rule in action…
🙋🏼♀️Let’s say Lori opens up a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, a Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, and a Costco credit card in a 9 month time frame. At this point in time, Lori is at 3/24 because all of these cards are personal credit cards. If Lori were to then open up a Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, she would still be at 3/24 because this card does not count toward 5/24.
💁🏽♀️What if Meaghan opened up a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the World of Hyatt Credit Card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, an Old Navy credit card, and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card in an 18 month period? She would now be at 5/24.
She could apply for a card from another bank, but since she is at 5/24, she could not be approved for a personal or business card from Chase bank. You must be 4/24 or under to be approved for any card from Chase. At this point, her best option would be to either wait until one of these cards drops off after 24 months from opening, or she could open a business card from another bank that would not add to her 5/24 count.
*All information about Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has been collected independently by Packed with Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Why is this important
Because of the 5/24 rule, many people will opt to start out opening personal Chase cards first when they are new to points and miles. Chase has the most options for travel rewards credit cards and their points are incredibly valuable so you’ll want to keep this in mind as you begin to think about your first cards! 👏🏻
This is also important to note as business cards can be a vital part of your award travel card strategy! They will help keep your 5/24 low, and it will give you a break in between applying for personal cards.
➡️Related: All About Business Credit Cards and how to Apply for Them
SO what about this 3/24 rule?
‼️We have recently heard of many data points of Chase business card applicants being told by Chase bank representatives that they may not be eligible for a business credit card due to the fact that they have opened up more than three credit cards in the past 24 months.
This would be another tightening of eligibility restrictions, which is not surprising given the new rules we have seen coming from Chase bank over the past year. 🫠 While this is not officially confirmed by Chase, it seems like it is actively being enforced by their review policies and staff.
What this means: this applies specifically to sole proprietors applying for Chase business credit cards. If the applicant has opened more than 3 credit cards over the past 24 months from any bank, they would not be eligible for a new Chase business credit card. It seems like, for now, Chase business cards don't count against you in that number.
It seems that applicants applying with an LLC are not held to these same rules, so that can be one way to get around this new restriction (if you have a business that is eligible for an LLC, I never recommend creating one just for the purpose of opening credit cards).
🌟I would also then recommend opening a Chase Ink business credit card much earlier in your award travel journey so that you don’t run into this same roadblock.
One last pro tip!
When opening cards with a player 2, do NOT add them as an authorized user to your credit card! I know it might sound like a great idea, but take it from someone who learned this years ago….the hard way. 🤣
When you add someone as an authorized user on your credit card, that will act as a credit check on their report, so this will add to their 5/24 count as well as yours.
⏮️Rewind about 4 years ago as we opened up our first travel rewards credit cards….my husband and I added each other as authorized users to multiple new credit cards. So even though I was only at 3/24, it looked like I was at 5/24 due to those authorized user applications on my account. So this meant that I had to take a break from Chase cards and all personal cards for a while until that dropped back down!
So like I said, I learned this the hard way so that you don’t have to. 😉🫶🏼
How to track your cards and 5/24
If you’re like me, and you cannot possibly keep all of these dates and annual fees organized, then you need Travel Freely.
This is the best free app for free travel, it keeps all of your card opening dates organized, it tells you your 5/24 status, and it can even remind you when an annual fee is due! 📲💳
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
