Tips for Contacting Chase Sapphire Customer Service (Reserve & Preferred) [2020]

There’s a million reasons why you may need to call Chase customer service for your Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve but there are a few important issues that many people run into.

And as good as the customer service reps are for Chase, sometimes they only have a basic understanding of some of these topics and benefits, so it’s a good idea to get as well-versed as you can before contacting them.

In this review article, I’ll give you some tips for contacting Chase customer service so that you’ll be as informed as possible and won’t get tripped up in the process. 

Interested in finding out the top travel credit cards for this month? Click here to check them out! 


Contacting Chase customer service

There are several methods for contacting Chase customer service for Sapphire cardholders.

Chase Sapphire customer service phone number

The Chase Sapphire Reserve customer service phone number is: 1-800-436-7970.

You can also call the number on the back of your card.

You should be able to quickly reach a live representative and not have to wait very long, which is one reason why I’m such a huge fan of the Sapphire customer service line — it saves me time. However, if you’re calling from a phone number not associated with your account, you’ll probably have to input your credit card details.

I usually call this line even when I have inquiries about my other Chase cards since it often expedites the process.

If you have more general questions for Chase you can call: the Chase Customer Service phone number at: 1-800-935-9935.

Secured message (no email or chat)

Chase doesn’t have a public email or chat service available to its customers to utilize for customer service related issues but you can still send them a secured message by logging into your account. If you want to do this, then log-in and go to the “Contact Us”  and click on “Send us a message” using the Secure Message Center.

It will usually take about a full day to get a response with a secured message though it depends on the content and requests within the message.

You might also try to hit them up on Twitter if you think it’s something suitable for the public eye.

In-branch visit

If you need to visit a branch in person to speak to someone face to face then you might want to locate a Chase branch. Generally, you can just walk in but if you have something special you want to discuss like Chase Private Client or something business related then you’ll want to make an appointment.

Mailing address

If you’re more into old-fashioned communication you can also mail Chase at:

Card Services
PO Box 15298
Wilmington, DE 19850


Upgrading/downgrading or product-changing a card

Sometimes you’ll want to upgrade or product change your Sapphire card but you will usually have to wait one year from the time of opening up your card in order for you to do so.

Also, keep in mind that they won’t allow you to product change your credit card to co-branded credit cards. This means that you can’t product change a Sapphire Preferred to a co-branded credit card like the Chase Southwest card or the chase Hyatt card, for example.

You can read more about upgrading/downgrading or product-changing your Chase Sapphire cards here


Getting matched to higher offers

Chase is pretty good about matching your sign-up bonus to a higher offer if you call in and request the match within 90 days of being approved for the card with the lower sign-up bonus. You can do this over the phone or you can also send in a secured message and request it that way.

Simply tell the agent that you discovered a new, higher offer within the last 90 days since your approval and they should match to the higher offer so long as the higher offer is available to the public.


Chase Sapphire retention offers

A retention offer is a special offer that banks offer to you in order to prevent you from closing your card. Typically, if you’ve used your card a lot over the course of the past year, you can expect a retention offer. Chase is known for being pretty stingy when it comes to retention offers for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve so I wouldn’t be expecting much, though you never know what could happen.


Credit limit increase

Chase will allow you to request credit limit increases via phone or online. Generally, ti’s a pretty straight forward process but there are some things you can do to improve your odds of getting approved for a credit limit increase. For example, it helps to have a genuine and legitimate need for the credit limit increase and to ask for a reasonable amount (ask for something in the range of a 25% increase). 

You should also note that Chase will perform a hard pull unless you’re able to get Chase to do an automatic credit limit increase on your card. You can read more about tips for a credit limit increase here


Priority Pass lounge questions

Sapphire Reserve cardmembers get Priority Pass access, which is a membership into over 1,000 airport lounges around the globe (Sapphire Preferred members don’t get this).

Once you have your Sapphire Reserve online account setup, log-in and go to Ultimate Rewards. From there, click on “Card Benefits” and then the “Activate Now” button. That will activate the benefit for you and any authorized users you have added to your account. Your membership will remain active until you close the card.

If you add your authorized user after activating the card for yourself, just call in to Chase and let them know what you’re trying to do. You can read more about Sapphire Reserve lounge access here


Shifting credit

Chase will allow you to shift credit around between different credit cards but there are some restrictions you should be aware of.

For one, you cannot transfer credit between personal and business cards (Chase allowed this in the past but not any longer). Second, some of your cards are going to require different minimum credit limits to remain open. So you might have to leave $500 or $1,000 on a credit card. You can read more about shifting credit to another card here


Travel credit questions

The Sapphire Reserve comes with a $300 travel credit which can be used on just about anything travel related (so long as it codes as a proper travel purchase). The credit works pretty straightforward and you can read more about how the credit works here


Travel notifications

You can call into Chase and request your travel notifications over the phone if you’d like. It’s a smart idea to do that so that your credit card will work when traveling aboard but note that sometimes you don’t even need to set a travel notification (especially if you’ve done extensive traveling in the past.

You can read more about setting traveling notices here


Chase reconsideration line

If you’ve applied for another card and you were not instantly approved or outright rejected you may want to call up Chase and see if you can still get approved for a credit card. For this request, you don’t want to call the phone number on the back of your credit card. Instead, you cant to call the Chase reconsideration line.

The Chase reconsideration line phone number is 1-888-270-2127.

The Chase reconsideration line hours of operation are usually:

  • 7am to 10pm EST Monday through Friday
  • 8am to 1 pm EST Saturday
  • 9am to 9pm EST on Sunday

Be sure to read my tips on handling a Chase reconsideration phone call here


Application status

If you’ve applied for another credit card and you want to check on the status of that application there are a number of ways that you can do so.

The automated phone number to check your Chase credit card application status is: 1-888-338-2586.

If that doesn’t work, older numbers might work:

1-800-432-3117 and 1800-436-7927 for personal cards and 1-800-453-9719 for Chase business cards. 

You can also check your status online since you’re already a Chase customer as a Sapphire cardholder. You can read more about these methods here


Chase 5/24 questions

Chase has some pretty infamous credit card application rules, one of which is the 5/24 rule which might be the most well known credit card rule. It means that you won’t get approved for certain Chase cards if you’ve opened five or more accounts over the past 24 months but here are a few exceptions to the rule and it doesn’t apply to every Chase credit card out there.

If you call into Chase and inquire about this rule there’s a good chance you might not get a thorough explanation on how this rule really works. However, I’ve put together an article that will tell you everything you need to know about the 5/24 rule and you can read about it here


Banking questions

If you have questions more related to banking issues you can call the number on the back of your card and start your inquiry there but they will likely transfer you to another department. You can check out my articles for questions on making a Chase wire transfer and for ordering checks for common questions on those.


Chase roadside assistance

If you have questions about the Sapphire Reserve roadside assistance, they are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by calling this phone number: 1-866-860-7978.  I’ve also put together an article outlining how this program works and all of the benefits that it provides which you can read about here.


Chase Rental car insurance

Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve offer primary rental car coverage which means that you usually won’t have to file a claim with your insurance provider. The policies for these cards are slightly different and I’ve written article on the Chase Sapphire Preferred rental car insurance and on the rental car coverage policy for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.


Sapphire Reserve rental car benefits

The Sapphire Reserve comes with rental car benefits that you might want to find out additional details for. I suggest reading my guide on rental car benefits here for more information.


Sapphire Reserve travel insurance

The Sapphire Reserve offers some very solid travel insurance with some of the best coverage in the industry. If you want to find out the details for what type of things are covered you can click here.


Purchase protection

Chase Sapphire Reserve purchase protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year. The Chase Sapphire Preferred only gets coverage up to a maximum of $500 per claim and up to $50,000 per account. You can read more about these policies here.


Final word

These are a lot common inquiries that Chase Sapphire cardholders have. As good as the customer service can be for Chase Sapphire cardholders, sometimes the agents only have a surface-level understanding of some of the key benefits of the card. So it helps to dig deep into the details of your questions before you talk to them so that you can have an informed discussion on the topic.

What Banks Offer Retention Offers? [2020]

If you have a lot of credit cards, you know that annual fees can add up and before you know it you could be paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars in annual fees each year.

