What Is the 5/24 Rule? Chase's Rule Explained

The 5/24 rule is Chase’s unofficial policy of denying credit card applications from anyone who has opened 5 or more personal credit card accounts, from any issuer, in the past 24 months. It is not a law, not a published rule, and not something Chase admits to in writing. But it is real, it is consistent, and if you want a Chase card, you need to understand it before you apply.

This rule matters because Chase issues some of the most valuable sign-up bonuses in the US market: Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business cards, and the full slate of co-branded United, Southwest, Marriott, and Hyatt cards. If you are over 5/24, all of them are effectively off-limits until you get back under.

Where the Rule Came From

Chase has never written the rule down. It surfaced around 2016 when cardholders on forums and blogs noticed a pattern: applicants with 5 or more recent cards were getting denied at much higher rates, regardless of credit score or income. Over time, Chase phone reps informally confirmed the logic, and the rule became common knowledge in the points-and-miles community.

Because it is unofficial, Chase can change it whenever it wants. The threshold has held at 5 cards in 24 months since 2016, but the set of Chase cards it applies to has shifted over the years. As of 2026, treat the rule as binding on every Chase card worth applying for. Check Chase’s application page and recent reports before assuming any exception still exists.

Which Accounts Count

This is where most beginners get tripped up. The rule counts new personal credit card accounts on your personal credit report, regardless of which bank issued them. Here is the breakdown.

Personal credit cards count. Every one of them, from every issuer, including Chase itself. If you opened a Capital One Quicksilver in 2025, it counts toward your 5/24 for any Chase application.

Authorized-user cards count in most cases. When someone adds you as an authorized user, the account often appears on your credit report with the original open date. Chase’s system typically counts these. You can ask the primary cardholder to remove you, which removes the account from your report in most cases.

Business credit cards from most issuers do not count. Chase business cards, Amex business cards, Citi business cards, US Bank business cards, and Barclays business cards do not report to personal credit bureaus, so they do not show up in your 5/24 count. This is a major loophole experienced cardholders use: you can open several business cards without burning 5/24 slots.

Capital One business cards are the exception. Most Capital One business cards report to personal credit, so they count toward 5/24 — except the no-preset-spending-limit cards (Spark Cash Plus, Venture X Business), which do not report on the personal side. Discover historically reported its business card to personal credit too, but Discover has not actively issued a new business card to first-time applicants since 2024.

Store cards count. A Target RedCard, a Nordstrom card, a Best Buy card, all of these count as credit card accounts if they show up on your credit report as revolving credit.

Loans, mortgages, and auto financing do not count. The rule is about credit cards, not total credit accounts.

If you want to know how your credit report is assembled in the first place, it helps to understand the difference between soft pulls and hard pulls.

How to Check Your Own Count

Pull a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com, the only site authorized by the FTC to provide the free weekly reports federal law entitles you to. Look at the “Accounts” or “Revolving Credit” section. Count every credit card account opened in the past 24 months. Include closed accounts if they were opened inside the window. Include authorized-user accounts unless you have already removed yourself.

That number is your 5/24 count. If it is 0 through 4, you are clear to apply for Chase cards. If it is 5 or higher, you will almost certainly be denied.

Some credit-monitoring apps like Credit Karma show a similar list, but they can miss authorized-user accounts or display outdated information. The official credit report is the source of truth.

Why Chase Does It

Chase’s motivation is risk management, not punishment. People who open many cards in a short period are, statistically, more likely to be churners, people who open a card for the bonus and close it soon after. Churners generate the upfront bonus cost for Chase without the long-term interchange revenue that justifies it.

By capping new-card activity at 5 in 24 months, Chase filters out the most aggressive churners while still accepting normal consumers who open a card every year or two. Other issuers have similar concerns but enforce them differently: Amex uses once-per-lifetime language on bonuses, Citi enforces a 48-month gap from the last bonus on the same card, and Capital One looks at recent inquiries. Chase’s filter is the bluntest but also the most predictable.

What to Do if You Are Over 5/24

You have three realistic paths.

Wait it out. Count 24 months from the open date of your oldest recent card. When that month passes, the account falls off your count. Do not open any new personal cards in the meantime or the clock resets on a new oldest-in-window. Closing a card does not help; the open date is what matters.

Apply for business cards instead. If you qualify for a business card (even sole-proprietor freelance income often qualifies), Chase Ink cards, Amex business cards, and Capital One Spark business cards can give you bonuses without adding to your 5/24 count. Most business cards do not report to personal credit. This is the most common workaround among experienced cardholders.

Look for a Chase pre-approval. Occasionally, Chase will send targeted mail offers or display pre-approvals in your Chase banking app that bypass 5/24. These are inconsistent and you cannot manufacture them. If you happen to see one for a card you want, it is worth taking seriously, but do not plan around it.

While you wait, a Chase account is not the only way to earn a bonus. See what is a credit card sign-up bonus for a broader overview, and bank account bonuses for a completely separate category that has nothing to do with 5/24.

Common Misconceptions

A few things people get wrong about 5/24, in order of how often they come up.

“I can close old cards to get under 5/24.” No. Closing does not change the open date, which is what the rule uses. Closing cards can actually hurt your credit score without helping your 5/24 count.

“Only Chase cards count.” No. Every personal credit card from every issuer counts. A Discover card you opened in 2025 counts just as much as a Chase card.

“Business cards never count.” Mostly true, with exceptions. Most Capital One business cards report to personal credit and count (except the no-preset-spending-limit ones). Chase, Amex, Citi, US Bank, and Barclays business cards do not. Discover business cards historically counted, but Discover stopped issuing new ones in 2024.

“Getting denied by 5/24 does not hurt my credit.” False. The application pulls a hard inquiry regardless of the outcome. You absorb the credit-score cost and get nothing in return.

“5/24 is going away soon.” Maybe. Maybe not. Chase has held the line since 2016. Plan as though it will still be in effect when you apply, and verify the current policy on Chase’s site or recent cardholder reports before you submit.

What to Do Next

If you are under 5/24 and ready to apply, read minimum spending requirement so you know exactly how to meet the bonus spend.

If you are over 5/24, start by reading what is a credit card sign-up bonus to understand which non-Chase issuers still have attractive offers.

If you are not sure whether an authorized-user card on your report is hurting you, pull your free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com today and count your accounts from the past 24 months before you do anything else.