Issuing Banks’ Rules for Approvals and New Bonuses

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Will you be approved for a new card? Will you be able to earn its welcome offer?

What if you’ve already had that card and received its welcome offer before?

The answers to these questions depend on the credit card issuing bank. The issuing bank is not the payment network like Visa or MasterCard. The issuing bank is the bank that gives you the card, collects interest and provides customer service.

For travel rewards cards, the main issuing banks are American Express, Barclays, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase and Citi.

Let’s look at the rules for each issuing bank, which vary widely. Note that many of these “rules” are not published, but rather formed over time by points and miles aficionados like ourselves, collaborating data points to establish patterns of bank behavior.

American Express

General Card Rules

• You can get the welcome bonus on an American Express card once per lifetime only.
  • Despite a “lifetime” sounding dramatic, evidence suggests that, in practice, Amex defines a lifetime as seven years, meaning you’ll likely be able to earn a card’s welcome bonus again after this time period has passed.
  • However, if you’re targeted for an American Express offer, you can still be approved for the welcome offer even if you’ve had the card before (just make sure the terms of the offer don’t include the “once in a lifetime” language).
• 1-in-5 rule: Amex limits card approvals to a maximum of one every five days.
  • If you’re applying for cards with no preset spending limit, this rule doesn’t apply. Current Amex cards with no preset spending limit include The Platinum Card® from American Express, The American Express® Gold Card and the American Express® Green Card.
• 2-in-90 rule: You can be approved for no more than two Amex credit cards in a 90-day period. If you want more than two Amex cards, apply for them on days one, six and 91.
  • Again, cards with no preset spending limits are excluded from this rule.
• You are limited to holding five American Express credit cards. Both personal and business cards count toward this limit.

Product-Specific Card Rules

• American Express tries to deter you from downgrading your card through its welcome offer eligibility criteria. This is seen on many of its co-branded and Membership Rewards earning cards.
  • Often, you can apply for the lowest annual fee card, earn its welcome offer, and continue up the ladder to the highest annual fee card within a specific card family, earning each card’s welcome offer. However, you typically can’t do the reverse—if you’ve already earned the welcome offer on the highest annual fee card within a card family, you may not be eligible to earn the mid- or low-tier cards’ welcome offers.
• Membership Rewards-earning cards: Here are some of the main card-specific rules to watch out for on cards that earn Membership Rewards points:
  • The Platinum Card® from American Express: If you have or had any versions of The Platinum Card from American Express, you might be ineligible for earning its welcome offer.
  • American Express® Gold Card: If you have or had any versions of The Platinum Card from American Express or the American Express Gold Card, you might be ineligible for the Amex Gold’s welcome offer. However, the reverse doesn’t apply. Therefore, to be eligible for both welcome offers it makes sense to start with the Amex Gold card before moving onto the Platinum.
  • American Express® Green Card: If you have or had any versions of The Platinum Card from American Express, the American Express Gold Card or the American Express Green Card, you might be ineligible for the Amex Green Card’s welcome offer. However, there’s nothing (hypothetically) stopping you from earning the Amex Green Card’s welcome offer, then the Amex Gold Card’s welcome offer, followed by the Amex Platinum Card’s welcome offer—but in that order only.
• Cashback cards: Here are some of the main card-specific rules to consider for Amex cards that earn cash back:
  • Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card: If you have or had this card before, you might be ineligible for its welcome offer.
  • Amex EveryDay® Credit Card: If you have or had the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card from American Express or the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, you might be ineligible for the EveryDay Card’s welcome offer.
  • Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: If you have or had any version of the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express, you might be ineligible for its welcome offer.
  • Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: If you have or had the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, the American Express Cash Magnet® Card or the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, you might be ineligible for the Blue Cash Everyday Card’s welcome offer.
  • American Express Cash Magnet® Card: If you have or had the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express or the American Express Cash Magnet Card, you might be ineligible for the Cash Magnet Card’s welcome offer.
• Hilton Honors cards: Here are the main rules to consider for co-branded Hilton Honors cards:
  • Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: If you have or had this card before, you might be ineligible for its welcome offer. 
  • Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: If you have or had this card before, you might be ineligible for its welcome offer.
  • Hilton Honors American Express Card: If you had this card before, you might be ineligible for its welcome offer.

• Marriott Bonvoy cards: Here are the main rules to consider for co-branded Marriott Bonvoy cards:
  • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: If you have or had the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card or Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card, you might be ineligible for the Brilliant Card’s welcome offer. Likewise, you might be ineligible for the welcome offer if you have or had The Ritz-Carlton® Credit Card from JPMorgan or the J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card in the last 30 days. If your application for any of the Chase co-branded Marriott consumer cards was approved in the last 90 days, or if you earned the welcome offer on any of these Chase cards within the last 24 months, you might be ineligible for the Brilliant Card’s welcome offer.
  • Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card: If you have or had the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card or Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, you might be ineligible for the Bevy Card’s welcome offer. Likewise, you might be ineligible for the welcome offer if you have or had The Ritz-Carlton® Credit Card from JPMorgan, the J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card or any Chase co-branded Marriott consumer or business card in the last 30 days. If your application for any of the Chase co-branded Marriott consumer or business cards was approved in the last 90 days, or if you earned the welcome offer on any of these Chase cards within the last 24 months, you might be ineligible for the Bevy Card’s welcome offer.
    