In this article, we break down what types of retention offers you can expect to receive from the major banks. You will see all sorts of different types of offers and also relevant data related to those offers such as how much the individual spent and details regarding the offers.

In the future, you will be able to use the app WalletFlo to simply get alerts for potential retention offers but for now you can just view them manually and take note of offers that might apply to you.

What are retention offers?

Retention offers are special offers that credit card issuers make to customers in order to prevent them from cancelling their credit cards.

These can take various forms which might include:

  • Annual fee waived
  • Statement credit for annual fee
  • Annual fee partially waived or reduced
  • Bonus miles equal to annual fee
  • Bonus miles less than value of annual fee
  • Bonus for spending $X amount in a certain time period
  • Credit limit increases (with no hard pulls)
  • 0% APR promotional spending periods

Because retention offers can take so many different types of forms, it’s a good idea to go into the phone call with an idea of what you’re most interested in.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Tips for getting retention offers

Here are several tips for getting your retention offers. 

Put spend on your card

Your odds of receiving a retention definitely go up as you put more spend on your credit card, so I always suggest putting spend on your credit cards before your annual fee hits and preferably throughout the year. (This is something WalletFlo will help you to remember to do.)

It’s not clear exactly how much spend you need, but generally putting at least a few thousands dollars in a year is a good starting point.

With that said, you don’t always have to put a lot of spend on your card. I’ve been given retention offers from Barclays for some cards like the Aviator Red, despite the fact that I had very little spend on my card (less than $500).

Wait until your annual fee hits

For the most part, you’re not going to be able to request a retention offer if your annual fee has not hit. There are some exceptions, but generally you’ll need to wait until you see that annual fee hit your account. And then, as soon as your annual fee hits you should call.

Request them the right way

Once your annual fee hits, then you want to call up the number on the back of your card.

You usually want to tell the phone representative something like “I noticed my annual fee hit recently, and I wanted to check and see if I was eligible for any offers as an incentive to keep my card open.” You can specifically mention retention offers but I try to be a little more subtle/vague when I call in — at least initially.

Also, I try to avoid using the words “cancel” or “close” because in the past over-zealous/incompetent agents have closed cards upon hearing those words and re-opening cards often involves a lengthy “investigation” of your phone call, file, etc. (If you are actually seriously considering cancelling your cards then obviously this is not as much of a risk for you.)

If you bring up closing your card, you might be asked why you are thinking about closing your card so it’s best to be prepared to give them a reason. Don’t overthink it — simply telling them that you’re having trouble justifying the annual fee is usually sufficient. You could also mention a competitor card that you are thinking about keeping.

After telling the rep the purpose of your phone call you will probably get transferred to an “account specialist” and/or the “retention department” and they will then review your file and then let you know if there are any offers.

Here’s the thing, don’t always take them up on the first offer that they give you. It’s often the case that there will be multiple offers available for you but you will need to request for them to tell you about alternative offers. 

Now that you know some retention offer basics, check out some of the offers you might be able to get below.

Alliant

Alliant has three credit cards, two have no annual fees, but one carries an annual fee. The Alliant Cashback Visa Signature offers interesting introductory cashback, but carriers an annual fee after one year of holding the card.

Alliant Cashback Visa Signature

We could not find any retention offers data points. 

I personally think after holding the card for one year, you should dump it as there are other better cashback cards without annual fees like the Citi Double Cash Card or Discover IT.

American Express

American Express, or also known as Amex, has tons of cards with annual fees, some that are very expensive. Luckily, Amex regularly offers retention offers on many of their cards, no matter if it’s a personal or business card. 

Platinum (personal)

The Platinum regularly has retention offers, but each cardholder will have a different retention offer.

  • “She offered $500 or 50,000 MR (Membership Rewards Points) without any spend requirements. Took the $500.” – kmcm25, 2020
    • Spent $39,000 during the card member year and never had a retention offer before, even though kmcm25 tried last year to get a retention offer, but was denied. 
  • “15,000 MR (Membership Rewards Points) or $100 statement credit after $2,000 spend.” – corpgator, 2020
    • Spent around $9,000 during the card member year.
  • “…was offered 50,000 (points) with no spend requirement…” – Zwiebelbauer, 2020
    • Only had the Platinum card for one year and spent $13,000 during the card member year. 
  • “Got $200 or 20,000 MR (Membership Rewards Points) for $3,000 spend next 3 months.” – geoff325, 2020
    • Spent $7,000 during the card member year.

As you can see all the offers range from mediocre to amazingly huge offers. Some users have also reported similar offers for similar spend. In some cases, users also called back (HUCA) later the same or next day to get different offers from different agents. 

Platinum (business)

For business Platinum cardholders, data points show you have less luck with retention offers.

  • “No retention offers.” – Antshill, 2020
    • Spent around $12,000 during the card member year. 
  • “Offered 5,000 MR (Membership Rewards Points) for $5,000 spend.” – culdeus, 2020
    • Spent only to use the statement credits for Dell and airline incidentals. 
  • “Offered 5,000 points immediately and 25,000 additional points for $10,000 spend in 6 months.” – lkar, 2019
    • Spent a “modest amount” during 2019.

Notice how the Business Platinum has more mediocre retention offers, unless you spend more than the average cardholder.You will see a trend on how business cards have less friendly retention offers throughout our guide. 

Gold (personal)

Similar to other Amex cards, the Gold card will offer different retentions for each cardholder. 

  • “Tried for Gold renewal retention. Third renewal. No offer.” – Xavier110, 2019
    • Spends around $7,000 a year in dining alone. 
  • “First call went nowhere, got a really unfriendly rep who said there were no retention offers available at all and that the benefits of the card are reason enough to keep it. Second call, got the friendliest rep I’ve ever spoken with… Told him I was still on the fence and he offered 15,000 MR (Membership Rewards) points for $2,000 spend within 3 months which I accepted.” – formiles, 2019
    • HUCA (hang up and call again) works, even if the representative said no the first time. 
  • “No retention offers or reduction in AF. Was offer 15K Membership Rewards points with $2,000 in spend in 3 months…” – rj123456, 2019
    • Spent around $500-1000 a month, mostly groceries and dining. 
  • “Offered either $200 statement credit for $3,000 spend or 30,000 MR (Membership Rewards Points) for $4,000 spend in 90 days.”- Ray Johnson, 2019
    • Spent around $33,000 on groceries and dining. Was still grandfathered into the old annual fee. 

Offers aren’t as amazing as the personal Platinum, but depending on how you look at these offers, some can cover or reduce the annual fee a ton. Sadly, not everyone might be lucky. 

Gold (business)

The business Gold card has even less retention offers than other Amex cards. 

  • “Spend 10,000 get 30,000 points in 92 days.” – nonimmigranth1b, 2019
  • “No retention offer.” – Steve, 2018
    • Spent around $12,000 in organic spend during the first and only year of holding the card.

Green (personal)

Some cards, like the Green, have very few data points for retention offers as it’s finally becoming more popular.

  • “Called about my green card. Was on the fence about keeping but I got no retention offers.” – psbaseballfan27, 2020

If you got a retention offer for the Green card, please do leave one in the comments below as we couldn’t find any other recent retention offers since the refresh. 

Green (business)

  • “Offered $50 statement credit or 7500 MR (Membership Rewards Points).” – 808traveler, 2020
    • Had the card for one year and spent around $10,000.

Hilton Aspire

  • “15,000 HH (Hilton Honor points) retention offer…” – ChurnieEls, 2019
    • Spent around $14,000 over the course of a year. 

Hilton Surpass

  • “They offered 10K Hilton points for $3K spend and I declined. They then offered a $50 statement credit for $1K spend.” – Mike B, 2019
    • Spent around $16,000 this year and held the card for two years. 
  • “… offered $50 statement credit for spending $1,000 in 90 days.” – anabolism, 2019
    • Spent enough for minimum spend.

Hilton Business

  • “No offers.” – anabolism, 2019
    • “Minor” charges on the card.
  • “No offer.” – Xavier110, 2019
    • Spent $20,000 throughout the membership year.

Delta Reserve (personal)

  • “She then offered me 30,000 bonus SkyMiles if/when I spend $4,000 within the next 90 days… She said there was a $300 statement credit available after spending $4,000 in three months.” – Chris Carley, 2019
  • “… she gave me 50,000 miles and no minimum spending.” – Marcia Greczyna, 2019
  • “They offered 12,500 Skymiles with $2000 spend or $100 credit with no restrictions.” – highops, 2019
    • Had the card for one year and used it only for the welcome offer minimum spend. 

