I found this guide of theirs to be very clear about churning restrictions for various issuers.
https://awardwallet.com/blog/understanding-rewards-credit-card-application-rules-restrictions/?awid=Campaign-20170621Credit Card Application Rules by Credit Provider
Before we dig in, it’s important to note that not all the restrictions here are hard and fast ‘rules.’ There are restrictions such as Amex's ‘one bonus per card per lifetime‘ for example, which are clearly communicated. Others, like Chase’s 5/24 policy, are derived from a combination of data points supplied by the points and miles community, guidelines described by the provider, and policies printed in error and then retracted.
American Express Credit & Charge Card Application Rules
Maximum Number of Cards – You can hold 4 credit cards & 4 charge cards. Plenty of reports online of applicants getting a 5th credit or charge card from Amex, but it appears to be a hit and miss affair with little information on why applicants do/don’t get over the line. You can spread the total number of cards across both personal and business cards, or stick within one category.
Application Frequency – You can apply for two Amex cards in a single day (for e.g. 1x business + 1x personal, or 1x credit + 1x charge); however, one will likely be held up for review as a fraud prevention measure. Amex restricts credit card applications to two every 90 days although we've encountered exceptions when applying for a combination of credit and charge cards.
Sign-Up Bonus Restrictions – Amex has the strictest sign-up bonus restrictions of travel rewards card providers. You can receive the sign-up bonus on each product just once per lifetime. The good news is that Amex has a wide variety of cards available and unlike the Citi policy, the restriction is not per card family. If you've received the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card® from American Express, you can still receive the bonus on the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express and The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express. You can also get the bonus on both personal and business versions of a card, so if you’ve received the bonus on the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, you can still receive the bonus on the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express.
JP Morgan Chase Credit Card Application Rules
Maximum Number of Cards – Chase has no formal policy on the number of cards you can hold, with plenty of cardholders possessing multiple flavors of similar cards amongst a full stable of Chase products. However, Chase restricts the total line of credit available to you across all Chase personal cards. If for example, you have 6 cards totaling $80K in credit limits, and Chase considers $80K the ceiling for your current income and liabilities, you'd have to have a chat with them to see if they would allow you to reallocate your credit from already existing lines of credit to a new line
Application Frequency – Again, no formal position from Chase in writing but we've covered Chase’s application rules in detail over the last 18 months due to their restrictive nature. The chief policy affecting Chase applicants is 5/24. If 5 or more credit cards have been added to your credit report in the previous 24 months from ANY provider, it is highly likely you will be denied when applying for select Chase rewards cards. The restriction applies to all Ultimate Rewards earning cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, alongside Chase Southwest and Marriott cards. Others like the IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card and British Airways Visa Signature® Card appear to be exempt from the policy. It’s also important to distinguish between cards subject to 5/24, and those that count towards 5/24, a subject we deep-dive in our post listing all cards subject to the Chase 5/24 policy. Besides 5/24, Chase also restricts the number of cards you can apply for in 30 and 90 day periods. Our recommendation is applying for only 1 personal and 1 business card from Chase in a 90 day period if you want to maximize your chance of having applications accepted.
Sign-Up Bonus Restrictions – While you may need to talk with a banker at Chase to receive an approval, it’s much less restrictive than Amex if you choose to come back to a card that you've previously held. The majority of Chase products state you can earn the bonus again 24 months after you last received it, as long as you're not a current cardmember of that product.
“This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of this credit card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of this credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.”
Citi Credit Card Application Rules
Maximum Number of Cards – Much like Chase, Citi doesn’t have a hard and fast rule on the number of cards you can have. Rather, it restricts the combined total credit limit extended across all Citi cards. If you get the ‘Application Pending’ notice, Citi will often provide you an application reference number and a phone number to call for an immediate review of the application.
