What the rule is
When you apply, Chase looks at your credit report. If it shows 5 or more new credit card accounts opened in the last 24 months, from any bank, Chase usually declines the application automatically. People call this “5/24”. Chase has never published it, but years of application reports from cardholders show it clearly, and it applies to nearly every Chase card.
It matters because Chase cards (Sapphire, Freedom, Ink and Chase’s airline and hotel cards) are some of the most popular, and the rule only looks backward. Once you’re over 5/24, the only fix is to wait.
What counts
- Personal credit cards from any bank opened in the last 24 months, including ones you’ve since closed.
- Store cards and charge cards, as long as they show up on your personal credit report.
- Cards where you’re an authorized user on someone else’s account. They appear on your report too. After a denial, a Chase agent can sometimes leave them out if you explain they aren’t your accounts.
- Business cards that report to your personal credit. Most Capital One business cards do (Venture X Business, Venture Business and Spark Cash Plus are the exceptions), and so do Discover and TD Bank business cards.
What doesn’t count
- Most business cards. Those from Chase, American Express, Citi, Bank of America, Barclays, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo don’t appear on your personal report.
- Product changes (upgrading or downgrading a card you already have), because no new account opens.
- Applications that were denied, and hard inquiries on their own.
- Car loans, mortgages, student loans and other accounts that aren’t credit cards.
Chase business cards still need you under 5/24. They don’t add to your count, but Chase checks the count before approving one.
How to count yours
- List every credit card on your credit report opened in the last 24 months. A free credit report shows the month each account was opened.
- Leave out business cards that don’t report to personal credit, and any product changes.
- If you have 4 or fewer, you’re under 5/24. At 5 or more, Chase will most likely decline.
When a card drops off
Each card stops counting 24 months after it was opened. Credit reports often show only the month, so the safe day to apply is the 1st of the month after those 24 months are up. A card opened on March 10, 2025 counts until March 2027, so you’d wait until April 1, 2027.
Planning around it
Because 5/24 only limits Chase, many people get the Chase cards they want first, while they’re still under 5/24, and apply with other banks after. Other banks have limits of their own: see every bank’s application rules.
Let the app count for you. Add your cards and approval dates to Premium IC (free). It shows your 5/24 count, when each card drops off and the first day it’s safe to apply.
Chase doesn’t publish this rule. It’s based on what applicants have reported, and Chase can approve or decline for other reasons too.