Delta Reserve (business)

We couldn’t find any retention offers shared via forums. If you had a retention offer for the Delta Reserve Business card, please do share with us in the comments below.

Delta Platinum (personal)

  • “Offered either $100 statement credit or 15,000 (SkyMiles) points for $2,500 spend over three months.” – tiki01, 2019
    • Spent $3,400 from year to date while holding the card for a year.
  • “… 30,000 miles if I spent $4,000 in the next 3 months.” – Marcia Greczyna, 2019
  • “30,000 SkyMiles if I spend $2,000 in three months.” – Steve, 2018
    • Spent around $26,000 during a cardmember year holding the card for three years.

Delta Platinum (business)

  • “…they did not offer me anything.” – Marcia Greczyna, 2019
  • “No offer.” – Steve, 2019
    • Spent $10,000 during the cardmember year.

Delta Gold (personal)

  • “… offered either a $50 statement credit for $1,000 spend or 7,500 Skymiles after $1,500 spend…” – optimilez2016, 2019
    • Held the card for 13 months before calling for a retention offer.
  • “…was offered 20,000 miles if I paid the $95 renewal fee.” – signofthefourwinds, 2017

Delta Gold (business)

  • No recent offers beyond 2016.

Marriott Bonvoy Brillant

  • “Offered 20,000 for spending $2,000 in 3 months.” – ys10, 2019
    • Spent $11,000 within 12 months. 
  • “30,000 points/$3,000/3 months.” – Ripley62, 2019
    • 13 months open with $12,000 spent.
  • “No retention offers, nothing!” – ORD-TGU, 2019

Marriott Bonvoy (business)

  • “Offered 1000 points.” – SanDiego1K, 2019
  • “… no retention offer given.” – kannon99, 2019
    • Spent $27,000 within the cardmember year.

Everyday Preferred

  • “Retention offer of 15k points for $3000 spend over 3 months.” – danib62, 2019
    • Spends around $17,000 a year.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the strongest banks for handing out retention offers. 

Premium Rewards

No retention offers are available for the Premium Rewards card.

Alaska Airlines Visa

  • “Offer was for the Travel Reward Card. Didn’t accept, no other offers. Agreed to refund the AF if I closed the card, so I did.” – dordal, 2017
    • Had the card for 10 years with an annual spend of $15,000.
  • “Called and no retention offer.” – philemer, 2017
  • “… called for a retention offer and the agent offered me 2,500 bonus miles with no required spend. She would not waive AF.” – Tonys1234, 2017

Spirit Airlines World Mastercard

No retention offers are available for the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard.

Allegiant World Mastercard

No retention offers are available for the Allegiant World Mastercard.

Amtrak Guest Rewards

Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard

No retention offers are available for the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard.

Sonesta World Mastercard

No retention offers are available for the Sonesta World Mastercard.

Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard

  • “1st annual fee, spent $12k+ to get the bonus. Called when AF posted, was offer 2500 points.” – countingmiles, 2017

Asiana Airlines Visa Signature

  • No retention offers are available for the Asiana Airlines Visa Signature.

Barclays

Barclays is similar to Amex where retention offers are slightly easier to come around than other banks on this list. However, the trend of business cards having less retention offers is still a thing. 

Arrival Plus

  • “No retention offer and options for downgrading.” – albertxue, 2019
    • Spent $5,000 within the first year.
  • “Offer to switch to no fee card to retain credit limit.1,000 points for first use.” – 2018
    • Held the card for two years and spent $2,000 the months before calling for the retention offer.

Lufthansa Miles & More

  • “…5000 miles for spending $1000 in 3 months.” – slickvik, 2018

Hawaiian Airlines

  • “Fee posted yesterday, called yesterday and got fee waived ($89.00). Rep stated that I would not be able to accept any other offers attached to my account for the next 90 days. Not so good for the wife. First call resulted with no offers. Second called resulted in rep stating that annual fee is never waived.” – yahrite808, 2019
  • “Two year old Hawaiian World Elite card, no AF waiver nor points offered.” – eeflyer, 2018

Frontier Airlines

  • No retention offers are available for the Frontier Airlines credit card.

Wyndham Rewards

  • “Called once, suggested I downgrade to the no annual fee card, no offers. Called again today, same deal, but when I pushed for an offer CSR told me about $100 statement credit if I spend $1000 a month for three months.” – SuitCase, 2019
    • Had the card open for a year and only spent on the card for meeting the minimum spend requirement. 
  • “5000 bonus pts with $1000 spending in 3 months and half the annual fee refunded ($34.50). Accepted. No spend (as in spent no money during the card membership year). Had AF completely waived the prev year; rep noted that every time I called.” – medellinfein, 2018

Jetblue Plus

  • “Offered (a) half of $99 annual fee waived (b) 5000 points after $1000 spend in 90 days (c) $50 statement credit after $1000 spend in each of next three months. I said “(a) and (b) sound interesting” and agent gave me both of them.” – rcw70, 2019
    • Spent around $100 during the cardmember year after meeting the welcome offer minimum spend.
  • “She then offered to credit half the fee ($49.50) or downgrade to the no AF JB card. I asked if there were other offers, she said no.She then offered to credit half the fee ($49.50) or downgrade to the no AF JB card. I asked if there were other offers, she said no.” – bosflyer93, 2019
    • Spent around $100 during the cardmember year after meeting the welcome offer minimum spend.
  • “Account specialist offered half-fee waiver or $1,000 spend in 90 days for 5k points.” – edelweiss, 2019
    • 2nd anniversary year. 

Jetblue Business

  • “Had card for 1 year, met $1K minimum spend, not much else after that. No retention offer.” – 2018

Aviator Red

  • “Called 1 month before fee hit. Stated to first line rep that I received a flyer in the mail about the upcoming fee and it stated to ‘call for offers’. Rep immediately transferred me to retention. Offered me fee waiver and 0% on all new purchases through 09/2020.”- junkemail, 2019
    • Opened the account in 2015.
  • “Annual fee posted on my Aviator Red. I have zero spend on the card. No retention offers and no option to downgrade.” – Pochama, 2020
  • “Entire annual fee was waived.” – Steve, 2018
    • Spent $50,000 during the cardmember year.

Aviator Business

  • “… offered AF refund…” – DiMAn0684, 2020
    • Held the card for one year and only spent enough for hitting the minimum spend requirement for the welcome offer.
  • “no retention offered. CSR claims that the biz department does not do retention on this card.”

Chase

Chase doesn’t have a direct number to their retention department. This makes it cumbersome to find out the available offers for Chase cardholders.

Sapphire Preferred

Full credit card review here

  • “Held for 5 years 2014-2019 Dec and Annual spend of 5K. Mentioned considering closing and received $60 statement credit. No other offers available at all…” – Karush Jaggi, 2019
  • “3rd year with the CSP and I spent about 15k last year. No retention offer.” – TheIronWill, 2019

Sapphire Reserve

  • “… first anniversary, minimal spend. Called after fee posted, no offer.” – aquanine, 2019
  • “The rep was very helpful and mentioned he does not remember chase offering any retention for the reserve cards, but if we choose to cancel we have up to 41 days from the statement date.
    So lets say you have renewal on December 2, the statement closes with that fee of $450 on December 25. You now have 41 days from Dec 25 to cancel and get a full refund.” – stallionv, 2019

British Airways Visa Signature

  • “They offered $50 credit…” – carsnoceans, 2018
  • “$100 statement credit. No minimum spend required. Yearly spend: $30,000.” – ohmark, 2019

Aer Lingus Visa Signature

  • “No offers (was not even transferred to retention), c. 3k spend to earn bonus and left open until first AF posted.” – 2019

Iberia Visa Signature

We have no retention data points for the Iberia Visa Signature. 

