# Chase — documented application rules

> Chase application rules, documented: 8 tracked rules (6 active as last confirmed), 27 dated rule changes on record since 2015, most recently July 21, 2026. Every change dated and sourced; statuses reflect our last documented confirmation, not live issuer policy.

## Chase bonus-eligibility pop-up — Active — last confirmed July 21, 2026

- **2026-07-21**: "Lifetime" bonus exclusion documented as not literal — longtime former Sapphire Preferred holders approved with no pop-up — TPG documented a pattern of former Sapphire Preferred holders who opened the card circa 2010–2012 and closed it by 2016–2017 being approved for the 100k bonus with no pop-up, while more recent former holders remained blocked; no defined lookback window is confirmed. Data points cluster around 7+ years since the last bonus, with denials reported at 4–9 years. 5/24 and the no-current-Sapphire conditions still apply. — sources: https://thepointsguy.com/news/chase-sapphire-preferred-bonus-eligibility-pattern/ · https://www.doctorofcredit.com/what-does-chase-consider-a-lifetime-when-are-you-eligible-for-another-bonus/
- **2025-06-23**: Rule first documented — Doctor of Credit dubbed the new bonus-denial notice "Chase pop up jail" and speculated the mechanism could eventually replace 5/24, while noting no changes to 5/24 had been announced. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-will-do-away-with-48-month-signup-eligibility-in-favor-of-proprietary-eligibility-determination-chase-pop-up-jail/

## 2/30 velocity rule — Active — last confirmed January 23, 2026

- **2026-01-23**: Rule confirmed as two personal cards and one business card per 30 days — OMAAT describes Chase as typically approving at most two personal cards and one business card in a 30-day period. — sources: https://onemileatatime.com/guides/credit-card-application-rules/
- **2020-06-06**: Rule first documented — Date approximate; earliest tier-2 documentation found. The consensus described is that no more than two Chase cards can be approved within any rolling 30-day period, and that the rule is not as hard-and-fast as Citi's 8/65. — sources: https://www.uponarriving.com/the-chase-30-day-application-rule/ · https://onemileatatime.com/guides/credit-card-application-rules/

## Ink family bonus rule — Active — last confirmed December 1, 2025

- **2025-12-01**: Bonus-eligibility language extended to Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Premier — TPG reported Chase again tightened welcome-bonus rules across the Ink portfolio by adding new eligibility language to the Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Premier. — sources: https://thepointsguy.com/credit-cards/chase-no-annual-fee-ink-business-bonus-restrictions/

