This one catches a lot of people off guard. Your credit is great, your income is fine, nothing looks wrong, and Chase still says no. The reason has nothing to do with your score. It's an unwritten policy that points folks call "5/24," and if a Chase card is anywhere on your wish list, it's worth knowing about before you apply for anything at all.

The rule in one sentence

Chase is widely reported to turn down applications from anyone who has opened five or more personal credit cards in the past 24 months, counting cards from every bank, not only Chase. A high score and a big salary don't override it. Hit five, and the answer is basically automatic.

What counts toward your five

Here's where people get it wrong. It isn't five Chase cards. It's five personal cards, from anywhere, opened in the last two years. Amex, Citi, Capital One, even a store card, all of them go into the same count. You could have zero Chase cards and still be over the limit.

What usually doesn't count

  • Most business credit cards, including Chase's own business cards, are generally reported not to count.
  • Authorized-user cards, where someone adds you to their account, don't open a new account in your name.
  • Other loans, like a car loan or a mortgage, aren't part of it.

That business-card detail matters. If you have a real business use for one, it typically won't eat into your 5/24 count the way a personal card would.

"But Chase never announced it"

True, Chase has never put this rule in writing. But it isn't just a rumor. Applicants and travel sites have seen it play out the same way for years, so the safe move is to treat it as real. A policy that keeps deciding real applications is a real policy, press release or not.

How to find your own number

You can check this yourself without applying for anything:

  1. Pull a free credit report from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion.
  2. Look for personal credit card accounts opened in the last 24 months.
  3. Count them. That's your best guess at where Chase will see you.

Why it changes the order you apply in

This is the big one. Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the strongest flexible points programs around, so plenty of people want a Chase card eventually. If you grab four or five other cards first because their bonuses looked tempting, you can shut yourself out of Chase for up to two years without realizing it.

That's why many experienced points collectors go to Chase early. Not because Chase is the right first card for everyone, but because it's the door that's easiest to close by accident.

The bottom line

5/24 isn't about your credit score. It's about timing. If Chase might be in your future, check your count before you start opening other cards, and if you're getting close, apply to Chase first. Get the order wrong and you'll only find out when the denial shows up.

And whatever order you go in, the number one rule doesn't change: pay your cards in full every month. Interest on a balance quickly costs more than any rewards you earn.

I cover beginner rules like this in short videos on YouTube at @PaulsPoints.