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless

  • “Offered $50, but cancelled anyway. Had almost no spend since SPG/Marriott merger.” – 2019
  • “Marriott Bonvoy called and was offered $50 retention.” – chicagodave, 2019

World of Hyatt

  • “… got $50 statement credit for nothing; $17k annual spend.” – mehudson, 2019
  • “$50 statement credit , 1st year, spend over $20k.” – 2019
  • “No offers, 1st year, minimal spend after bonus requirements.” – 2019
  • “20k spend in 2018. 23k spend YTD. Offered 75$ statement credit if I use the card at a Hyatt property (no time limits or minimum spend mentioned).” – jwo, 2019

Disney Premier Visa

We have no retention data points for the Disney Premier Visa.

IHG Rewards Club Premier

We have no retention data points for the IHG Rewards Club Premier. 

Starbucks Rewards Visa

We have no retention data points for the Starbucks Rewards Visa.

Ink Business Preferred

  • “… my spend was the minimum for SUB (sign-up bonus). Called retention and got nothing…” – session404, 2019
    • A one year old card.
  • “Both cards open for 1 year. Some minor spend other than the minimum spend.” – cletuslol, 2019
    • Spent about $24,000 over the course of the year. 

United Business Card

We have no retention data points for the United Business Card.

United Explorer Card

  • “No offer, open 1 year, $12K spend.” – 2019
  • “No offer, had been open for a year with a little spend most months.” – 2019

United Club

  • “… offered $60 statement credit, accepted. Annual spend was about $20k.” – Napagoer, 2018

United Club Business

We have no retention data points for the United Club Business card. 

Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus

  • “No offer. Second anniversary, minimal spend, DID have the $70 retention offer last year.” – 2019
  • “No offer. 1 year old, some spend after hitting initial bonus, one referral.” – 2019

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier

  • “$50 statement credit. 1 year old, no spend after hitting the initial bonus, one referral.” – 2019
  • “Minimal after original bonus. No retention offer…” – 2019

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business

We have no retention data points for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority

  • “$35 statement credit.” – jfaghihnassiri, 2019
    • Both cards open for 1 year. Some minor spend other than the minimum spend.
  • “Second year. No retention offer. $0 spent.” – aquanine, 2019

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business

  • “$100 statement credit.” – jfaghihnassiri, 2019
    • Both cards open for 1 year. Some minor spend other than the minimum spend.
  • “… second anniversary, no spend, did NOT have a retention offer last year. Called after fee posted, no offer.” – MDtR-Chicago, 2019
  • “Called retention today and received $100 statement credit to be posted on next statement. $8k annual spend on that card.” – acarey, 2019

The Ritz-Carlton

  • “… sixth year with this card. Called in and was offered $150 statement credit.” – I Love to Travel, 2019
  • “Third year and first time to call for retention offer. Was given $150 credit.” – venkallu, 2019

Ink Plus

  • “Given $95 statement credit to offset AF.” –  fafa123, 2019
  • “Called and asked for retention, told there is a $50 offer on the acct:
    Rep: ‘Is this to get an offer or are you really going to cancel the card?’
    User: ‘Uh, no I have another business card. Is it possible to get the offer?’
    (grumbling) ‘Yes, I can apply the offer.'” – weezl, 2019

Citi

Citi is surprisingly one of the easier banks for retention offers. But no matter what, on their premium cards it’s harder to get a retention offer. 

Premier

  • “1st renewal. No offers at all. Cancelled card. Gave me 60 days to redeem points.” – bbriscoe34, 2020
  • “First renewal – $95 credit after spending $3,000 in next three months.” – miles4CDG, 2020
    • Spent $12,000 within one cardmember year. 
  • “Offered one time $95 statement credit +1000 TYP per month if I spend $1000/month for 3 months.” – Ocean266, 2020

Prestige

  • “Had for 5 years. $20k spend last year. Offered $50 statement credit after $3000 spend per month for 3 months.” – keifernny, 2020
  • “I tried half a dozen times over the last few months for a retention offer, never got one. Spend last year was around $10K…” brc01, 2020
  • “Had for 5 years. $20k spend last year. Offered $50 statement credit after $3000 spend per month for 3 months.” keifernny, 2020

AA Gold

  • “$600 spend, very old card, $50 credit for $1000 spend over next 3 months.” – 2018

AA Platinum

  • “I had a retention offer that just ended this month (1k bonus miles/month if I made at least $1k purchases a month), so I called to ask for another offer. The agent asked if I was interested in cancelling the card, and I said yes but I wanted to see if there were any offers first. The agent immediately offered me a $99 credit after I made at least $99 purchases in the next 30 days. I asked if there were any other offers, and the agent said there was another offer of 7500 bonus miles after $3k purchases in next 3 months.” 808traveler, 2020
  • “No retention offer, only downgrade to MileUp.” – 2019
    • Minimum spend only.

AA Platinum Business Select

  • “No retention deal was offered…” – Fire_Fly, 2020
  • “$3,000 in 3 months to get a $99 credit. I only spent about $800 on this account in 2019…” – miles4sheli, 2020
  • “… $1,000 in 3 months they would credit back the $99 annual fee.” – rj123456, 2020
    • Took three reps to get this offer.

AA Executive

  • “15k bonus miles for spending $5k total within the next 3 months or $250 statement credit for spending $3k each month for each of the next 3 months.” – 2019
    • Spent $50,000 last calendar year.
  • “$450 statement credit for spending $5K each month for each of the next 3 months.” – 2018

Expedia+ Voyager

No retention offers are available for the Expedia+ Voyager.

U.S Bank

Holding some amazing cards like the Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite card, US bank offers less retention offers than other banks on this list. 

Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card

  • “I was given 10,000 points to keep my card.” – Shadowfactor, 2019
    • Spent around $22,000 in 2018.
  • “Did not get the 10K retention offer, but did get the full refund!” – alphabet99, 2018

FlexPerks Gold American Express

No retention offers are available for the FlexPerks Gold American Express.

FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature

No retention offers are available for the FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature.

Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature Card

  • “The supervisor was able to offer me an additional 7,500 points for keeping the card (on top of the normal 40,000 renewal bonus).” – turpintine, 2017
  • “Nothing offered.” – koalay, 2017

Business Leverage Visa Signature

No retention offers are available for the Business Leverage Visa Signature.

FlexPerks Business Travel Rewards

No retention offers are available for the FlexPerks Business Travel Rewards.

Final word

As you can see, retention offers take many forms. While you don’t always have to put significant spend on your card to get an offer, generally your odds of getting an offer will increase with more spend. I would make it a point to remember to inquire about retention offers when your annual fee is due and to put spend on your card as much as possible. 

8 Ways to Avoid Credit Card Rejections [2020]

Beyond having a qualifying credit score, there are several things you can do to avoid getting rejected for credit card applications. In this article, I will break down eight different factors to consider in order to avoid getting declined for future credit card applications.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

1. Credit card application rules

The first thing you need to do is to make sure you are not violating any credit card application rules.

Pretty much all of the major banks have these like Chase, American Express, Citibank, etc. 

Over the past couple of years, banks have come out with many more credit card approval restrictions and so getting approved for cards (and receiving bonuses for them) is now more difficult than it has ever been if you are actively pursuing rewards.

So it is a good idea to make sure that you are not violating any of these rules and an easy way to do this is to use the free app WalletFlo.

WalletFlo will automate the calculations for all of these approval rules and if you are not currently eligible it will remind you when you are. It’s an easy and free way to find cards you are eligible for and to avoid unnecessary dings on your credit report so I would highly recommend you check it out. 

2. Get your foot in the door

If you are a borderline candidate meaning that your credit score is on the lower end of what is usually recommended for your card or you have a thin credit history, then try to ease your way in with the bank by going for an easier to get card first.

For example, If you had a 695 credit score and were interested in the Chase Sapphire Preferred, it would probably be a better idea to apply for the Chase Freedom and then wait 6 to 12 months as your score improved to around 720 and then go for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

In other words, you want to work your way up to the most premium cards in order to avoid rejections.

3. Be strategic about credit pulls

Some banks like Capital One are known for pulling from all three credit bureaus while others like Barclays sometimes may only pull from one credit bureau like TransUnion.

It’s a good idea to keep tabs on what banks are pulling from what credit bureaus because this could allow you to look more favorable in the eyes of the banks. For example, you could space out your applications so that you are alternating credit bureaus every few months and thus reduce the impact on each one.

Maybe every six months you get a pull on your Experian and your Equifax and in between that you have a TransUnion pull. That would be much better than having Experian and Equifax credit pulls right by each other, since successive hard pulls can exacerbate their negative impact on your score.

