Time Between Opening Chase Credit Cards

[jwcc1205]

Hello, I currently have a Freedom Unlimited that I opened in March of 2021. I am interested in opening the Sapphire Preferred as soon as I can to capitilize on the welcome bonus. My Fico scores are around 770-800. The Freedom was opened on the same day as an Apple Card. Both card have limits above 5000, but the only other card opened before then was a Discover IT in July of 2019. I also opened a car loan in October of 2019 with a current balance of $5000. Would Chase approve the CSP or should I wait a few months?

[Anonymous]

First off, Chase's 5/24 rule wouldn't impact you. 5/24 means that, in order to be eligible to be considered for a new Chase credit card, you must have opened, at most, 4 new credit cards within the past 24 months (actually the past 24-25 months, since a credit card opened in July 2019 doesn't age off until August 1, 2021). Non-credit cards such as car loans don't count toward 5/24 (although, obviously, they can and do impact your credit score). For 5/24 purposes, you're currently sitting at 2/24 (due to the CFU and the Apple Card). So you're safe as far as that rule's concerned.

[Edited to add: For clarity, new Authorized User credit cards do count toward the 5/24 cap, at least on initial evaluation. There are some DPs of folks getting AU cards excluded from the 5/24 count upon asking for reconsideration after a denial, but there are also DPs of Chase holding firm on counting AU cards toward the 5/24 cap.]

Then there's Chase's 2/30 guideline. While reputedly not quite as unforgiving as the 5/24 rule, it's tough to get approved for more than 2 Chase CCs within 30 days. (The principle underlying 2/30 isn't really limited to Chase. Imagine trying to get three new credit cards from the same issuer within a 30-day window...) You only have one Chase credit card currently, and that was opened well over 30 days ago. You're fine under 2/30 as well.

HPs don't count toward either 5/24 or 2/30, although of course, as with any creditor, the fewer HPs, and the fewer recent HPs within the past 6 months, the better. If you have 2 HPs in the past 6 months, you should be fine. If you have , I dunno, 10 HPs in the past 6 months, maybe wait a bit.

Overall, unless you expect your credit report/score to change substantially in the next few months (e.g., you have a large number of HPs about to age off), or unless you have a very high number of HPs within the past 6 months, I don't see any specific benefit with waiting to apply in (say) November vs. applying now.

Best of luck!

[coldfusion]

Check for a preapproval to assess your odds but things look OK to go ahead.

[Aim_High]

Welcome to My Fico forums, @jwcc1205.   

Agree with the above that you should be fine.  You've had five months since your last Chase card and also five months since your last new credit account, and your overall credit-seeking is in-check per Chase's standards. 

I have a lot of Chase cards and many of them were opened in succession starting in May 2018 when I was 0/24.  I was approved for five new cards with spacing of as little as three months between new cards.  Generally, I recommend to avoid opening a lot of cards with Chase or other lenders in too short of a period to increase your odds of success with Chase, so your caution is appropriate.   

[Yasselife]

@Anonymous do I qualify if I've opened 3 cards and 1 loan in the last 24mo?

inq:

3inq - 6mo,12mo

0inq - 24mo

[Anonymous]

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@Yasselife wrote:

@Anonymous do I qualify if I've opened 3 cards and 1 loan in the last 24mo?

inq:

3inq - 6mo,12mo

0inq - 24mo

---

As with any credit card it depends on your credit score, number of HPs (especially in the past 30 days and the past 6 months), DTI, income, and the presence of any "baddies."

When did you open your most recent 3 cards? Your post doesn't make that clear. 5/24 won't restrict you (loans don't count, and you're sitting at 3/24 right now), but if all 3 of your most recent cards were (for example) opened within the past 30 days, it would be advisable to wait a bit.

[Aim_High]

@Yasselife, the 5/24 restriction is on new revolving credit accounts like credit cards.  It excludes installment-type loans such as auto loans, mortgages, or student loans since those are fixed debt and payment arrangements. 

So with 3/24, you should be under the wire for new Chase card approvals, assuming everything else in profile is in order.

ETA: Good caveat from @Anonymous that the recency of those three new cards is relevant.

[jwcc1205]

The most recent cards were the Discover IT in July of 2019, then the Chase Freedom Unlimited in March of 2021, and an Apple Card also in March of 2021. I have no derogs or late payments on my credit report. I have 4 total inquries on my report currently. My FICO 8 scores are in the 780s. The FU and Apple card are both around 5 months. I just wanted to make sure I would be all good for this since the FU is relatively new. Thank you to everyone for the information!

[Anonymous]

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@jwcc1205 wrote:

The most recent cards were the Discover IT in July of 2019, then the Chase Freedom Unlimited in March of 2021, and an Apple Card also in March of 2021. I have no derogs or late payments on my credit report. I have 4 total inquries on my report currently. My FICO 8 scores are in the 780s. The FU and Apple card are both around 5 months. I just wanted to make sure I would be all good for this since the FU is relatively new. Thank you to everyone for the information!

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You should be in good shape! You're at 2/24 for Chase's purposes (the Discover IT aged out of the 24-month window effective August 1, 2021), and 5 months since your last two credit cards were opened is very decent. I'd say go for it!

[Yasselife]

EX 760, EQ 798, TU 807

AAoA 4yrs, youngest account 2mo.

Clean profile.

   I am thinking on waiting 4mo to pull the trigger and hopefully get a decent apr.

   What is the minimum score for the best rates?

@Anonymous @coldfusion @Aim_High