The Chase 5/24 Rule: What It Is, What Counts, and Why I Wish I’d Known Sooner
It’s not just Chase cards that count. That’s the part nobody tells you. Including me, for a while.
When I first started getting into points I did what most people do. I just started opening cards. A hotel card here, an airline card there, a cash back card because the sign-up bonus looked good. I didn’t have a plan. I was just collecting.
Then I found Chase. The Sapphire Preferred is the card everyone in the points world says to get first. Flexible points that actually transfer to airlines and hotels, a solid bonus, a reasonable annual fee. I had wanted it for months. I finally applied.
Denied.
That’s when I found out about 5/24. And what really stung wasn’t the denial. It was realizing I had been doing it wrong for months and didn’t even know there was a rule.
So what is 5/24?
Chase has never officially published this, but the points community figured it out years ago and it has held steady ever since. If you’ve opened five or more personal credit cards in the last 24 months, Chase will not approve you for most of their cards. Doesn’t matter how great your credit score is. Doesn’t matter if you’ve banked with them forever. Five cards in 24 months and you’re out.
It’s a rolling window, not a calendar year reset. If you opened a card on March 10th, 2024, it stops counting on March 10th, 2026. The day you drop below five you’re eligible again.
It’s not five Chase cards. It’s five personal credit cards from any bank at all. Amex, Capital One, Citi, a Marriott card, a store card. All of it counts.
That’s exactly where I went wrong. I thought 5/24 meant Chase was tracking Chase cards. So I opened a couple of Amex cards, a Capital One card, and a Marriott card through Chase (which counts too, by the way), and by the time I went for the Sapphire I was already over the limit.
What counts and what doesn’t
Any personal credit card from any bank
Chase cobranded personal cards (Marriott, Southwest personal, United personal)
Store cards that report to personal credit bureaus
Capital One business cards (they report personally — more on this in a second)
Discover business cards
Most business cards (Amex, Chase Ink, Citi, Bank of America business cards)
Older Amex charge cards
Applications you were denied for
Cards you’re an authorized user on
Loans, car payments, mortgages
The business card thing is huge for families. Most Chase Ink cards, most Amex business cards, most Citi business cards don’t count against your 5/24. Chris can open business cards all day and his personal count doesn’t move. That’s a big part of how two-player mode works when you’re doing this as a couple.
Capital One business cards DO report to your personal credit file and DO count toward 5/24. Almost every other bank’s business cards don’t. Capital One is the one to know about.
Why does Chase even matter that much?
Chase Ultimate Rewards is the best transferable points program for most families. Those points move to Hyatt, United, Southwest, and British Airways. The Sapphire Preferred and the Ink business cards are what most people build their whole strategy on, including us.
But Chase is also the pickiest about who they’ll approve. So the advice I wish someone had given me early is this: go Chase first. Get the Sapphire Preferred before you open anything at Amex or Capital One that adds to your personal count. Once you have your Chase cards, then go everywhere else.
If you wait on Chase and open a handful of other cards first, you might be sitting out for two years while you wait for your count to drop. That’s two years of the best bonuses you can’t touch. I know because I lived it.
The Sapphire Preferred is the one to start with. Right now it’s offering 75,000 points — use my link and we both earn a bonus if you’re approved.
Apply with Amy’s link →How to check your count right now
Already over 5/24? You’re not alone.
This is honestly the most common mistake beginners make, because there’s no obvious sign anywhere that this rule exists. Most people find out about it exactly the way I did.
If you’re over, figure out which of your personal cards is closest to the 24-month mark and put that date on your calendar. Sometimes you’re only a few months out. While you wait, focus on business cards from anyone except Capital One. Those won’t touch your 5/24 count and some of them have really good bonuses.
Amex, Citi, and Capital One personal cards also don’t have a 5/24 equivalent rule. You can still be building your points pile. You’re not stuck, you’re just doing Chase last instead of first.
Chase Sapphire Preferred first, while you’re under 5/24. Then Chase Ink business cards (business cards don’t add to your 5/24, but you still need to be under 5/24 to get approved). Then Amex personal. Then Capital One. That sequence keeps your best options available.
Ready to start with the Sapphire Preferred? Current offer is 75,000 points. Or go straight to an Ink business card — it won’t touch your 5/24 count at all.
Two players are better than one
You and your spouse have completely separate credit files. Whatever slots you’ve used up, they haven’t. If you’re over 5/24 right now, Chris might not be. He can be working the Chase side while you build up Amex or Capital One. You’re always making progress somewhere.
Once you understand 5/24, the goal is to always have at least one person in the house who’s under the limit. That way there’s always someone who can grab the next Chase bonus when it comes around. It takes a little planning but once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
I couldn’t undo the cards I’d already opened. But once I understood the rule I could actually work with it and plan around it. That’s really all this is. A rule that’s totally manageable once you know it exists. The frustrating part is that almost nobody explains it at the start, so everyone ends up learning it the same way I did.
xo, Amy