4. Bolster your income (ethically)

Listing all of your “accessible income” can help improve your approval odds for some credit cards that factor in your income.

For example, there are a lot of premium type of credit cards like the Platinum Card that seem to factor in how much you make. So be sure to list your accessible income which is the income available to you that could also come from someone like a family member or a spouse.

There are a few restrictions when doing this but basically if you are 21 years or older and you have reasonable access to funds, you probably can list those funds when stating your income on a credit card application.

You have a reasonable expectation of access when the non-applicant:

  • Deposits the income into a joint account shared with the applicant;
  • Deposits the income into an account to which the applicant does not have access but regularly transfers a portion of the income to the applicant’s individual deposit account; or
  • Regularly uses a portion of the income to pay for the applicant’s expenses

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

5. Put spend on cards

If you have additional cards with a bank that you are applying for, you need to make sure that all of your other cards have recent spend on them.

Ideally, you would have spend put on those cards throughout the year and not just a few days before you apply for a credit card but it is better to have some activity than none. (Remembering to put spend on cards you don’t normally use is cumbersome but that is another reason to get WalletFlo.)

6. Have a banking relationship

Some banks like Wells Fargo like to approve their own customers.

That’s not to say that you will never get approved for their cards if you don’t have a bank account with them but in my experience and based on my research, these are the type of banks that are way more prone to decline you if you don’t have some sort of account with them.

Many times you can earn a special bonus when you open up a checking or savings account so it can be well worth your time to set up some type of account. You just need to be aware of the fees and any requirements associated with your bonuses such as direct deposits.

7. Optimize timing

Applying for too many cards in a short time span is a way to raise red flags and also to get denied for credit cards. Many people can be okay applying for a few cards around the same time but for most people, I would recommend waiting 90 days between credit card applications.

The reason is that after 90 days hard inquiries seem to have less of an impact. If you want to be a little bit safer, you could wait three to six months between your credit card applications.

8. Always call reconsideration

The last way to reduce your rejected credit card applications count is to call into reconsideration. Not every bank has an official reconsideration line but many do.

Reconsideration is your attempt to persuade a bank agent that you should be approved for a credit card.

Typically this just means having a good reason for getting the card and being able to explain away any potential issues on your credit report, such as recent inquiries or recent accounts opened. You can read my in-depth article on the Chase reconsideration line here.

Make sure that before you call you know what to expect and that you are ready to offer them alternatives such as shifts in credit over to other credit cards. And if you are denied, you should try to call back and try again at least once.

Final word

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to avoid getting denied for many credit cards. Many of these steps can be worked into reminders with WalletFlo so I would once again recommend checking out that app if you have not got the chance to.

 

Barclays Credit Card Application Rules Guide [2020]

Barclays has an interesting set of credit card application rules. They do not have any hard and fast rules but a series of different rules that may or may not apply in certain scenarios. Below, I will go into detail about all of these application rules.

By the way, if you want to automate the calculations for all of these credit card application rules be sure to check out the new app WalletFlo, which will break down all of the known credit card approval rules and show you whether or not you are eligible for certain cards.

Barclays 6/24

Barclays has something known as the “6/24 rule.”

This rule works the same as the Chase 5/24 rule in that it takes into account all of the cards that you have opened in the past 24 months across all credit card issuers.

Presumably, cards that do not report to your personal credit report also do not count for 6/24 although I am awaiting data points to verify that.

The big difference between the two rules is that the 6/24 rule is not a hard rule. In the past, some have speculated that the 6/24 rule only applies to specific cards such as the Arrival Plus card (that is no longer available to new applicants).

It’s not clear to me what specific cards the 6/24 rule applies to or when it is applied but it is clear that it is not always applied.

There are plenty of data points of people out there getting approved for Barclays cards when they have opened up many (10+) cards in the past 24 months so just because you are over 6/24, that does not mean that you will be denied.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Barclays 6 Month Close Rule

It is recommended that you wait six months until after closing a Barclays card before applying for that card again. Once again, this may not be a hard and fast rule but it is a guideline that I would follow in order to increase my approval odds. 

You also do not want to apply for a Barclays card while you are still a current cardmember of that card.

So if you were interested in the Aviator card but you were currently a card holder, you should not apply for another Aviator card. Instead, you should close your Aviator card and then wait at least six months until you reapply for that same card.

It’s worth noting that some have reported a minimum wait time of 24 months. Again, Barclays is a very “your mileage may vary” bank when it comes to its application rules so you just have to use your own judgment in a lot of cases.

Barclays 6 Month Application Rule

The Barclays six month application rule states that you should wait six months since opening any Barclays card to open a new Barclays card.

This is definitely not a hard and fast rule as some people have been able to get approved for multiple Barclays cards at one time.

However, again a lot of these rules or guidelines are here to help you increase your approval odds. So just because some people got approved for multiple cards at once, that does not mean that is the optimal way to pursue Barclays credit cards.

So personally, I would recommend waiting six months until after you have been approved for a Barclays card before applying for another one.

Also, you want to make sure that you have put spend on your other Barclays cards as Barclays really dislikes when you have dormant cards with no spend put on them. (Ideally, you would put spend on the card after meeting the welcome bonus requirements.)

If you have your notifications set up for spend reminders in WalletFlo, this will not be a problem for you, as it can remind you to put spend on your cards every six months. 

Current or Previous Cardholder Rule

Some Barclays cards will come with the following language in their terms and conditions:

“You may not be eligible for this offer if you currently have or previously had this card.”

This rule can be broken down into two parts.

The first has to deal with you being a current cardholder. As already mentioned, it is not a good idea to be a current card member when applying for a Barclays card. And in those cases you should cancel your card before applying because you will likely be denied.

Then there is the rule about if you have previously had the card. This essentially mirrors the American Express oncer per lifetime credit card application rule, which states that once you open a card you will not be eligible for that bonus ever again subject to certain exceptions.

The tricky thing here is that this rule is not always enforced. But the fact that the rule is in writing means that if they wanted to enforce it they could easily deny you a bonus so you should always proceed with that in the back of your mind.

New Cardmember Rule

Some Barclays cards will also come with the following language in their terms and conditions:

“This offer is available to new cardmembers only. This rule may not be enforced.” 

Once again, this language is very similar to the rule above which prevents you from being eligible for the offer if you are not a new cardmember. But as you might expect by now, this rule is also not always enforced. So again, you should just proceed with this rule in mind if it attaches to any of your cards.

TransUnion

Something else to keep in mind is that Barclays loves to pull from the credit bureau TransUnion. This is great because it means that you can give your other credit reports like Experian and Equifax a break. If you have a lot of recent hard inquiries on those latter reports then this could help you recover your credit score as you await for the negative impact of those hard inquiries to drop off. Read more about credit pulls here. 

Final word

Many of the Barclays rules are soft rules which will not always be enforced. This makes things more of a guessing game when applying for their cards but because the rules are frequently not enforced, generally you can expect them to not prevent you from being eligible. However, when it comes to the waiting period of six months I would always try to abide by those to maximize your approval odds. 

Chase 5/24 Rule Explained: (Updated Exceptions) [2020]

The infamous Chase 5/24 rule is one of the most important rules to know about when it comes to applying for new credit cards. But what exactly is the Chase 5/24 rule and which cards are subject to this rule?

This article will explain everything you need to know about the Chase 5/24 rule including all of its many exceptions and how certain things are affected like business credit cards and authorized user accounts.

I’ll show you a few ways how to get around the rule and also give you some strategy pointers on how to go about dealing with 5/24.


What is the Chase 5/24 rule?

The Chase 5/24 rule means that if you have opened up five or more credit accounts (i.e, credit cards) in the past 24 months you will be denied for all Chase cards.

This includes accounts opened up across all banks so you count all of your Chase cards opened up plus all of the accounts opened up with other credit card issuers, such as American Express, Citi, Barclays, etc.


When was the Chase 5/24 rule implemented?

The Chase 5/24 rule was originally put into place in June of 2015.

I have a special memory of the Chase 5/24 rule because it was when I was first getting really deep into credit cards, and I remember wondering why so many people were talking about this obscure rule.

