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Chase 5/24 Rule Explained: What Counts, When Cards Drop Off, and How to Check Your Count

Updated Sep 26, 2026 · 9 min read

The Chase 5/24 rule is an unpublished but widely reported pattern: if you've opened five or more personal credit cards from any bank in the last 24 months, Chase will usually decline your application for most of its cards. It counts cards from every issuer, not just Chase. It includes authorized-user cards and any business cards that show up on your personal credit report. Each card stops counting 24 months after it was opened. To see where you stand, list every card opened in the past two years with its open date from your credit report, or put them into the free Chase 5/24 Calculator.

Chase doesn't publish 5/24, so everything below comes from years of applicant data points and reconsideration calls collected by communities like Doctor of Credit. Treat any count as an estimate, not a guarantee of approval or denial.

What the 5/24 rule actually is

When you apply for a Chase card, Chase pulls your personal credit report and looks at how many new credit card accounts were opened in the last 24 months. If that number is five or more, the application is usually denied, however good the rest of your profile looks. At four or fewer you're "under 5/24," and Chase judges the application on its normal criteria: income, existing Chase credit lines, recent inquiries and so on.

Being under 5/24 doesn't guarantee approval. It just means this one rule isn't what stops you.

Two things people often get wrong:

  • It's not a Chase-only count. A Capital One, Amex, Citi or Wells Fargo personal card opened last year counts exactly like a Chase card.
  • It's not the same as a card's bonus-eligibility rule. Some Chase offers have their own 24-month rule. The Chase Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited and United Explorer terms, for example, say the product isn't available if you already have that card or got a new cardmember bonus for it in the past 24 months. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus terms apply a similar rule across Southwest personal cards. That's a separate test from 5/24, and you have to pass both.

Which Chase cards are subject to 5/24

Reports consistently show 5/24 applying to Chase's own cards, like the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve and Freedom cards. It also applies to most Chase co-branded cards, such as the United and Southwest cards, and to Chase business cards, including the Ink Business Cash, Ink Business Unlimited and Ink Business Preferred.

Over the years there have been scattered reports of approvals despite being over 5/24. Examples include some co-brand approvals in late 2021, a temporary loosening on Ink cards in late 2022, and some Sapphire Preferred approvals in 2023. None of these became a dependable exception, so plan as if 5/24 applies to every Chase card.

Recent change to watch (September 2026): Doctor of Credit has collected reports that Chase reconsideration reps are telling some sole-proprietor business card applicants about a stricter "3/24" limit. There are denials at 3/24 and 4/24, but also some approvals at those counts. As of this writing it isn't confirmed. If you're applying for an Ink card as a sole proprietor, go in knowing that being at 3 or 4 may not be enough.

What counts toward 5/24

Generally counted, if the account was opened in the last 24 months:

  • Personal credit cards from any issuer, including Chase. See the credit card bonuses page for current examples, like the Amex Gold Card, Capital One Venture X, Citi Strata Premier and Wells Fargo Active Cash. Every one of those, if approved, adds one to your count.
  • Store and retail cards that report to your credit file as credit card accounts.
  • Authorized-user (AU) cards that appear on your credit report. See the section below.
  • Business cards that report to your personal credit. This depends on the issuer and even the specific product. For example, some Capital One Spark cards report to personal credit, while the Capital One Spark Cash Plus is reported not to send its statement balances to the personal bureaus. Check how it shows on your own report.
  • Cards you've already closed. Closing a card doesn't remove the account's open date from your report, so it keeps counting until 24 months after it was opened.

Generally not counted:

  • Business cards that don't report to personal credit. This is most Chase business cards (including Ink) and most business cards from Amex, like the Amex Business Gold Card. Delinquent accounts can start reporting. Reporting errors also happen: Doctor of Credit covered a 2025 case where some Chase business cards briefly showed up on personal reports by mistake.
  • Loans: mortgages, auto loans, student loans and personal loans.
  • Bank accounts. A checking bonus like Chase Total Checking doesn't touch 5/24.
  • Denied applications. No account was opened, so there's nothing to count. The hard inquiry still shows up and can matter for approval separately.
  • Product changes that keep the same account and open date.

When in doubt, go by what's actually on your credit report, not by what you think should be there.

