We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

The Obvious First Card Choice After Dropping Below “5/24”

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

    Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

    FINALLY!  It’s been a struggle for my wife and me to earn some of the best Chase card sign-up bonuses because we were both impacted by the “5/24” rule.  Chase will NOT approve you for most of their cards if you’ve opened 5+ cards from any bank (NOT counting Chase business cards and these other business cards) in the past 24 months.

    Unfortunately, I’m still under this restriction until August 2018.  But my wife fell below the limit as of June 1.  To celebrate, she obviously had to apply for a new card right away — the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card.

    The Ink Business Preferred has the HIGHEST sign-up bonus of ANY card earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  And these points have been key to our success in the miles & points hobby!  We used these flexible points to save a lot of money on our around-the-world honeymoon and an unbelievable family vacation to New Zealand!

    After Patiently Waiting to Drop Below Chase’s “5/24” Limit, My Wife Was Approved for the Ink Business Preferred Card!

    The nice part is my wife and I both have cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  So after she earns the valuable 80,000-point Ink Business Preferred sign-up bonus, we can combine points in one account to make it easier to book award travel.

    Why the 80,000-Point Ink Business Preferred Offer Is an Amazing Deal!

    Link:   Apply for the Chase Ink Business Preferred

    Link:   Our Review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred

    When you sign-up for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card, you’ll earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

    You can redeem the sign-up bonus for $800 in cash back OR $1,000 in travel by booking airfare, hotel stays, or car rentals through the Chase travel portal (with no blackout dates!).

    But the sign-up bonus has the potential to be worth MUCH more if you transfer points directly to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, which include:

    Thanks to alliances and partnerships, the list of Chase airline partners opens up a lot of opportunities for Big Travel with Small Money!  For example, after earning the Ink Business Preferred sign-up bonus myself, I transferred points to United Airlines to book a Business Class award flight on Star Alliance partner Air New Zealand.  Paying cash for a similar ticket would have cost more than $4,000!  And flying across the Pacific Ocean in a lie-flat seat was awesome!

    Earning the Ink Business Preferred Sign-Up Bonus Helped Me Get This Amazing and Comfortable Lie-Flat Business Class Seat on a ~12 Hour Flight to New Zealand!

    My wife and I don’t have specific plans for what we’ll do with the 80,000-point sign-up bonus.  But I’m confident it will get us at least $2,000 worth of travel!

    Ink Business Preferred cardholders also get:

    The card has a $95 annual fee, which is NOT waived the first year.  But the value of the sign-up bonus and ongoing 3X bonus category make it a card worth keeping in my opinion.

    The cell phone insurance perk is handy too!  I filed a claim after damaging my iPhone and received a reimbursement check to offset part of the repair cost.

    The Ink Business Preferred will be a great addition to my wife’s wallet because she already has other Chase Ultimate Rewards point earning cards, including the Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited.

    Plus, I have 4 cards earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  So between both of us, we can earn a lot of points in different bonus categories.  Then, combine points to book award flights or free hotel stays!

    See related:   Best Chase credit cards

    Even After Opening a New Card, My Wife Will Still Be Below “5/24”

    This is one of the top secrets in the miles & points hobby.  Most small business credit cards do NOT appear on your personal credit report.  This includes Chase small business credit cards.

    When a card doesn’t show up on your credit report, Chase won’t see it either!  This means it will NOT count toward your 5-card limit.

    So even though my wife recently opened the Chase Ink Business Preferred, she’ll remain below the “5/24” limit because this account will NOT appear on her personal credit report.  This means she’s eligible to apply for other valuable Chase cards, like the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card, which currently has a 100,000-point sign-up bonus offer!

    Adding a Chase Small Business Card to Your Wallet Will Not Count Toward Your 5 Card in 24 Month Limit! So You Can Still Be Eligible for Other Popular Cards, Like the Chase Marriott Card! This Card’s 100,000-Point Sign-Up Bonus Could Get You a Luxurious Stay at The St. Regis Punta Mita!

    Helpful “5/24” Application Tip!

    I had been tracking my wife’s “5/24” status like a hawk.  I knew that the 5th oldest card on her credit report would drop off in the middle of May.  The day after I thought it would fall off, she decided to apply for the Ink Business Preferred.  But she was NOT approved because of the typical “too many recent card accounts.”

    We called the Chase reconsideration line and the helpful representative advised the 5th oldest card wouldn’t drop off in their system until a new month started.  So we waited a couple more weeks and applied for the card on June 1.  Sure enough, she was instantly approved!

    Bottom Line

    My wife and I love earning new cardmember sign-up bonuses to save on travel.  But we’ve been limited from earning most Chase card bonuses because of the “5/24” rule.

    As of June, my wife dropped below the limit.  So she decided to apply for the Ink Business Preferred card, which has the highest sign-up bonus of ANY card earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

    After she meets minimum spending requirements on the card, she’ll earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, worth at least $1,000 in travel!

    The best part about getting this small business card is it does NOT appear on her personal credit report.  So she’ll continue to stay below the “5/24” limit, which means she has an open slot to apply for other top Chase credit cards!

    Are you impacted by the Chase “5/24” rule?  What’s your strategy been to continue earning miles & points?

    Other Popular Million Mile Secrets Articles to Read
    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)