Chase 5/24 Rule Explained: What It Is & How to Plan Around It

If you're interested in Chase credit cards — Sapphire Preferred, Freedom Flex, United, Marriott, Ink Business — you need to understand the 5/24 rule.

What is 5/24? Chase will automatically deny most credit card applications if you've opened 5 or more new credit card accounts (from any issuer) in the past 24 months.

What counts toward 5/24: - ✅ New personal credit cards (any issuer) - ✅ Being added as an authorized user - ✅ Store credit cards (Target, Amazon, etc.) - ❌ Business credit cards from most issuers (Amex, Capital One business cards typically don't) - ❌ Chase business cards (don't count, but are subject to 5/24 when applying) - ❌ Credit limit increases, product changes, charge cards from some issuers

How to check your 5/24 status: 1. Pull your free credit report from annualcreditreport.com 2. Count all new accounts opened in the last 24 months 3. Subtract any that are business-only accounts

Strategic order for card applications: 1. Chase cards first — get these while under 5/24 2. Amex/Capital One/Citi next — no strict rules like 5/24 3. Business cards from non-Chase issuers — these often don't count toward 5/24

Recommended Chase priority order: 1. Sapphire Preferred or Reserve (best sign-up bonuses) 2. Freedom Flex + Freedom Unlimited (5% categories + 1.5% base) 3. Ink Business Preferred (if you have a business) 4. Co-brand cards (United, Marriott, Southwest)

Important: The 5/24 counter resets as accounts age past 24 months. If you're at 5/24 now, wait for your oldest new account to fall off before applying for Chase.