Do business cards count toward 5/24?

Business cards are where 5/24 matters most, because the effect works in both directions:

  1. Applying for a Chase business card: you generally need to be under 5/24 (or possibly under 3/24 for sole proprietors, per the recent reports above) to be approved.
  2. Getting approved for a Chase business card: the new Ink card usually doesn't appear on your personal report, so it doesn't add to your count.

That's why many churners get Chase business cards while they're under 5/24 and use non-reporting business cards from other issuers to earn bonuses without using up slots. Just check how each specific card reports before assuming it's "free." Current business card and business checking offers are on the business bonuses page.

Do authorized-user cards count?

Usually yes, at least automatically. If you've been added as an AU on someone else's card and it shows up on your report, Chase's system will typically count it. Two options applicants report:

  • Ask for reconsideration. Some applicants report that Chase agreed to set AU accounts aside once they explained they're only an authorized user. It's not guaranteed.
  • Get removed as an AU. The primary cardholder can remove you, and the account may later drop off your report. The bureaus can take time to update.

The 5/24 calculator has a switch to count AU cards or leave them out, so you can see both numbers.

When does a card drop off 5/24?

A card stops counting 24 months after its open date. Sources differ on the exact day. Some count it gone on the same date two years later. Others wait until the first day of the following month to be safe. If you're right at the edge, use the later date.

Worked example: say your five most recent personal cards were opened in October 2024, January 2025, March 2025, June 2025 and February 2026. In September 2026 you're at 5/24. The October 2024 card stops counting in October 2026, and from then you're at 4/24, as long as you haven't opened anything else in the meantime. With the cautious rule, you'd wait until November 1, 2026.

Use the open date on your credit report, not the day the card arrived or the day you activated it. The free reports at AnnualCreditReport.com list the open date for each account.

How to check your 5/24 count

  1. Pull your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. Check more than one bureau, since what's reported can differ.
  2. List every credit card account opened in the last 24 months: personal cards, store cards, AU cards and any business cards that appear.
  3. Note each open date and add 24 months to get the drop-off date. Add a month if you want the cautious date.
  4. Count what's still inside the window today. Four or fewer means you're under 5/24.
  5. Plan ahead: check your count as of a future date before you apply for any other issuer's card that would push you to 5/24.

The Chase 5/24 Calculator does steps 3 to 5 for you. For each card you enter an open date and a type (personal, authorized user, business that shows on personal credit, or business that doesn't). You pick the standard or cautious drop-off rule and choose whether to count AU cards. It then shows your current count, each card's drop-off date and the date you're back under 5/24. An optional "check as of" date lets you test a future application. It runs in your browser, needs no sign-up, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Planning around 5/24

A few conservative habits that follow from how the rule works:

  • Go for Chase cards first while you're under 5/24. Other issuers' cards will still be there after you hit 5/24. Chase cards mostly won't be.
  • Count before every application, not just Chase ones. The fifth card from any bank is what closes the door.
  • Remember the separate bonus rules. Being under 5/24 doesn't help if a card's terms exclude you for holding it or getting its bonus recently. Read each offer's terms on its bonus page.
  • Once approved, track the minimum spend deadline. Use the Bonus Deadline Calculator to get the exact date and the pace you need. For example, the Sapphire Preferred offer requires $5,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.

FAQ

Is 5/24 an official Chase policy? Chase doesn't publish it in its card terms. It's a pattern established by many years of applicant reports, and any count is an estimate.

Does a card I closed still count? Yes. It counts until 24 months after it was opened, whether it's open or closed.

Does getting denied add to my count? No. Only accounts that were actually opened count. The inquiry is still on your report.

Do Chase Ink cards count toward 5/24? Approval generally requires being under 5/24, but a new Ink card usually doesn't report to personal credit, so it doesn't add to your count.

Do bank account bonuses affect 5/24? No. Checking, savings and brokerage bonuses aren't credit cards.

What if I'm exactly at 5/24? Five counts as over. You need four or fewer. Find the date your oldest card drops off, and consider the cautious first-of-next-month date.

Sources

Rules here are unofficial and change. Confirm current terms with Chase before applying.

SuperChurn isn't owned by or endorsed by any bank or card issuer. This guide is general information, not financial or credit advice.

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