## 5/24 rule — Active — last confirmed July 14, 2023

- **2023-07-14**: Documented exceptions for elevated Ink Preferred offers — Doctor of Credit noted that easier approvals seemed to align with the start or end of best-ever offers, and relayed MEAB's reported exceptions such as online Ink Preferred applications at 90,000+ points bypassing 5/24 for applicants with a good Chase relationship who were not above 8/24. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ymmv-chase-ink-preferred-100000-approvals-past-5-24/
- **2022-12-26**: Reported temporary suspension on Ink business cards through year-end (YMMV) — Date approximate. Doctor of Credit relayed an insider report that 5/24 was suspended on Ink cards through December 31, 2022, with some data points supporting it; Miles to Memories reported widespread denials and disputed that any freeze existed. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/reports-chase-5-24-rule-temporarily-suspended-on-ink-cards-through-december-31st/ · https://milestomemories.com/chase-ink-cards-have-not-dropped-5-24/
- **2021-12-07**: Reported approvals over 5/24 on the Amazon card, with some on Southwest personal and United Explorer — Date approximate. Doctor of Credit collected data points of applicants approved for the Chase Amazon card despite being over 5/24 during an increased $200 offer, and later saw similar approvals on Southwest personal and United Explorer cards. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-amazon-card-not-subject-to-5-24-rules/
- **2019-05-24**: Business cards confirmed excluded from the count; Private Client bypass documented as ended — Date approximate; reflects the consolidated guide's publication date, not the underlying finding. The guide struck its earlier assumption that Chase business cards would be counted internally, noting instead that they appear not to be counted, and marked the Chase Private Client bypass as no longer working. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-524-rule-explained-detail-need-know/ · https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-private-client-statushigh-value-customers-no-longer-bypass-chase-524/
- **2018-11-13**: Extended to remaining co-branded cards (Hyatt, IHG, British Airways, etc.) — Doctor of Credit concluded on November 19, 2018 that the rule had almost certainly been expanded to most if not all co-branded cards, with no reliable approvals over 5/24 seen for applications after November 13, 2018. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/has-chase-expanded-the-chase-5-24-rule-to-more-cards-we-have-no-idea/ · https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-524-rule-explained-detail-need-know/
- **2018-06-28**: Chase co-brand executive signals rule will eventually apply to all cards — At the World of Hyatt card launch, Chase's president of co-brand cards indicated the rule would not apply immediately but should be expected to cover all Chase cards in the future, with no timeframe given. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-plans-to-apply-5-24-to-all-credit-cards-in-the-future/
- **2016-09-01**: Rule text briefly published on the Sapphire Reserve application page, then removed — The fine print stated applicants would not be approved if they had opened five or more bank cards in the past 24 months; when the application link came back the language had been removed. NerdWallet dates the removal to September 1, 2016. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-524-rule-now-official-showing-chase-sapphire-reserve-application-page/ · https://www.nerdwallet.com/credit-cards/learn/chase-5-24-rule-written-out
- **2016-08-23**: Confirmed to apply to the newly launched Sapphire Reserve — In-branch approvals on launch day briefly suggested the card might be exempt, but data points quickly showed the rule did apply. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-524-rule-apply-chase-sapphire-reserve/
- **2016-05-23**: Extended to most co-branded cards — The rule was extended to most co-branded cards such as United and Marriott on May 23, 2016. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-524-rule-now-effect-credit-cards/ · https://thepointsguy.com/2016/07/unfortunate-expansion-chase-524-rule
- **2015-06-01**: Rule first documented — Date approximate (month only). Doctor of Credit records that the rule was originally implemented on Chase-branded cards such as Freedom and Sapphire Preferred in June 2015. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-credit-card-churning-the-new-reality/ · https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-524-rule-explained-detail-need-know/

## One-Southwest-personal-card rule — Active — last confirmed September 23, 2019

- **2019-09-23**: Business card confirmed outside the personal-card restriction — Doctor of Credit concluded that differing wording on the Southwest business card was a copy-paste error present since at least June, and that the business card kept its own separate 24-month bonus language. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/is-chase-restricting-who-can-get-the-southwest-business-bonuses-maybe/
- **2018-04-05**: Rule introduced — New terms made Southwest personal cards unavailable to current holders of any Southwest personal card and to prior holders who received a bonus within the last 24 months, ending the practice of earning both personal-card bonuses in one year; the business card was exempt. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-southwest-cards-limit-of-one-personal-card/ · https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-southwest-personal-cards-with-50000-point-bonus-no-new-restriction-still-available/

## Marriott family bonus rule — Active — last confirmed August 1, 2018

- **2018-08-01**: Cross-issuer Marriott/SPG bonus restrictions added to Chase Marriott card terms — Date approximate (month only). Chase Marriott personal card terms began denying the welcome offer to applicants who held the Amex SPG card within 30 days, acquired the SPG Luxury or SPG Business cards within 90 days, or received a bonus on those cards within 24 months, with parallel rules on the business card. — sources: https://thepointsguy.com/news/new-bonus-limits-on-marriott-spg-credit-cards

