Track Chase 5/24, Amex lifetime rules, Citi 48-month cooldowns, and 8 other issuer restrictions
Track Chase 5/24, Amex lifetime rules, Citi 48-month cooldowns, and 8 other issuer restrictions simultaneously. Enter your card history to see your eligibility status at each major bank before applying.
Check cards you currently have open (used for Sapphire conflict + Amex lifetime checks)
Credit card churning is the practice of strategically applying for credit cards to earn sign-up bonuses (also called welcome offers), then either keeping the cards for their ongoing benefits or downgrading/closing them before the next annual fee is charged. A disciplined churner might earn $3,000–$8,000 per year in travel value from sign-up bonuses alone. The key to success is understanding each issuer's application restrictions so you can sequence applications in the optimal order without triggering automatic denials.
Chase's 5/24 rule is the most important rule to understand because it counts cards opened at all issuers — not just Chase. Being over 5/24 blocks you from virtually every Chase product: Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, and all Ink business cards. The key insight is that Chase business cards (all Ink products) do not add to your 5/24 count because they don't report to personal credit bureaus. This means you can open multiple Ink cards while under 5/24 and preserve your remaining slots for future Chase personal card applications.
Additionally, the Sapphire family has a secondary restriction: you can hold only one Sapphire card at a time (either Preferred or Reserve, not both), and you must wait 48 months from the date you last received a Sapphire bonus before earning the bonus again. Most experienced churners product-change (PC) the Sapphire Preferred to a Freedom card after one year, freeing up the Sapphire slot for a future Reserve application.
Amex operates on three distinct restrictions that work simultaneously. First, the once-per-lifetime bonus rule: you can only receive the welcome offer on each card product once, ever. Even if you held the card 15 years ago and closed it long since, you are ineligible for the bonus on that specific product again. Amex now shows a welcome-offer eligibility popup during the application process, which helps avoid wasted hard pulls.
Second, the 2/90 velocity rule limits approvals for Amex credit cards (not charge cards) to two per rolling 90-day period. If you apply for a third credit card within the same 90-day window, it will be denied. Charge cards like the Platinum, Gold, and Green are exempt from this velocity limit.
Third, Amex limits total open credit cards to 5 at a time. Charge cards do not count toward this limit. Once you hit 5 open credit cards, additional applications will be denied until you close one. Planning the mix of Amex credit vs. charge cards is a key optimization for maximizing Amex approvals.
Citi's 48-month rule restricts sign-up bonuses — not card approvals — within card families. The main families are: Strata Premier + Prestige (the ThankYou Points cards), Double Cash + Simplicity, and Custom Cash (standalone). If you earned the Strata Premier bonus in March 2022, you cannot earn it again until March 2026 at the earliest. Citi also has velocity rules: only one new Citi card per 8 days, and no more than two in any 65-day window. Unlike Chase's 5/24, Citi only looks at Citi-issued cards for these restrictions.
Capital One is notably conservative: they typically approve only one personal card per 6-month window and are known for pulling from multiple credit bureaus simultaneously. Bank of America applies three independent velocity windows (2 cards / 2 months, 3 cards / 12 months, 4 cards / 24 months) — all three must pass simultaneously. Barclays uses a soft 6/24 guideline and will not outright block you, but approvals become unlikely above that threshold. Wells Fargo generally caps personal card holders at two active cards. Discover is the most restrictive in cardholder count — they allow only one card at a time, though existing holders can open a second card after 12 months.
| Issuer | Key Rule | Window | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase | 5/24 hard deny; 1 Sapphire at a time; Sapphire 48-mo bonus lock | 24 months | All issuers |
| Amex | Lifetime bonus rule; 2/90 credit cards; 5-credit-card max | Lifetime / 90 days | Amex cards only |
| Citi | 1 card/8 days; 2 cards/65 days; 48-mo family bonus lock | 8 / 65 days / 48 months | Citi cards only |
| Capital One | 1 personal card per 6 months; multi-bureau pull | 6 months | Capital One cards |
| Bank of America | 2/2mo, 3/12mo, 4/24mo — all three must pass | 2 / 12 / 24 months | BofA cards only |
| Barclays | 6/24 soft guideline — not a hard deny | 24 months | All issuers (soft) |
| Wells Fargo | Max ~2 active personal cards | Ongoing | WF cards only |
| Discover | 1 card at a time; 2nd card after 12 months | 12 months | Discover cards only |
For someone starting with clean credit (under 5/24, no Amex lifetime cards, fresh Citi clock), the optimal sequence over 24 months is:
By Month 18, a disciplined churner following this strategy will have earned roughly 435,000+ transferable points worth $6,500–$13,000 in travel, depending on redemption. The key discipline is always checking this planner before each new application to ensure you don't accidentally block yourself from a higher-priority card.
Each credit card application creates a hard inquiry on your credit report, which can temporarily lower your score by 5–10 points. Most inquiries fade from impact within 6 months and disappear entirely in 24 months. The more important factor for credit health is average account age — strategic card holders often maintain strong scores (740+) by keeping older accounts open even at $0 balance. Never close your oldest credit card unless the annual fee is impossible to justify. For the no-fee Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex, there is virtually no reason to close them — they improve your credit utilization ratio and keep your average account age high.
Credit card application rules are subject to change without notice. Verify current requirements directly with each issuer before applying. This tool is for educational purposes only and does not guarantee approval for any credit card.