The rule was not welcomed but it really shook things up in May of 2016 when it was extended to many co-branded credit cards, such as the Southwest, British Airways, and United cards. And then things really got shaken up in 2018 when the rule was extended to all credit cards issued by Chase!


Does Chase officially recognize the 5/24 rule?

Chase does not officially recognize the 5/24 rule but they “leaked” it out in their terms for a short while in 2016.

Their terms once stated:

“You will not be approved for this card if you have opened 5 or more bank cards in the past 24 months.”

But the language was removed from the page very shortly after it appeared.

I don’t think anyone doubts that it’s an official Chase policy, though. The data points are simply too convincing.


Why does the 5/24 rule matter?

The Chase 5/24 rule is a big deal because Chase has some of the best credit cards available and they are subject to the 5/24 restriction.

So if you go out and open up five or more cards in a short amount of time, you won’t be able to get approved for some of the top travel rewards credit cards for quite some time. That’s a major bummer for many people.

You’ll also get hit with an unnecessary hard inquiry on your credit report if you apply and are above 5/24 so knowing about it is a good way of preserving your credit score.


What Chase cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule?

Every Chase card is now affected by the rule and here is a list of popular cards you can expect to be impacted by the rule.

  • AARP Credit Card From Chase
  • Aer Lingus Visa Signature Credit Card
  • Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred
  • Chase Freedom
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited
  • Chase Slate
  • Chase Ink Business Preferred
  • Chase Ink Business Cash
  • Chase Ink Business Unlimited
  • Marriott Bonvoy Bold
  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
  • Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Credit Card
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card 
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
  • Southwest Priority Card
  • United MileagePlus Club Card
  • United MileagePlus Club Business Card
  • United MileagePlus Explorer Card
  • United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card
  • Starbucks Rewards Visa Card 
  • British Airways Visa Signature Card
  • Disney Premier Visa Card
  • Disney Visa Card
  • The Hyatt Credit Card
  • The World of Hyatt card
  • Iberia Visa Signature Credit Card
  • IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
  • IHG Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card

The top Chase cards are subject to 5/24.


“Count towards” vs “being subject to”

There is a lot of confusion about what it means for cards to count towards the 5/24 rule vs being subject to the Chase 5/24 rule.

If a card counts toward the 5/24 rule that means that you will include that card when counting all of your opened accounts and determining your 5/24 status.

If a card is subject to the 5/24 rule that means that in order to be approved for that credit card, you’ll need to have under 5 cards opened in the past 24 months.

This is a key distinction and many people get confused by it so make sure that you got it down.


What counts towards 5/24? (FAQ)

Do credit cards count towards 5/24?

Credit cards are the primary accounts that count towards your 5/24 status and Chase counts credit cards from all banks. This means that your credit cards from other banks like American Express, Citibank, etc. will count towards your 5/24 status.

Do small business credit cards count towards 5/24?

Most business credit cards from major issuers will not count towards your 5/24 status, such as those from American Express and Citibank. However, business cards opened with banks like Capital One will report to your personal report.

Here are some of the issuers that are known for their business cards NOT counting towards your 5/24 status:

  • American Express
  • Barclays
  • Citibank
  • US Bank
  • Wells Fargo

Here are some issuers that are known for their business cards counting towards your 5/24 status:

  • Capital One

But you also need to remember that inquiries from your small business credit card applications will still show up on your credit report.

Sometimes Chase can deny you for too many recent inquiries so even though some business cards won’t report to your personal credit report, you should still space out your credit card applications.

Giving yourself 90 days between apps is generally a good way to start, although some like to provide an even larger buffer.

Do authorized user accounts count towards 5/24?

Yes, but as discussed below there are exceptions.

Do charge cards count towards 5/24?

Yes, charge cards count against your 5/24 status.

Do store cards count towards 5/24?

It can get a little tricky when it comes to store credit cards. If your store credit card is on the Visa or Mastercard payment network (if it has the logos on the card), then that card will likely count towards your 5/24 status.

On the other hand, if your card can only be used at a store then there’s a chance it might not count toward your 5/24 status.

Do pre-paid cards count towards 5/24?

No, pre-paid accounts like Serve do not count towards your 5/24 status.

Do home loans/mortgages count towards 5/24?

Generally, no, home loans should not count towards your 5/24 status because they are installment loans.

Do auto loans count towards 5/24?

Generally, no, auto loans should not count towards your 5/24 status because they are installment loans.

Do student loans count towards 5/24?

Generally, no, student loans should not count towards your 5/24 status because they are installment loans. I have heard reports of student loans counting but in my personal experience, my student loans did not count.


How to calculate your 5/24 status

Figuring out your 5/24 status is not very difficult at all. The easiest way to do it will be to sign up for WalletFlo when it is launched and it will be automatically calculated for you.

But until then, here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Pull up your credit report

Check your credit report using Credit Karma or FreeCreditReport.com to check when you opened your accounts.

Chase will often pull from Experian and one other credit bureau but it’s often difficult to predict so it’s best to just review all of your credit reports.

Step 2: Add up accounts based on the above criteria

Considering the information above, review your account history and see when the opening dates were for your last five accounts that count towards 5/24.

Now find the fifth most recent account and that will be the key account to focus on. 

Tip: Many credit reports will allow you to sort your accounts by date.

Step 3: Determine the exact date

Next, you need to determine the date that Chase will use to calculate your 5/24 status. 

There are many reports out there of Chase calculating 5/24 eligibility differently. Here are the different methods that I have seen:

Exact date

In some cases, your 5/24 status could be calculated based on the exact date that you opened the account. For example, if your account was opened on August 9, 2019, your 5/24 status would reset on August 9, 2021. 

Beginning of anniversary month

In some cases, your 5/24 status could be calculated based on the beginning of the anniversary month that you opened the account. For example, if your account was opened on August 9, 2019, your 5/24 status would reset on August 1, 2021. 

1st of the month after anniversary month

In some cases, your 5/24 status could be calculated based on the 1st of the month after the anniversary month that you opened the account. For example, if your account was opened on August 9, 2019, your 5/24 status would reset on September 1, 2021. 

The timeframe for this calculation could depend on a couple of factors.

First, it is possible that depending on the credit bureau that Chase pulls, the calculation date could be the first of the month or the exact anniversary date. This could be because Experian reports your accounts as opening on the first day of the month in which they were opened.

Sometimes this could possibly come down to the agent’s discretion. In that case, you want to leave no doubt whatsoever about your compliance with this rule.

So to be on the safe side, I recommend to simply add 31 days from the day that you opened up your account. For example, if your account was opened on August 9, 2019, your 5/24 status would reset on September 9, 2021. 

That seems to be the safest bet.


Exceptions to 5/24

There are a few exceptions to the Chase 5/24 rule.

Unfortunately, Chase has closed many of the loopholes and exceptions to the 5/24 rule over the past couple of years so there are not as many. Something else to consider is that these exceptions seem to be always changing. These things are very YMMV, so you don’t always know what to expect.

Authorized user accounts

If you have been added as an authorized user, that account will count towards your 5/24 status in many cases. 

However, you can call into Chase reconsideration and explain to them that you are merely an authorized user and they will often disregard your authorized user status.

But note that this is usually only the case for one single authorized user account.

If you have multiple authorized user accounts then it is probably a better idea to just remove those authorized user accounts from your credit report. You can do that by requesting the primary user to remove you or by contacting the bank yourself.

You can also file disputes on your credit report but note that sometimes it can take a little bit of time for these cards to be removed.

Chase business cards

Chase usually does not count its own business credit cards when determining your 5/24 status. So if you open up a Chase Ink Business Preferred or Chase Ink Business Cash that won’t affect your status. 

Chase business manager

For business cards, applying with a “business relationship manager” (BRM) might be able to allow you to get around the 5/24 rule.

You may have to send in a paper or fax application through the BRM but you might also be able to apply for an even higher offer. These account managers are generally reserved for those bringing in substantial revenue via their business but not always. If you run a business, then it probably would not hurt to inquire with your bank about applying with a paper or fax application.

Pre-approvals

You can get pre-approved in branch for certain cards and circumvent 5/24. (Sometimes these in-branch pre-approvals even result in higher targeted offers, too.)