• Delta SkyMiles cards: Here are the main rules to consider for co-branded Delta SkyMiles cards:
  • Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: If you have or had this card before, you might be ineligible for its welcome offer.
  • Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: If you have or had the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card or the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card, you might be ineligible for the Platinum Card’s welcome offer.
  • Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: If you have or had the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card or the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card, you might be ineligible for the Gold Card’s welcome offer.
  • Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card: If you have or had the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card or the Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card, you might be ineligible for the Blue Card’s welcome offer.

Bank of America

• Bank of America doesn’t stipulate a maximum number of cards applicants are allowed to have open. However, they may likely restrict you based on your aggregate credit limit across all open cards. 
• 2/3/4 rule: Here’s a summary of Bank of America’s application rules:
  • You can open a maximum of two new cards within a two-month period. 
  • You can open a maximum of three credit cards within a 12-month period.
  • You can open a maximum of four credit cards within a 24-month period.
• Users have also reported the 3/12 and 7/12 application rules:
  • If you have a bank account with Bank of America and have opened seven or more credit cards with any issuer within the last 12 months, your application will be denied.
  • If you don’t have a bank account with Bank of America and have opened three or more credit cards with any issuer within the last 12 months, your application will be denied.
• 24-month rule: You can’t open the same credit card if you’ve had it within the last 24 months. This also applies to earning welcome bonuses on the same card.

Barclays

• Generally speaking, Barclays is inconsistent in its rules for approvals and welcome bonuses.
• 6/24 rule: If you’ve opened six or more credit cards with any issuer within the last 24 months, your application will be denied.
  • Unlike Chase’s 5/24 rule, Barclays doesn’t apply its 6/24 rule consistently. Rather, it’s applied on a case-by-case basis. You might be under 6/24 and get rejected; you might be over 6/24 and get accepted.
• To earn the same card’s welcome bonus again, you’ll need to close the account and wait for 24 months.
  • However, keep in mind that certain cards state the following: “You may not be eligible for this offer if you currently have or previously had an account with us in this Program.” Therefore, waiting 24 months doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be eligible for the same card’s welcome bonus again.
• Barclays doesn’t specify a strict limit on the number of cards applicants are allowed to hold.
  • However, having too many Barclays credit cards, not enough spending on existing Barclays credit cards, too much credit with Barclays or too many accounts with other banks could affect your eligibility.

Capital One

• You can only apply for a Capital One card once every six months. 
• You can hold up to five consumer Capital One-branded credit cards at once.
  • This doesn’t apply to business cards.
  • The data points are conflicting. Some data suggests that you can only hold two Capital One-branded cards while other data suggests you can only hold two starter cards.
• You have to wait 48 months to receive the same card’s welcome bonus. Luckily, Capital One doesn’t seem to apply any welcome bonus restrictions on families of cards.

Chase

General Card Rules

• 5/24 rule: If you have five or more new credit card accounts with any bank–yes, any bank, not just Chase–within the last 24 months, you will be denied most Chase personal and business credit cards.
  • Chase will count the card you’re currently applying for as part of your 5/24 count, meaning you need to be 4/24 or under to apply for a Chase credit card.
  • Note that most business cards don’t count toward your 5/24 total, as they don’t show up on your personal credit report. However, you still need to be under 5/24 to get approved for any Chase business cards. Business cards issued by Capital One, Discover and TD Bank are the exception as they are typically included in your 5/24 count.
  • Keep in mind that if you’re added as an authorized user on somebody else’s card account, this will also be included in your 5/24 count. 

• You can earn the welcome bonus on the same Chase credit card once every 24 months only. This 24-month clock starts when you receive the initial bonus.
  • There is an exception to the 24-month welcome bonus rule with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Sapphire Preferred® cards. As noted below, you need to wait 48 months between receiving welcome bonuses from Sapphire card products.
• 2-in-30 rule: You shouldn’t apply for more than two personal cards or one business card in a 30-day period. A safe limit is one business and one personal card within 90 days. Chase is known for denying people who apply for more than that.

Product-Specific Card Rules

• Sapphire cards:
  • New applicants will not be approved for another credit card in the Sapphire family if they already have one open. In other words, if you currently hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you’re ineligible to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and vice versa.
  • You cannot earn the welcome bonus on any Sapphire-family card until at least 48 months have passed since the last time you earned the bonus on a Sapphire-family card.

• Southwest cards:
  • You can hold one Southwest personal credit card only at any one time. If you have the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card or Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card open, you’re not eligible for another Southwest consumer card.
  • You are ineligible for the welcome bonus on a Southwest consumer card if you have earned a welcome bonus on any other Southwest consumer card within the last 24 months. This rule doesn’t apply to the Southwest business cards. You can open both Southwest business cards simultaneously and earn their welcome bonuses, as long as you haven’t received the welcome bonus on the same card within the last 24 months—a surefire strategy for earning the coveted Southwest Companion Pass.

