As most of you probably already know, the Chase 5/24 rule is a rule implemented by Chase awhile back that says that applicants who have applied for 5 or more cards in the past 24 months will likely be denied. Chase 5/24 does not apply to every single Chase card but does apply to most of the “good” ones, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve card
My wife and I are both well over 5/24 so have not bothered even applying for any Chase cards recently. There are a few newer Chase cards such as the Sapphire Reserve and Freedom Unlimited cards that I would prefer to have, but I know I won’t be approved (and I’ve decided not to product change for now in hopes of someday getting a signup bonus)
[I’m over 5/24… but I just applied for a Chase Ink anyways]
But my mom was recently looking to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card to get some points for an upcoming trip while the 100,000 point bonus was in play (ended last weekend). I didn’t even think about 5/24 because she is not like me – signing up for every credit card out there.
But when she got her letter in the mail, she was denied for having too many applications in the past 24 months!
Pulling the credit applications
So then it was time to figure out WHAT applications Chase was seeing. I had my mom pull her free credit report from Credit Sesame (affiliate link), which showed the following
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April 2015 – Amex AND Citi – this was the Costco Visa and when it changed from Amex to Citi she apparently got 2 different hits. She said that she canceled the card so who knows what paperwork she may or may not have signed.
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May 2015 – Lowe’s credit card (I know… I know…)
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September 2015 – Chase Southwest Business
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December 2015 – Chase Marriott card
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February 2016 – we think an authorized user card
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August 2016 – BJs store card
So now what?
So the authorized user card I know people have gotten off their reports in relation to 5/24, but that still leaves her a few over. I’m not sure about the Amex / Citi pulls – even though she said that she went into Costco and said she didn’t want the new card.
Obviously this was nearly 2 years ago so who knows exactly what happened.
When she called in with that information, the representatives on the phone didn’t budge. I don’t know if HUCA would make a difference, or if there would be value in trying to call the credit bureaus to get the Amex / Citi pulls removed. Of course she would be under 5/24 after May 2017 but applying again would mean only a 50,000 point bonus.
Readers – any suggestions?