Bank Rules and Guidelines

Disclaimer: The following rules and guidelines can be found publicly or are rules of thumb in the credit card community. Some rules or guidelines are not officially published by the banks or companies and are narrowed down due to contributions of data points throughout the community. Do not take any of these listed below as hard and true as your mileage may vary.

American Express

Card Limits: You can generally have up to 5 credit cards issued by American Express. This includes business cards in additional to personal credit cards.  

3/90 Rule: No more than three applications within a 90-day window.

Sign-Up Bonus/Welcome Bonus: American Express has one of the most restrictive welcome bonus languages. Also known as, “Once in a lifetime rule”, you can only get a welcome bonus for a specific card once. There is no current time window that allows you to be eligible for another welcome bonus.

Bank of America

2/3/4 Rule: You can get approved for 2 new cards every 30 days. You can get approved for 3 new cards every 12 months. You can get approved for 4 new cards every 24 months.

Capital One

1/6 Rule: You can only be approved for one Capital One card every 6 months. This includes both personal and business cards.

Chase Bank

5/24 Rule: This is one of the most infamous unofficial rule associated with Chase. If you have opened any credit cards that report to your personal credit history (some business cards do but most do not) in the last 24 months, you will automatically be denied. Even if you have closed a credit card, it still counts towards your 5/24 status. Being an authorized user on someone else’s card also counts against your 5/24 status. Although there have been people who have been able to by-pass this rule, I would recommend not wasting an application with Chase if you fall at or above five opened personal credit cards in the last 24 months.

2/30 Rule: You can only submit two credit card applications to Chase within a 30 day window. This counts for both business cards and personal credit cards. Three or more applications within a 30 day window will be denied.

1/30 Rule: If you want to apply for a Chase business card, do not submit more than one application within 30 days. Applying for personal cards counts with this rule.

1/48 Sapphire Rule: You can not get a sign-up bonus for any Chase Sapphire product if you’ve gotten one within the last 48 months. Specifically, within the last 48 months of the statement closing that awarded you the previous sign-up bonus. This takes into account the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve together.

Sign-Up Bonus/Welcome Bonus: You can generally earn another sign-up bonus for the same card if it has been 24 or 48 months or longer since your last sign-up bonus for that specific card. The time limitation is specific to certain credit cards issued by Chase. The 48 months requirement between sign up bonuses is generally known for the Chase Sapphire products. However, you will need to cancel, upgrade, or downgrade that card so it is a different product before you sign up again. This is so you aren’t holding the same card you’re trying to sign up for again.

Timing of Applications: The rule of thumb here is no more than two Chase credit card applications within a 30-day window.

Citi Bank

Card Limits: There is no hard and fast rule on how many Citi cards you can carry at once.

Sign-Up Bonus/Welcome Bonus: Like Chase, Citi allows you to be eligible for a sign up or welcome bonus for the same product again after some time has passed. Per Citi, you must wait 24-months since you’ve opened the card or closed the card. This is a little more unique than the other banks. If you close your card, you must wait 24-months from your closing date to be eligible again. If you downgrade the card or do a product change, this gives you more room to breathe as the 24-month clock does not start over. However, you can only get one sign up or welcome bonus in their family of cards with this rule applied. Citi does have co-branded cards such as ones with American Airlines that have longer wait times before being eligible again. Such wait times can be 48-months or more.

6/6 Rule: High chance of denial if you’ve had 6 or more hard inquiries on your credit report within the last 6 months.

1/8 Rule: One application per 8 days or you’ll be denied. Personal and business cards apply to this rule.

2/65 Rule: No more than 2 applications within 65 days.

1/90 Rule: No more than 1 business credit card application within a 90 day window.