Do Chase’s Stricter Approval Rules Now Apply to All of Their Cards?

Last year, Chase stopped approving many folks for some of their cards, like the Freedom and Sapphire Preferred, if they’d opened ~5 or more credit cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months.

Via Doctor of Credit and Reddit, these stricter rules now apply to more of their cards.

New Rules For Chase Credit Card Approvals What To Do About It

If You’ve Opened 5+ New Credit Cards in the Last 24 Months, You’ll Find It Tougher to Be Approved for Certain Chase Cards

While there’s no official word from Chase about this change, I’ll share what I know and what this means for you.

What’s Going On?

Last year, Chase started making it more difficult for certain folks to be approved for Chase Ultimate Rewards earning cards, like the Freedom and Sapphire Preferred.

Dubbed the “5/24 rule,” if you’d opened ~5 or more credit cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months, it was very unlikely that you’d be approved for these cards.

There were rumors that the 5/24 rule would soon apply to Chase small business cards like the Ink Plus. And to co-branded airline and hotel cards, like the Chase Hyatt, Chase IHG Rewards, and Chase United Explorer cards.

Unfortunately, this now seems to be the case. But only for their small business cards and SOME of their co-branded cards.

Folks are reporting the changes probably went into effect on May 22, 2016, based on when Chase started denying more applications.

Which Chase Cards Are Affected?

According to Doctor of Credit, the 5/24 rule now also likely applies to the following cards:

Chase Ink Plus
Chase Ink Cash
Chase Marriott Rewards Premier (personal and small business)
Chase Ritz-Carlton
Chase Southwest Plus
Chase Southwest Premier (personal and small business)
Chase United Explorer
Chase United Club

But NOT to these cards:

What Does This Mean for You?

Chase has some of the best points and miles cards. Especially cards which earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, because they offer lots of flexibility.

If you’re new to our hobby, consider getting cards like the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Plus first. Because they are some of the most valuable cards for Big Travel with Small Money.

And the Chase Sapphire Preferred is my favorite card for beginners.

Folks who’ve been collecting miles & points for a while generally open more than a few new credit cards each year.

Folks Who’ve Been Collecting Miles and Points for a Long Time Probably Have More Than 5 New Cards in 2 Years

If you haven’t kept track of your past credit card applications, read my post on how to find credit card open and close dates.

Bottom Line

If you’ve opened ~5 or more credit cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months, you probably will NOT be approved for certain Chase credit cards. This includes the Ink Plus, Chase Marriott cards, and Chase Southwest cards.

If you’re new to miles & points, consider applying for the valuable Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus before other cards so you don’t get shut out from getting them later!

Although this is NOT official news from Chase, folks are reporting more denials.

Have you recently been affected by Chase’s new stricter application rules?

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