How long does chase freedom unlimited approval take

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In the world of travel credit cards (some may call it a game), there’s no hard and fast rule for how long you need to wait between your credit card applications. Generally speaking, waiting 90 days is a good rule of thumb. However, the amount of time between your applications ultimately comes down to important factors like your credit score, risk tolerance and each bank’s application rules for its credit cards.

At a high level, the higher your credit score, the more likely you are to be approved for new credit cards in a shorter amount of time. Banks evaluate your risk as a borrower when issuing you its credit cards. The less risk the bank sees in your application, generally the higher your odds are of approval.

It’s also important to note that many of the “rules” are not canon. With that context, let’s walk through the important aspects of each bank’s credit card application rules to help you determine how long to wait between your credit card applications.

American Express Credit Card Application Rules

American Express has flipped-flopped recently in the number of credit cards it’s willing to allow you to hold at one time. There are also reports that Amex caps the number of charge cards you can have open at one time. Amex defines a credit card as a card that has a pre-set spending limit and allows you to carry a balance while a charge card is a card that does not have a pre-set spending limit, but requires you to pay off the balance in full every month.

Five Credit Card Limit

Amex currently has a five card limit. With the five credit card limit, you can hold at most five Amex credit cards. This excludes charge cards. Amex recently decreased the limit from five to four credit cards but has since reportedly reversed course and increased the limit back to five. It’s likely Amex will cap the number of charge cards you can have at 10.

Two Credit Cards Every 90 days

Amex is likely to limit approving you for two credit cards every 90 days. If you apply for two credit cards on the same day, data points suggest one of your applications will be put on hold as an automatic fraud prevention mechanism. There are conflicting reports on how charge cards are counted in this two card limit. To be safe, assume Amex will limit approving you for no more than two total cards, including charge cards, every 90 days.

Once Per Lifetime Welcome Bonus

Once in a lifetime language can sometimes be found on your American Express credit card application. This means that if you’ve either had the credit card or charge card and/or received a bonus on said card in the past, you are ineligible to receive a welcome bonus on the card in the future.

If Amex pre-approves you for a welcome bonus on its cards, the once in a lifetime language may not apply. If you’re applying online, Amex has an eligibility check pop-up that you see at the end of your application. Before submitting your application, Amex tells you if you’re eligible for the welcome bonus. If you are ineligible and do not want to proceed with your application, you can simply close the screen.

Bank of America Credit Card Application Rules

Generally speaking, Bank of America credit cards are not as highly regarded as one of the top travel rewards credit card programs when compared to Amex, Chase and Citi, but Bank of America credit cards can provide value if you know where to look. Examples of its cards that can be lucrative include the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card and Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Credit Card*.

2/3/4 Rule

One of the most important Bank of America card restrictions is what’s called the 2/3/4 rule. Here’s how the rule works:

• You can be approved for up to two new credit cards every rolling two-month period
• You can be approved for up to three new credit cards every rolling 12-month period
• You can be approved for up to four new credit cards every rolling 24-month period

24 Month Rule

Some Bank of America credit cards require you to wait 24 months after closing the card to be approved for the card again.

Barclays Credit Card Application Rules

Like Bank of America, Barclays is a more niche bank in the travel credit card space. Barclays has co-branded card partnerships that you may have seen with airlines like American Airlines and JetBlue.

Six Month Welcome Bonus Rule

Inconsistency is the name of the game with Barclay’s application rules. There are a high number of irregularities with Barclays’ approach to its rules, but the one rule to keep in mind is the six month welcome bonus rule. You likely need to wait at least six months between the time you close a card and the time you apply for that same card again in order to be eligible to receive the welcome bonus on the same card. Yes, this means there’s an opportunity to earn the welcome bonus on the same card multiple times.

Capital One Credit Card Application Rules

Capital One tends to be on the more restrictive side compared to other banks. Based upon available data points, you are allowed to hold two Capital One-branded cards at one time. An example of a Capital One branded card is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Whether Capital One-branded business cards count towards is unknown. To be safe, we recommend assuming business cards count towards this total.

