Chase is one of the most popular credit card issuers in the US. With a wide range of card families that offer generous rewards and bonuses, Chase has a lot to offer borrowers.
If you’re a Chase fan, you may be wondering how you can maximize your Chase credit card holdings. We’ll walk you through how many Chase cards you can have, how often you can apply, and what restrictions you need to keep in mind.
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How many Chase credit cards can I have?
You can have as many Chase credit cards as you want, with two exceptions:
- You can only have up to five Chase business credit cards.
- You can only have one Chase Sapphire credit card open at a time.
The Chase Sapphire collection includes the Chase Sapphire Preferred® and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit cards. Both cards are highly sought-after rewards cards, so choose which one you want carefully, as you can’t have both at the same time. Here’s how the cards compare:
Chase Sapphire Preferred® vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®
| Credit card | Annual fee | Rewards | Welcome bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® | $95 | - 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards - 3x points on dining - 3x points on online groceries - 3x points on streaming services - 2x on non-Chase travel purchases - 1 point on everything else | 60,000 points |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | $550 | - 10x points on hotels and rental cars purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards - 10x points on Chase Dining purchased through Ultimate Rewards - 5x points on flights purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards - 3x points on non-Chase travel - 3x points on non-Chase dining - 1 point on everything else | 80,000 points |
Other than the Sapphire restriction, you can open multiple Chase personal card accounts, as long as you mind the Chase application restrictions, like the famous Chase 5/24 rule.
What’s the Chase 5/24 rule?
The Chase 5/24 rule is the unofficial policy that Chase won’t approve you for a new credit card if you’ve opened five or more credit cards—with Chase or any other lender—in the past 24 months.
Note that this rule has not been formally confirmed by Chase, but is instead based on online speculation and anecdotal evidence.
How often can I apply for a Chase credit card?
You can apply for a Chase credit card every 30 days. However, the 5/24 rule means you shouldn’t apply for a Chase credit card if you’ve already successfully applied for five credit cards in the last two years, as this increases the odds of your application being denied.
What to consider before you apply for multiple Chase credit cards
Before you start shooting off Chase credit card applications, keep the following in mind:
- You may not qualify for a welcome bonus: Depending on the card you’re trying to open, you may not apply for the welcome bonus if you’ve received another Chase credit card welcome bonus in the past 24 or 48 months. In this case, it may be best to wait 1–2 years between opening Chase accounts so you can make the most of potential rewards.
- You can upgrade or downgrade your Sapphire card: As you can only have one Chase Sapphire card, you want to choose the one you have wisely. However, circumstances can change or you may decide you want a different Sapphire card from the one you have. Instead of closing your account and applying for the other card, call Chase and ask if you can upgrade or downgrade your current card to the other Sapphire option.
- Your credit may drop when you apply: When you apply for a new credit card, Chase will check your credit through a hard pull. Hard pulls, also known as hard inquiries, knock a few points off your credit score, so you may see a temporary drop after you apply for your new card.
- Your credit may then go up: Luckily, the hard inquiry credit score drop won’t last long. Plus, adding a line of credit to your holdings can actually raise your credit score by lowering your credit utilization rate. Your utilization rate is determined by how much of your available credit you’re using each month. If you add available credit through another card but continue to borrow responsibly, you may see an improvement in your credit score.
