Stuck Over Chase 5/24? Here’s Exactly What to Do Next
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Kate came home from Sephora a while back pretty pleased with herself — she’d saved 15% on a $60 order by opening their store card at checkout. I had to be the bearer of bad news: that “free” 15% just cost us a shot at a Chase card worth a welcome bonus 50 times bigger.
That’s the trap. Store cards feel harmless in the moment, but every single one of them takes up a slot toward Chase’s 5/24 rule — and once you’re at 5 or more new cards in the last 24 months, Chase shuts the door on every card they offer. Doesn’t matter how good your credit is or how long you’ve banked with them. The algorithm doesn’t care.
If you’re already over 5/24, here’s the real question: now what?
First: Stop Making It Worse
Before anything else — no more store cards. Full stop. The 10–20% off one purchase is nothing compared to what a single decent Chase welcome bonus is worth in travel. If a cashier offers you a discount for opening a card at checkout, that’s your cue to just say no and walk away with the discount code closed.
Pivot to Business Cards
This is the move most people miss. Business cards from most issuers don’t touch your personal 5/24 count at all — including business cards from Amex, Citi, and Bank of America. Run a small side hustle, freelance gig, or even occasional reselling? You likely already qualify as a sole proprietor and can apply using your own Social Security number.
One important exception worth flagging: Capital One, Discover, and TD Bank business cards are different. Most of their business cards do count toward your 5/24 total, with two specific exceptions — the Capital One Venture X Business and the Spark Cash Plus. Everything else from those three issuers still adds to your count.
And here’s the twist that catches people off guard: business cards may not count toward 5/24, but if you’re already at 5/24 or higher, Chase won’t approve you for a Chase business card either. The exemption only helps if you’re using it to stay under the limit in the first place — it doesn’t rescue you once you’re already over.
Let Your Spouse or Partner Take a Turn
If you’re playing this game with someone else — a spouse, partner, whoever shares your household finances — and they’re still under 5/24, this is exactly the moment to put them in the driver’s seat. We’ve done entire years where one of us handled all the Chase applications while the other one focused everywhere else, then swapped roles once things reset. Running it as a two-person operation roughly doubles your options without either of you needing to slow down.
Just… Wait It Out
Sometimes the honest answer is patience. Cards fall off your 5/24 count once they hit the 24-month mark from when you opened them, so if you know you’re close, it might make sense to just ride it out. We did this ourselves for the better part of a year once — both of us over 5/24 at the same time, no Chase bonuses coming in, and it was genuinely annoying. But we kept using the cards we already had for daily spending the whole time, so the points didn’t stop — they just came from cards we already owned instead of new ones.
Or Just… Don’t Worry About Chase for a While
Chase isn’t the only bank in this game, even if they make some of our favorite cards. Amex, Citi, Barclays, Bank of America, and US Bank all have strong cards with zero connection to Chase’s rule. If you’ve already gotten most of the Chase cards you actually want, there’s no rule saying you have to sit around waiting to qualify for the rest. Go build a stockpile elsewhere, then circle back to Chase later once you’ve aged back under the limit.
Bottom Line
Being over 5/24 isn’t a dead end — it’s just a detour. Cut off the store cards that got you there, lean on business cards where they genuinely help, tag-team with your spouse if you’ve got one in the game, and don’t be afraid to spend a season earning with other issuers while your Chase count resets. The points keep coming either way — they just come from somewhere else for a while.