One Card Every Six Months

If eligible, Capital One will only approve you for one of its cards every six months. This restriction covers both business and personal credit cards. Separately, it’s important to note that in addition to Capital One personal credit cards, Capital One business credit cards are counted towards your Chase 5/24 total, covered in more detail below.

Chase Credit Card Application Rules

Chase takes a unique approach to its credit card restrictions. The bank doesn’t restrict the number of cards it will approve you for, but instead restricts the total amount of credit it will extend to you. The credit amount varies person to person.

5/24 Rule

Chase has a unique rule that’s referred to as the Chase 5/24 rule. It is unlikely that Chase will approve you for any of its credit cards if you have been approved for five or more cards, from any bank, within the past 24 months. Generally speaking, Chase does not count business cards toward the 5/24 total, with the exceptions being credit cards issued by Capital One, Discover and TD Bank. Chase is unlikely to approve you for its own business credit cards if you are at the 4/24 mark.

Two Cards Per 30 Days

Chase generally limits credit card approvals to two Chase credit cards per rolling 30-day period. Data points conflict on this but a safe bet is to apply for no more than two personal Chase credit cards or one personal and one business Chase credit card every 30 days.

24 and 48 Month Rule

While not a restriction on all Chase cards, you may see terms and conditions stating you are ineligible for the welcome bonus on a card if you’ve received that card’s welcome bonus in either the past 24 or 48 months. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred terms and conditions state, “This product is available to you if you do not have any Sapphire card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months.”

Citi Credit Card Application Rules

Similar to Chase, Citi limits the total amount of credit it is willing to extend to customers in lieu of limiting the number of credit cards it will approve.

1/8 and 2/65 Rule

Conflicting data points exist with this rule but you can expect to be approved for one Citi card every eight days and two Citi cards every 65 days. Separately, you should expect Citi to limit business credit card approvals to one business card every 90-95 days.

24 and 48 Month Rule

The 24-month rule states that for 24 months, you are ineligible to earn bonus ThankYou points on a Citi card from either the time you received the welcome bonus or closed the card. Your 24 month clock is based upon the later date of either the welcome bonus or closed date. The restriction language on the Citi Premier Card reads, “Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you received a new cardmember bonus for Citi Rewards+® Card, Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card* (not available for new applications), or if you have closed any of these accounts, in the past 24 months.”

Co-branded Citi-American Airlines cards have similar restrictions except that the restriction is 48 months instead of 24 months. You may see language in the terms and conditions that state, “American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* account in the past 48 months.”

Wells Fargo Credit Card Application Rules

Mirroring Chase and Citi, data points suggest Wells Fargo limits the amount of credit the bank is willing to extend to you, not the number of its cards you can hold at any one time.

One Card Every Six Months

While the language is vague at best, some Wells Fargo cards do state, “You may not qualify for an additional Wells Fargo credit card if you have opened a Wells Fargo credit card in the last 6 months.” This suggests you can be approved for at most one Wells Fargo credit card every six months.

15 Month Bonus Rewards Restriction

Another restriction you may see in the Wells Fargo terms and conditions is targeted at the bonus rewards earned by new cardmembers and restricts the bonus rewards earned on a card to once every 15 months. The language states, “You may not be eligible for introductory annual percentage rates, fees, and/or bonus rewards offers if you opened a Wells Fargo credit card within the last 15 months from the date of this application and you received introductory APR(s), fees, and/or bonus rewards offers — even if that account is closed and has a $0 balance.”

Bottom Line

Understanding all of the nuances from each bank’s credit card restrictions is a slog. As you can see, every bank has different rules and timelines to follow. However, the higher your credit score, the more likely it will be for you to dance around some of these restrictions. All in all, waiting at least three months between credit card applications is a middle-of-the road play that balances both risk and the rewards earned from applying and being approved for new travel credit cards.

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