• Marriott Bonvoy cards: Issuing, approval and welcome bonus rules for Marriott cards are the most complex of any Chase card. This is because co-branded Marriott cards are offered through both Chase and American Express. Here’s a summary of some of the main rules for Marriott co-branded Chase cards:
  • You’re ineligible for the welcome bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card or Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card if you hold any of the following cards simultaneously or if you received a welcome bonus from any of the following cards within the last 24 months: the Marriott Bonvoy® Premier credit card (no longer taking applications), Marriott Rewards® Premier credit card (no longer taking applications), Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® credit card, Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus credit card (no longer taking applications) or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® credit card.
  • You’re ineligible for the welcome bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card or Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card if you have held the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card (no longer taking applications) within the last 30 days.
  • You’re ineligible for the welcome bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card or Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card if you applied and were approved for any of the following cards within the last 90 days or if you received the welcome bonus within the last 24 months from any of the following cards: the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card or Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card.
  • For the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card, you’re ineligible for the welcome bonus if you earned it within the last 24 months or if you currently hold the card. You’ll also be ineligible for the Bountiful Card’s welcome bonus if you have or held any of the following cards within the last 30 days, applied for and were approved for them within the last 90 days or received their welcome bonuses within the last 24 months: Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card, Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card or Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card.
• IHG cards:
  • You can hold one personal IHG card only at a time: either the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card or IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card. 
  • You can hold both a personal and the business IHG credit card simultaneously.
  • To earn the welcome bonus on a personal IHG credit card, you can’t have received the welcome bonus from any personal IHG card within the last 24 months.
  • To earn the welcome bonus on the business IHG credit card, you can’t have received its welcome bonus within the last 24 months.
• Disney cards: The general Chase application and welcome bonus rules apply to co-branded Disney Chase cards (i.e. 24-month welcome bonus rule and 5/24 rule). That means you could hold both Disney cards simultaneously (whether you’d want to is a different question).
• Hyatt cards: Similarly, the general Chase application and welcome bonus rules apply to co-branded Hyatt Chase cards.
• United cards: Likewise, the general Chase application and welcome bonus rules apply to co-branded United Chase cards.
• Avios-earning cards: For the British Airways Visa Signature® Card, Iberia Visa Signature® Card and the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card, the general Chase application and welcome bonus rules apply.

All information about Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card and Iberia Visa Signature® Card have been collected independently by milevalue.com. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Citi

• 8/65 rule: Citi limits card applications in the following manner:
  • You can apply for no more than one consumer Citi card in an eight-day period. If you want two Citi cards, apply for them on days one and nine.
  • You can apply for no more than two consumer Citi cards in a 65-day period. If you want three Citi cards, get them on days one, nine and 66.
• 1/95 rule: You can apply for no more than one business Citi card in a 95-day period.
  • The numbers above are for the risk-averse. Technically, you should be able to get one consumer card in a seven-day period (so applying on day one and eight should be ok), two consumer cards in a 60-day period (so applying on day one, eight and 61 should be ok), and one business card in a 90-day period (so applying on day one and 91 should be ok).

• 48-month rule: You’re eligible to earn a welcome bonus only if you haven’t received the same card’s bonus within the last 48 months—this has replaced the old 24-month rule of Citi ThankYou point cards.
• For co-branded Citi AAdvantage cards, there’s also a geographical requirement for earning their welcome bonuses. Only those who reside in the U.S. and its territories, excluding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are able to earn these cards’ welcome bonuses.

Discover

• You can hold a maximum of two Discover cards simultaneously.
• You need to wait at least a full year between card applications for Discover cards.

U.S. Bank

• There are no formal restrictions on the number of cards you can hold when applying, but rather on your total aggregate credit limit across all open card accounts. Reducing your credit limit could help you get approved for a U.S. Bank issued card.
• For certain cards, a 12-month waiting period between earning welcome bonuses on the same card applies.

Wells Fargo

• There are no formal restrictions on the number of cards you can hold when applying, but rather on your total aggregate credit limit across all open card accounts. Reducing your credit limit could help you get approved for a Wells Fargo issued card.
• Wells Fargo limits card applications to one every six months.
• You’ll also need to wait 48 months between welcome bonuses to earn the same bonus on the same card again.
  • For Choice Privileges cards, this is reduced to 15 months: “If you opened a Choice Privileges Mastercard Credit Card or a Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Credit Card within the last 15 months, you may not be eligible for an introductory bonus rewards offer.”

Bottom Line

Every issuing bank has different rules on how often you can apply for its cards and how often you can get a new bonus on a card you’ve had previously. The rules are changing and the general trend is toward a tightening of the rules. The rules are figured out by aggregating data points on FlyerTalk, Reddit and through good old-fashioned experimentation.

But don’t expect any bank representative to be familiar with these rules. Instead, use them to your advantage to successfully apply for the credit cards you want and limit the number of unnecessary hard pulls on your credit score while doing so.