Rumors Holding True – Chase Hyatt, British Airways, and Other Cards Now Appear to Be Subject to the “5/24 Rule”

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The Chase “5/24 rule” affects many of the BEST credit cards in the miles & points hobby.  If you don’t understand this rule, read this post.  5 minutes of reading will help you to get HUGE travel.

Chase offers loads of valuable travel rewards credit cards, like the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card (our #1 card pick for small businesses).  But they will NOT approve you for most of their cards if you’ve opened 5+ cards from any bank (NOT counting Chase business cards and certain other business cards) in the past 24 months.  So if you hastily set out on a credit card application spree without a game plan, you could delay your opportunity to receive fantastic Chase sign-up bonuses by YEARS!

This rule was previously NOT enforced on all cards.  But the data points are piling up, and it appears to be affecting all the travel cards Chase issues…

Until recently, you could still open cards like The World of Hyatt Credit Card and British Airways Visa Signature® Card even if you had opened more than 5 cards in the past 24 months.  But it now looks like Chase is cracking down on those cards.  And possibly others, like the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card and other Avios points earning cards!

It’s a safe bet that Chase is nearing completion of its plan to put all its cards under this rule.  That means you need to decide which Chase personal cards you want most, and apply for them first.  There will likely no longer be exceptions.

Then once you have the Chase cards you want, you can start checking out the other best credit cards for travel.

Note:   Chase does NOT count small business cards against the “5/24 rule”.  So if you apply for Chase or AMEX small business cards, you can still apply for 5 Chase personal cards!  Just remember that if you have applied for 5 personal cards within 24 months, you will NOT be eligible to open Chase small business cards.

What’s your credit card application strategy now that these rules are becoming tighter?

Hat tip:   The Points Guy

The information for the British Airways Visa card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.