Chase 5/24 — the deep dive

7 min read

TL;DR

Chase rejects any personal credit card application if you've opened 5+ personal credit card accounts (from any issuer) in the last 24 months. This is "5/24."
Business cards from Chase, Amex, US Bank, Citi, and most others don't count. Capital One business cards DO count.
Authorized user tradelines usually don't count, though they show on your report. Call Chase to exclude them if they're being counted against you.

What counts toward 5/24

A "personal" credit card account opened by you (as primary) with any issuer in the last 24 months counts. The count is cumulative across all issuers, not just Chase. Specifically:

Counts:

Personal credit card from Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Discover, Wells Fargo, BofA, US Bank, Barclays, and basically every major issuer
Store credit cards (Synchrony, Comenity) — yes, these count
Authorized user tradelines — technically count in the raw 5/24 count pulled from your file, but Chase underwriters usually exclude them if you call and ask

Does NOT count:

Chase business cards (Ink series)
American Express business cards
US Bank business cards
Citi business cards
Most other issuers' business cards
Charge cards from Amex — NOTE: this used to be the rule, but Chase now counts Amex Gold / Platinum / Green as personal accounts after they were reclassified. Confirmed via Doctor of Credit reports starting 2022+.
Mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, student loans — not cards, don't count
Corporate cards (Brex, Ramp, Divvy) — these don't report to personal credit at all
Secured cards from credit unions (varies — most don't count, but SDFCU and Alliant do)

Counts EXCEPT:

Capital One business cards — they're the outlier. Capital One reports business to personal bureau, so they count as personal for Chase's 5/24 check.

Why the rule exists

Chase's risk team sees high-velocity new-credit applicants as bonus-chasers — likely to close the card after hitting the sign-up bonus, costing Chase the bonus payout plus CIF customer-acquisition costs. The 5/24 rule is a blunt instrument to weed out churners.

How Chase counts — the specifics

Chase pulls your Experian (or TransUnion in some regions) credit report at application. They count all open AND closed credit card accounts with open dates in the last 24 months. Closed accounts still count against you until they age past 24 months.

Example scenarios:

Opened 6 cards 18 months ago, all still open: 6/24 — denied for any Chase personal card.
Opened 4 cards 20 months ago (still open) + 1 card 28 months ago (closed): 4/24 — eligible.
Opened 4 cards 20 months ago + 1 AU tradeline for a card 30 months old that shows on your file: technically 4/24 from a FICO standpoint, but Chase sometimes counts the AU in automated decisioning. Call and get the AU excluded.

Product families 5/24 applies to

5/24 applies to all Chase personal credit cards:

Sapphire Preferred, Reserve, Ink Business (wait, Ink is business — exempt. See below.)
Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, Freedom Rise
United personal cards (Club, Explorer, Quest)
Southwest personal cards (Priority, Premier, Plus)
Hyatt
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, Bountiful
Disney cards
Amazon Prime Rewards
All other co-branded personal Chase cards

5/24 does NOT apply to Chase business cards:

Ink Business Preferred, Cash, Unlimited, Premier
United Business
Southwest Premier Business, Performance Business
Marriott Bonvoy Business

The strategy

Start with Chase personal cards before applying anywhere else. Chase is the strictest issuer with the biggest sign-up bonuses. Open your Chase cards first while you're under 5/24, then open everything else (Amex, Citi, CapOne, etc.) after.
Once at 5/24, pivot to Chase business cards. They don't count toward 5/24, and you can hold multiple simultaneously. The Ink family (Preferred, Cash, Unlimited, Premier) rotates through annual signups.
Let cards age off. If you're at 5/24, wait until the oldest card crosses the 24-month mark from its open date — then you drop to 4/24 and can apply for another personal Chase card.
AU tradelines — call to exclude. If your AU count is pushing you over 5/24, call the Chase reconsideration line (800-955-9060) and ask for the AU accounts to be excluded from the 5/24 count. Most underwriters will comply.

Chase reconsideration line

Denied for 5/24 but think you should have been approved? Call 800-955-9060 (personal) or 800-453-9719 (business). Ask politely to review the decision.

What works:

AU tradelines miscounted — ask for them to be excluded.
Existing strong Chase relationship — mention your other Chase accounts, deposit balances, mortgage.
Downgrade request — if you have a Chase card with an annual fee, offer to downgrade it for the new card's approval.

What doesn't work:

Asking them to bend the rule if you're genuinely 5/24 or more with no AU exclusions. Chase's rule is firm.

Chase 48-month rule (separate)

Chase also has a 48-month rule specifically for the Sapphire product family (Preferred and Reserve). You can only earn the Sapphire sign-up bonus once every 48 months — meaning you have to wait 48 months from the last time you earned a Sapphire bonus before you can earn it again.

If you want to churn the Sapphire for repeat bonuses:

Open Sapphire Preferred, hit bonus.
Wait 12 months (minimum hold before annual fee hits).
Product-change to Freedom Unlimited or downgrade path.
Wait 48 months from the original bonus date.
Apply for Sapphire Preferred again — new bonus.

Product changes (PC) from Reserve to Preferred don't qualify as a new bonus. You have to close or downgrade, wait out the 48 months, then re-apply.

Chase 2/30 and 2/90 rules

Less famous but real:

2/30 rule: Chase won't approve more than 2 personal cards in a 30-day window.
2/90 rule (unofficial): Applying for 2+ Chase business cards within 90 days often triggers deeper review or denial.

Space your Chase applications by 90+ days for safety.

Common mistakes

Applying for Chase cards after you're already 5/24 — instant denial. Check your count first.
Counting only your Chase cards — 5/24 is across ALL issuers. That Discover card you opened a year ago counts.
Forgetting store cards count — opened a Target card 18 months ago? That counts. Synchrony, Comenity, Bread Financial all count.
Capital One business confusion — some people assume all business cards are exempt. Capital One business is not exempt. Watch for that one.
Not tracking velocity in CardLeverage — use /churn to see your exact 5/24 count in real-time based on your wallet.

Bottom line

Know your 5/24 count before applying to Chase. CardLeverage /dashboard shows this automatically.
Always prioritize Chase personal cards first while you're under 5/24.
Use Chase business cards to keep growing your points earn after you hit 5/24.
Call reconsideration if AU is being miscounted — often fixes the issue.