You can check for pre-approvals for the following credit cards:

  • Chase Freedom
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred
  • United Explorer
  • United Club
  • Chase Ink Business Preferred
  • Chase Ink Business Cash
  • United Explorer

“Selected Offers for You”

“Selected Offers for You” are special offers you can find when you log into Chase that sometimes allow you to get around the 5/24 rule.

You can check your “Selected Offers for You” when logging into your Chase account for offers that might allow you to get around 5/24.

Sometimes there is a little green checkmark you can find that indicates a special offer. If you are looking at your business cards, the special offer might have a black star.

Other special offers

It is possible that you could come across other types of special offers like the ones we recently found in the United app.

Personal invites/mailers

In the past personal invitations and mailers from Chase with application codes allowed some people to get around 5/24. However, there are data points now of people getting denied based on too many accounts even with these invitations.

So I would proceed with caution if relying on this method. 

Randomly approved

It’s possible to randomly get around 5/24.

Nobody knows how or why this happens but some people apparently just get very lucky and they are not denied even though are above 5/24.


Exceptions that no longer work

There are a few exceptions that used to allow you to circumvent 5/24 but not any longer.

Chase Private Client

Chase Private Client used to allow you to get around the 5/24 rule but that’s no longer the case now.


What if I’m at 4/24?

Some people find out that they are 4/24 and decide that they want to try to double-dip and apply for two Chase cards at the same with the hopes that 5/24 won’t instantly kick in. This worked in the past but has caused issues for a lot of applicants recently so I don’t recommend it unless you really know what you’re doing.


Are there other Chase application rules?

The Chase 5/24 rules is unfortunately not the only rule that you need to be aware of when applying.

2/30 rule

The other major rule is the Chase 2/30 rule.

This is a rule that prohibits you from being approved for more than two credit cards within a rolling 30 day period. Some people have gotten around this rule in the past but I would never recommend applying for three Chase cards at once or even within a 30 day window.

Chase has become increasingly aggressive with shutting down and flagging accounts where customers have applied for many of their cards, so it’s best to play it conservatively.

Also note, that many people are not allowed more than one card in a 30 day period. This is especially true for business credit cards.

Current cardholder?

Chase states that cards are available to you only if you do not have the card you are applying for.

So for example if you already hold the Sapphire Preferred, you’d have to cancel that card before applying for it again.

The Chase 24 month rule

Chase will only allow you to receive a sign-up bonus for a given product every 24 months.

They state in their terms and conditions:

“This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months”

Limiting sign-up bonuses

Chase has also been on a crusade to limit sign-up bonuses for cards within the same family.

The Southwest credit cards are a good example. It is no longer possible to receive the sign-up bonus for two personal Southwest credit cards at the same time. Now you must wait 24 months although you can still get one from the business version at the same time as the personal card.

There is also special rule that won’t allow you to receive two Sapphire bonuses within 48 months.

That rule states:

This product is available to you if you do not have any Sapphire card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months. If you are an existing Sapphire customer and would like this product, please call the number on the back of your card to see if you are eligible for a product change. You will not receive the new cardmember bonus if you change products.


Does 5/24 affect Chase reconsideration?

Chase reconsideration allows you to plead your case with bank reps with the hopes of convincing them to approve your credit card application.

If you are over 5/24 then,  you probably still won’t be able to overturn a denial in a Chase reconsideration call (though it doesn’t hurt to try).

The exception is if you end up falling down to 4/24 after you apply for a credit card. If that’s the case, then you can call up Chase reconsideration and try to give it a shot. You can read more about Chase reconsideration tips here.  


Do other banks have rules like 5/24?

More and more banks are clamping down on people who heavily pursue their credit cards and so some issuers have developed rules similar to the Chase 5/24 rule.

Amex

For example, Amex has a number of rules including the 2/90 rule which limits you to two Amex credit cards within a 90 day period.

You can read more about those here.

Bank of America

Bank of America has the 2/3/4 Rule which means that you can have:

  • No more than 2 Bank of American cards in 2 months
  • No more than 3 Bank of American cards i in 12 months
  • No more than 4 Bank of American cards i in 24 months

It also has the “7/12 and 3/12” rule which states:

  • Applicants with a BOA deposit account will not be approved if they have opened seven or more credit cards in the past 12 months.
  • Applicants without a BOA deposit account will not be approved if they have opened three or more credit cards  in the past 12 months

Citibank

Citibank has some very specific rules for getting approved for their credit cards, including the 8/65 Rule which means that you cannot apply for more than one Citi credit card in 8 days and not more than two credit cards in 65 days.

Capital One

Capital One has the 1/6 rule, which means that you can only apply for one credit card every 6 month. Any 2nd application within 6 month will be auto rejected and won’t lead in a hard pull.

Discover

Discover only allows you to  hold a maximum of 2 credit cards (only 1 student card) and you cam only get 1 card every 12 months.

Other banks have rules to so always do your research before applying for credit cards.


Chase 5/24 Strategy

There are a few strategies you can incorporate to help you navigate the Chase 5/24 rule.

Go after 5/24 cards first

This is obvious but it’s worth mentioning.

You should put together a plan of what cards you value the most before you ever apply for a rewards card. I’m always amazed at people who apply for cards on such a whim with no plan (and sometimes no real desire) to earn rewards points.

If you develop a plan first, then you’ll be able to prioritize cards like the Southwest cards or the Sapphire cards and get them before you go over 5/24.

Use the 4/24 trick

Utilize the two application trick (discussed above) when you’re at 4/24.

Apply for small business credit cards

This is probably the best strategy to use. If you apply for small business credit cards like those from Amex, they will not report to your credit report.

This will allow you to continue to open up new accounts without ever affecting your 5/24 status.

At the same time, if you know that certain store cards won’t report to your credit report, you can also go that route.

Check on in-branch pre-approvals

As already mentioned, in-branch pre-approvals can allow you to get approved for certain Chase cards even when you are above 5/24.

I would periodically (every 2 to 3 months) pop in to a Chase branch and inquire about pre-approval offers if I were trying to get on board with Chase and I was over 5/24.

Utilize upgrades and product changes

Let’s say you really wanted the Sapphire Reserve.

If you’re already over 5/24 but you already hold a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred then you can just upgrade to the Reserve without having to apply for a new credit card.

Chase won’t let you product change across brands though.

So for example if you have a Chase Southwest card you can’t product change that to a Chase Freedom or Chase Marriott card.

Amex takes a while to report cards

If for some reason you are in a crunch and you need to apply for Amex cards know that they usually take up two months to report to your credit report.

So it’s often possible to remain under 5/24 even after you’ve been approved for Amex cards for close to 60 days. That could provide you with the time needed to capitalize on special Amex offers (like the Amex Platinum 100K offer) if you needed to.


Final word

The Chase 5/24 rule makes life difficult when it comes to maximizing rewards with Chase for a lot of people.

But if you go in with a plan, it’s not actually that limiting and you can still obtain some of the best rewards cards if you play it smart.

It’s a good idea to get familiar with all of the exceptions and understand how the rule works with business credit cards and authorized users to ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the rule.

Ready to Apply for Chase Credit Cards? (Tips to Get Approved) [2020]

Chase offers arguably the best batch of credit cards and travel rewards but you might not get approved for their cards if you don’t know about special Chase application rules and insider tips.

So if you’re getting ready to apply for Chase credit cards, please take a moment to read the information in this article. I’ll give you specific tips for how to avoid getting your application denied and get approved by explaining all the Chase credit card application rules.

I’ll also show you which cards you should be pursuing first to maximize the value of your rewards.

Chase current cardholder rule

Standard rule

Chase states that cards are available to you only if you do not have the card you are applying for. The terms will usually state something like “this product is not available to […] current cardmembers of this credit card”. So, for example, if you already hold the British Airways Visa, you’d have to cancel that card before applying for it again.

Family rule

In some cases, Chase will not allow you to get a product if you have another card currently open that is a member of that card’s family. For example, if you have a Sapphire Reserve, you cannot get approved for a Sapphire Preferred because they both belong to the Sapphire family.

Here is what the terms look like for the family rule: “The product is not available to […] current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card.” Notice the word “any” which means that you cannot have ANY Sapphire card open if you want to get approved.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

24 month and 48 month rule

For most credit cards, Chase will only allow you to receive a new cardmember bonus for a given product every 24 months. This means that you need to wait two years from the date that you received the cardmember bonus.