## 48-month Sapphire rule — Retired — last confirmed January 25, 2026

- **2026-01-25**: Successor rule clarified as one lifetime bonus per Sapphire card version — A memo to Chase bankers said that beginning January 25, 2026, disclosures would clarify that customers can earn a bonus on each Sapphire card version, one per card, even with another Sapphire open; Doctor of Credit noted this loosened the combined lifetime limit introduced a few months earlier. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/memo-chase-changing-rules-around-signup-bonus-eligibility-for-sapphire-reserve-sapphire-preferred/ · https://www.asksebby.com/articles/chase-ends-48-month-rule
- **2025-08-18**: Successor enforcement reported stricter than 48 months (possible lifetime limit) — Numerous reports indicated Chase was being strict with approvals even beyond 48 months, possibly limiting customers to one lifetime bonus on Sapphire Preferred or Reserve. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-will-do-away-with-48-month-signup-eligibility-in-favor-of-proprietary-eligibility-determination-chase-pop-up-jail/
- **2025-06-23**: Rule retired in favor of proprietary bonus-eligibility determination — Effective June 23, 2025, bonus eligibility for the Sapphire cards became based on factors including previously earned bonuses and the number of cards opened and closed, initially only for the Sapphire Reserve and Preferred. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-will-do-away-with-48-month-signup-eligibility-in-favor-of-proprietary-eligibility-determination-chase-pop-up-jail/ · https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-will-allow-customers-to-be-approved-for-both-sapphire-preferred-sapphire-reserve-cards/
- **2018-09-10**: Referral links updated to 48-month terms — Referral links initially still showed 24-month language until Chase updated them on September 10; email referrals generated before that date retained the older terms for a period. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/temporary-workaround-on-the-new-chase-sapphire-48-month-rule-with-email-referrals/
- **2018-08-27**: Extended from 24 to 48 months — Sapphire Preferred and Reserve terms moved from one bonus per 24 months to one per 48 months, with all Sapphire cards still counted as one family, while other Chase cards such as Freedom kept 24-month language. The timing coincided with early Reserve cardholders reaching the 24-month mark from the card's August 2016 launch. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-sapphire-cards-new-48-month-signup-bonus-limitation-instead-of-24-months-temporary-workaround/ · https://www.doctorofcredit.com/why-did-chase-introduce-the-48-month-rule-on-the-chase-sapphire-reserve-preferred-csr-came-out-24-months-ago/
- **2017-08-27**: Rule first documented as a 24-month Sapphire-family bonus restriction — The memo stated that a customer who closed an account would not be eligible for any Sapphire-branded card if they had earned a Sapphire cardmember bonus within the previous 24 months. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-memo-customers-can-get-one-sapphire-card-e-g-csp-cardholders-cant-get-csr/ · https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase-ultimate-rewards/1863747-new-chase-rule-only-one-sapphire-card.html

## One-Sapphire rule — Retired — last confirmed June 23, 2025

- **2025-06-23**: Rule retired — Starting June 23, 2025, Chase allowed approval for the Sapphire Reserve while holding the Sapphire Preferred and vice versa, and customers could hold the Preferred, Reserve, and Reserve for Business together. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-will-allow-customers-to-be-approved-for-both-sapphire-preferred-sapphire-reserve-cards/ · https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-will-do-away-with-48-month-signup-eligibility-in-favor-of-proprietary-eligibility-determination-chase-pop-up-jail/
- **2017-10-15**: Confirmed as limited to the Sapphire family (not other card brands) — After several readers reported denials citing similar reasons for non-Sapphire families, Doctor of Credit gathered data points and judged a broader one-card-per-brand rule unlikely. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-now-limiting-one-card-per-familybrand-datapoints-wanted/
- **2017-08-27**: Rule first documented (internal memo) — A Chase memo to employees stated that as of August 27 it was no longer possible to hold more than one Sapphire card; Chase confirmed the implementation date to NerdWallet, and existing holders of multiple Sapphire cards were not affected. — sources: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-memo-customers-can-get-one-sapphire-card-e-g-csp-cardholders-cant-get-csr/ · https://nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/chase-limits-customers-to-just-one-sapphire-card

Canonical page: https://www.bonuseagle.com/rules/chase
Full dataset: https://www.bonuseagle.com/rules/dataset.csv (CC BY 4.0)