Application Frequency – Citi has tight restrictions on application frequency which are easy to understand if a little frustrating. You can only apply for one personal card per eight-day period, and only two cards in a 65 day period. Business accounts are even harder to get, with Citi accepting just one business card application every 95 days.
Sign-Up Bonus Restrictions – Citi has a 24-month cycle for collecting sign-up bonuses, with a twist. If you open a card and receive the sign-up bonus, you can receive the bonus again after 24 months of having the card open, OR, if you close the card inside the first 24 months, you need to wait 24 months from the date you closed the card to receive the bonus again. Citi also restricts sign-up bonuses across entire families of rewards cards, so if you received a bonus on the Citi Prestige® Card, for example, you’d need to wait 24 months before receiving the bonus on the Citi® ThankYou® Premier Card as they belong to the same rewards family. The same applies to Citi AAdvantage cards.
“American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi® / AAdvantage® card (other than a CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® card) opened or closed in the past 24 months.”
Capital One Credit Card Application Rules
Maximum Number of Cards – There is a ton of conflicting information on Capital One cards, but from the available info, you can hold a maximum two Capital One branded cards and at any one time. We found no specific cap on the total number of cards you can hold; the restrictions apply to a cap on each family of cards. For example, you can hold two Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card‘s alongside a Sony® Card from Capital One®, but you could not hold three Capital One Venture cards. We would welcome more data on this, so if you have specific examples, please let us know in the comments.
Application Frequency – Capital One’s application rules are simple; 1 card every 6 months. There is no distinction between personal and business cards, and by all reports Capital One doesn’t even perform a hard pull on your file, flagging all applications that follow the first one as ‘duplicates.’ You can apply for the same card after six months but only if you don’t already hold two cards from the same family. Keep in mind when applying for Capital One cards they pull from all three credit bureaus. Capital One business cards are also reported on your personal credit file and will count towards your 5/24 count.
Sign-Up Bonus Restrictions – The general rule for Capital One cards; if you’re approved, you’ll get the sign-up bonus. There is no set time period between sign-up bonuses and no restriction on specific families of card, just the application and max number of cards mentioned above.
Barclaycard Credit Card Application Rules
Maximum Number of Cards – There is no set limit, but Barclaycard is pretty stringent on how many of its cards you can hold, and won’t allow you to hold more than one of the same card. Barclaycard seems to factor in how often you use current cards in addition to standard considerations when deciding on new card applications.
Application Frequency – Stick to one card every six months and only one card at a time. Barclaycard is not flexible on application frequency.
Sign-Up Bonus Restrictions – Similar to Capital One, if you're approved, you’ll get the bonus. If you already hold the card, you must cancel it and wait around six months to get the card again, and Barclaycard will not let you downgrade to a card within the same family to get the sign-up bonus on the current card.
Bank of America Credit Card Application Rules
Maximum Number of Cards – Bank of America used to be the most generous credit provider for opening and holding multiple cards but that no longer appears to be the case. Recent posts on DoC and a bunch of data points on Flyertalk and Reddit show that BoA is clamping down on account holders they think have too many cards, sometimes closing older accounts before new ones (based on the lowest credit limit first). The data for this is inconsistent as the changes are only recent, but it appears BoA is restricting the majority of account holders to a maximum 4 cards. If you have any data points you can share, please let us know.
Application Frequency – Again, new data would suggest that BoA has tightened its belt for new card applications, but without more data points we can't say this is set in stone yet. BoA used to accept multiple applications in a single day, sometimes even for the same card! However, with reports of applications denied, and sometimes, accounts closed and points forfeited, we’d suggest holding off on applying for multiple cards at the same time and to think long-term. Stick to 1-2 applications per 90 days and try not to go over the 4 card limit for personal cards. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Sign-Up Bonus Restrictions – BoA currently lets you sign-up for the same card and receive the sign-up bonus every once every 90 days. With the application and approval process being shaken up, who knows how long this will stick around so enjoy it while it lasts.
Final Thoughts
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