Chasing credit card SUB's: how often can I apply for a new card?

[We be free if we try]

Hi y'all, I'm fairly new to chasing credit card signup bonuses. Since May, I've applied for and received 3 new cards, 2 personal and 1 business. The SUB's are a little addictive. This is after getting one new personal card last October and becoming an authorized user on another personal card, also last October, for other reasons (but no significant SUB, alas). So 4 personal and 1 business in the last year. Very good credit (usually around 800), and one older personal card with a 20-year history. No other business cards, but the business income is only around $18k.

How often can I apply and expect to be approved without pushing my luck? Familiar with Chase 5/24, etc. but don't know the more general rules. Is it more about spacing the new cards out, or about not having too many cards or too much credit extended at a time, or all of the above?

Thanks!

[bacchi]

It's 90% about spacing the cards out. Each bank has a more-or-less strict limit on how many of their own cards you can have but no bank cares about the total number of cards with the possible exception of Capital One. That said, I've run into some resistance at around 25 active cards from US Bank and BoA.

At 4 personal cards in the past year, you're running a little warm. Slow down a bit and wait for the offers to max out.

[Catbert]

  https://www.doctorofcredit.com/credit-card-reference-pages/

Spend a little time at doctorofcredit.com

[secondcor521]

There are all sorts of rules and limitations related to number of inquiries, which credit bureaus, credit history / score, number of applications, personal/business, etc.

If you do lots of reading at good sources (agree with the DOC recommendation above), it will help you figure them out ahead of time.

I think it's better to read ahead, but many people just charge ahead without any plan or thought.  Eventually those folks discover the rules and limitations by guess-and-check.

Sometimes the sources or data points will disagree with each other.  Sometimes you'll have a different experience.

The rules and limitations evolve over time.

If you have a spouse, you can alternate applications and refer each other.  This is sometimes called "two player mode".

Sometimes the entire game shifts.  Right now SUBs are pretty popular, but there have been different games in the past.

[Rusted Rose]

Oops ... I really hadn't intended to apply for my latest (got it instantly yesterday) but I was angling for a quick bonus for a reason and then realized I was at 6/24. Not that I'm going to bother with a 3rd Chase card yet. I now have 21 active cards.

This was my second BoA. (Was my existing relationship with the issuer a plus? Honestly IDK.)

The number of inquiries you have on a bureau can matter when applying, so it could help in your strategery (sic) to know which pulls which. I have 6 INQs on TU (that I really shouldn't because well long story, never mind), but BoA only pulled EQ, which had 0 at that point. The right hand has no idea what either left hand is doing.

CreditBoards is another great place to learn the ways of the credit ... enthusiast.

Secondcor is right -- there are trends one can extract in theory, they shift over time, and data points can clash. In practice, YMMV. I'll agree with the others that spacing things out gently is probably the best plan.

[lifeisshort123]

I was big on the game for a while.  Right now the issue is there isn’t quite that much value outside the sign up bonuses, so I get it.

I think the Chase 5/24 idea of 1 every 6 months makes sense to me.  Also, keep in mind that many cards now don’t let you get a sign-up bonus if you have had the card before.  Amex claims it is permanent, though anecdotally people seem to think it might be closer to 7 years.

Lately to be honest, I have been closing many of these cards as they come up for renewal.  Many of the ones I have require annual fees, and I have been examining the annual fees VERY closely as they come up for renewal.  How much did I fly with that airline? How many free bags did I get? What categories overlap with another card I already have? Will I really be able to get that status with x airline or y hotel with this card? Have they devalued their points so much it is now useless?   One tip, if you have multiple cards with card issuers, you can request a downgrade often to a card with a lower fee or no fee.  Also, you can “reallocate” your credit line between cards as well.

[We be free if we try]

Thanks everyone! I’ve been reading DOC, which is how I’ve learned as much as I’ve managed. I guess I was hoping someone would say I could keep applying for 1 card every 2 months and still get approvals, but I also knew this was too much too fast. I’ve had more spending than usual recently so it’s been easy to max out the bonuses quickly.

Anyhow, it’s been a fun game. For some reason I find it easier / more compelling than trying to chase bank or brokerage account SUB’s - these seem like more hassle for less reward.