Chase 5 card rule

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@kdm31091 wrote:

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@Discover2016 wrote:

I have this gut feeling that Chase will relax or scrap the 5/24 rule eventually, especially with how competitive the market is. 

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Let's just be honest here: the people Chase is trying to lock out with the 5/24 rule are not people who are keeping the cards long term. They want to lock out churners and bonus chasers. Competitive market or not, the people who collect the bonus and then SD/cancel the card are not profitable, nor are they customers I imagine Chase cares about keeping or satisfying as they aren't long term customers.

I think the rule is probably here to stay. Keep in mind that 5 in 2 years is really fairly reasonable for an "average" consumer. It seems crazy to people like us, but it really isn't.

Some other lenders are similar anyway. While US Bank and Barclay may not be as stringent about a certain number of accounts in 2 years, they both do not tend to approve people with a ton of inquiries and new accounts. The point is that for any lender, it can signal risk.

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I'm reminded of the old joke about the retailer who lost money on every product he sold, but "made it up" in volume.

Issuers offer big signup bonuses because they know that most people are set in their use of just a few cards. Having one everyday card, one store card, and one airline card for free checked bags...then keeping those cards for several years or until circumstances change significantly...is about as complicated as most people get. This is the typical desirable consumer.

Issuers offer big bonuses to entice these consumers out of their established card choices. Issuers know that these customers, once won over, are likely to be very profitable. It is very rational for issuers to incentivize these customers with big bonuses.

But once an issuer can identify a customer as someone who is very likely to be unprofitable, there's just no incentive to offer that customer a new account and the associated bonus.

Chase is not so irrational as to be desperate for customers who it can see are likely to just take the bonus, not spend much after that, and then close the card to avoid an AF. Chase is interested in making money, not paying for our travel and getting little in return.

Although I've gotten three great bonuses from Chase in 2015 with many new accounts, it's also true that I've never closed an account and spend on CSP and Freedom regularly.

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That pretty much describes me somewhat. I'm more inclined to find one or two cards that fit my small niche. I dont travel a lot so I wont be milking bonus miles out of a card on a daily basis. I'm not patient enough to sit and calculate out how to maximize rewards by buying gas and groceries on certain days of the month etc. The only reason I have as many cards as I do right now is because I was trying to boost total credit available and keep utilization down to boost my FICO for some point next year when I may be car shopping. After I got into all of this, I got to thinking it would be nice to have all my banking and credit cards with one bank so I could link them up easy enough. My personality is kind of a set and forget it type. I wish I was more able to really work the cards out and figure out all the ways the to maximize points etc, my brain just doesnt work that way

[red259]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
"Chase wants to make money, not pay for our travel and get little in return" basically sums it up 100 percent. I wish more people understood that, instead of thinking they should be entitled to get a signup bonus many times, and 5 retention offers of 20k points each, yet they never even use the cards.

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Just because someone calls in for a rentention offer does not mean they think they are entitled to something.  

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Chase is not so irrational as to be desperate for customers who it can see are likely to just take the bonus, not spend much after that, and then close the card to avoid an AF. Chase is interested in making money, not paying for our travel and getting little in return.

Although I've gotten three great bonuses from Chase in 2015 with many new accounts, it's also true that I've never closed an account and spend on CSP and Freedom regularly.

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I think the right way to go about it is to target those potentially profitable customers with big bonuses, like how AMEX, Citi, or US Bank does. Instead, Chase waves big sign-up bonus and just denies anyone it doesn't like, which would be fine if inquries have no effect on your credit, but it does. But Chase doesn't care, because they don't give a F about people. Seriously, I despise Chase. I think they are the worst bank among TBTF banks. There's reason why Chase keeps giving away these big sign up bonuses for their products. It's because they are constantly culling the "undesirables".

[kdm31091]

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@red259 wrote:

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@kdm31091 wrote:
"Chase wants to make money, not pay for our travel and get little in return" basically sums it up 100 percent. I wish more people understood that, instead of thinking they should be entitled to get a signup bonus many times, and 5 retention offers of 20k points each, yet they never even use the cards.

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Just because someone calls in for a rentention offer does not mean they think they are entitled to something.  

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You are correct; however many posts about retention offers come from people who buy a pack of gum on the card every month, call for an offer and get mad when they are given nothing. "Chase has such bad customer service!" etc... yet they simply milked a bonus and moved on, and expect Chase to continue to waive their fee or give them more points for no reason. So yes, some seem to feel they are entitled to something.

That doesn't comprise everyone who wants retention offers, of course, but it happens frequently.

[nenuco]

Hey Everyone! This has been a topic of much discussion. Just to add my 2₵, I think these "rules" are guidelines to offset many customers who apply for cards exclusively for their respective bonuses. Apart from the 5/24 rule, it seems that one can't have more than five cards with Chase at a time. I recently applied for a sixth card (Chase Ink Cash) and was given a message to call in. The first two analysts had me on hold for ~ 30 minutes, only to tell me that I already had the maximum amount of cards. I tried to ask if I could close or move credit over, and was told the issue was with the # of accounts currently open or closed in the last 24 months. I called a day later to plea my case one last time. After an hour and much scrutiny, I was able to transfer some of my credit around and get approved for a sixth card. This year I have applied for five other cards, including one from Chase. Last year I was approved for four. So again these rules apply to the general public but exceptions can be made if warranted. Overall it seems that Chase has a much more adequate/ fair set of guidelines to approve cards than say Amex who only lets you get a bonus once.

[OmarGB9]

^Not true. Some members on here have over a dozen chase cards...lol. It all depends on your individual profile.

[nenuco]

@omargb9 these are all general rules that seem to have become the norm over this past year. I was able to get a sixth card, which is why I stated exceptions can be made. I don't know many people who have been instantly approved for more than five Chase cards (Freedom, Sapphire, Slate, Ink, etc.) in the last year. It may be a coincidence but the approval rate for Chase applications seems to have gone done. Everyone is chiming in with possible reasons why 

[red259]

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@nenuco wrote:

@OmarGB9 these are all general rules that seem to have become the norm over this past year. I was able to get a sixth card, which is why I stated exceptions can be made. I don't know many people who have been instantly approved for more than five Chase cards (Freedom, Sapphire, Slate, Ink, etc.) in the last year. It may be a coincidence but the approval rate for Chase applications seems to have gone done. Everyone is chiming in with possible reasons why 

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The chase policy applies to personal UR cards. Ink are business cards and there have been several datapoints that the business cards are not subjected to the same policy as a personal card. 

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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After I got into all of this, I got to thinking it would be nice to have all my banking and credit cards with one bank so I could link them up easy enough. 

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Just as a piece of OT advice, NEVER do this!   Have at least one card from a different issuer.   The reason is simply that something can go wrong, either due to a mistake or because the issuer decides you are risky (or the bank gets into financial trouble), and then you are without any working cards (and in the worst case, your bank accounts are closed as well).  

Issuer diversity is important!

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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After I got into all of this, I got to thinking it would be nice to have all my banking and credit cards with one bank so I could link them up easy enough. 

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Just as a piece of OT advice, NEVER do this!   Have at least one card from a different issuer.   The reason is simply that something can go wrong, either due to a mistake or because the issuer decides you are risky (or the bank gets into financial trouble), and then you are without any working cards (and in the worst case, your bank accounts are closed as well).  

Issuer diversity is important!

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Oh, I didn't mean I wouldn't have another. I agree 100%. I'll keep one or two more good cards and use them enough to keep them active, I just want one main card as my go-to. I just know that over time, I'll get weary of constantly churning transactions on multiple cards.