Since cardmember bonuses must be received within a maximum of 115 days from the date you opened up your account, you can always calculate this role by measuring out two years +115 days from your account opening date.

If you did not receive a cardmember bonus when you opened the card, then this rule will not apply to you.

Chase has gotten more strict with their premium Sapphire cards and now there is a special rule that won’t allow you to receive two Sapphire bonuses within 48 months.

The Chase 2/30 day rule

You can only be approved for two Chase cards within a rolling 30 day period. There are some exceptions but it’s very rare to get approved for three cards within 30 days. Also, some people are limited to one card in a 30 day period so I would typically just apply for one card in any 30 day period.

The Chase 1/30 day rule

If you are applying for a business Chase card then the 1/30 rule will likely apply to you. This just means that you can only get one business Chase card in a 30 day period. When it comes to Chase business cards, I think it is even more important to play things conservatively.

So I would wait a few months in between Chase business card applications (3 to 6+ months would be a good waiting period).

Combing inquiries?

Chase used to allow customers to apply for two cards at one time and combine their inquiries. This is now very difficult or impossible to accomplish and often leads to one account being closed by Chase. Therefore, I do not recommend you to apply for more than one credit card at a time with Chase.

The Chase 5/24 rule

The most popular rule by Chase is probably the 5/24 rule. It states that if you have opened up five or more revolving credit accounts (e.g., credit cards, trade lines, etc.) in the past 24 months you will be denied for Chase cards.

This rule looks at cards you have opened up with any credit card issuer. For example, if you have opened up a card with American Express that will count toward your 5/24 status. (Check your credit report using Credit Karma or FreeCreditReport.com to check when you opened your accounts.)

However, there are certain types of accounts that should not count. These include the installment accounts (e.g., car loans, home loans, etc.) and pre-paid accounts.

Exceptions to 5/24

Even though 5/24 is a very strict rule, there are a number of ways that you can get around this rule.

Authorized user accounts

One authorized user account may not count towards 5/24 (subject to Chase’s discretion). If you are currently sitting at 5/24 and one of your accounts is an authorized user account, you can bring that to Chase’s attention and they might be willing to bypass 5/24 for you.

Business credit cards

Many business credit cards will not count towards your 5/24 status, such as those from American Express and Citibank. However, business cards opened with banks like Capital One and Discover will report to your personal report.

Chase business cards

Chase business cards don’t count towards 5/24. Don’t get confused here.

If you are trying to calculate your 5/24 status, Chase business cards do not report to your personal credit report and do not count as opened accounts.

However, Chase business cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, Which means that if you have opened up five or more accounts you cannot get approved for Chase business cards.

Store cards 

It can get a little tricky when it comes to store credit cards. If your store credit card is on the Visa or Mastercard payment network (if it has the logos on the card), then that card will likely count towards your 5/24 status.

On the other hand, if your card can only be used at a store then there’s a chance it might not count toward your 5/24 status.

“Selected Offers for You”

“Selected Offers for You” are special offers you can find when you log into Chase that sometimes allow you to get around the 5/24 rule.

You can check your “Selected Offers for You” when logging into your Chase account for offers that might allow you to get around 5/24.

Sometimes there is a little green checkmark you can find that indicates a special offer. If you are looking at your business cards, the special offer might have a black star.

Targeted Offers

Some people are lucky enough to receive special invitations in the mail for offers that circumvent 5/24. These offers usually need to have an invitation code. However, there are data points now of people getting denied based on too many accounts even with these invitations.

Business relationship manager method

For business cards, applying with a “business relationship manager” might be able to allow you to get around the 5/24 rule.

You may have to send in a paper or fax application through the BRM but you might also be able to apply for an even higher offer. Typically, you need to have a business with some serious revenue to qualify for a business relationship manager but not always.

In-branch pre-approved offers

You can get pre-approved in branch for certain cards and circumvent 5/24. (Sometimes these in-branch pre-approvals even result in higher targeted offers, too.) You can check for pre-approvals for the following credit cards:

  • Chase Freedom
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred
  • United Explorer
  • United Club
  • Chase Ink Preferred
  • Chase Ink Cash
  • United Explorer (all of them)

Chase Private Client?

Chase Private Client used to allow you to get around the 5/24 rule but that’s no longer the case now.

You can read more about the Chase 5/24 rule and all of its exceptions here.

Messages: 30 day, 2 weeks, 7 to 10 days, etc.

When you’re not instantly approved for a Chase credit card application, you’ll receive certain messages from Chase that can reveal whether or not you will be approved. Click here to read about what those messages mean.

Once you’ve got the rules out of the way, it’s time for the exciting part: applying for a Chase credit card! 

Tips for applying for a Chase credit card

Below are some helpful tips that you want to think about before applying for a Chase credit card.

Credit history?

Chase really likes you to have established credit history when you apply for their cards. This is especially true for its premium cards. If your credit history is paper thin you might struggle to get approved. If you’re in doubt, it’s probably best to start off with a Chase Freedom card and build up a good 6-12 months of history with Chase before trying other cards.

Chase reconsideration line

When you are not automatically approved for a Chase credit card chances are that you might need to call in to the Chase reconsideration line. This is a phone line where you can talk to a credit analyst and try to provide them with information on why you should be approved for your credit card.

In some instances you want to call, while in others you may want to hold off. You also need to know what to say (and what not to say). You can find out more about everything you need to know about Chase reconsideration here.

Cash back vs travel?

Chase has superb cash back and travel rewards credit cards.

I’ll discuss the travel credit cards first because those are the best, IMO. The Chase travel cards come in two forms: co-branded and Chase Ultimate Rewards earning cards.

Chase Co-branded credit cards

The co-branded credit cards are those super-popular cards like the Southwest cards, Hyatt card, etc. These are cards associated with an airline or hotel loyalty program and they will only earn you points that you can use on those programs (and their partners).

Chase Ultimate Rewards earning cards

Chase Ultimate Rewards earning cards on the other hand will earn you Ultimate Rewards. These can be used to book travel through the Chase travel portal or transferred to a number of very solid airline partners and to some of the very best hotel partners like Hyatt.

Ultimate Rewards earning cards have a major advantage over the co-branded cards because they offer you flexibility and more opportunities to maximize your value.

Also, Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to other people in your household so it’s really easy to start earning rewards as a couple or even a family since the points can flow freely between household members.

Which type of travel card is for you?

If you know you want to travel but have no idea of how, when, etc., then it’s probably better to go with Chase Ultimate Rewards earning cards. If you have a specific loyalty brand you like, such as Southwest, then it could make sense to go for a co-branded card.

Formulate a strategy

Always, always consider how getting a Chase card (or a card from any issuer) will affect your 5/24 status.

You may not think that you will be interested in a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve but when you learn about its benefits you might change your mind later. But if you already applied for other credit cards without thinking about your strategy for Chase cards, you may have ruined your chances to apply for Chase credit cards with the best bonuses and perks.

The general advice is to apply for Chase credit cards subject to 5/24 first. After that, you can pursue cards that aren’t restricted by 5/24.  

Don’t forget about referrals

After you’re approved for certain Chase cards, you can utilize Chase referrals to earn additional points! Click here to read more about the Chase refer a friend program.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Earning Travel Cards

Some offers no longer available

Chase has two of the top travel credit cards on the market. Both the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Sapphire Preferred are cards you want consider if you want to apply for Chase credit cards.

These two cards earn valuable Ultimate Rewards. They also both give you access to the Chase Shopping portal where you can further maximize your earnings. Read more about that portal here.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

  • $300 travel credit
  • 3X on dining and travel
  • Priority Pass access
  • Great purchase and travel protections

Arguably the best travel credit card from any bank

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is arguably the best travel rewards credit card.

It comes with a great 50,000 point sign-up bonus, earns 3X on dining and travel, allows you to redeem points for travel at 1.5 cents per point, gives you primary rental car coverage (along with other great purchase and travel protections), and comes with a $300 travel credit that can be used on just about anything travel related.

The Reserve also gives you (and your traveling companions) lounge access at over 1,000 lounges around the world with the Priority Pass benefit. All of these perks make it very easy to make up for the $550 annual fee of this card. Because this card so valuable and it’s subject to 5/24, it’s usually one of the first credit cards I recommend for people with established credit profiles.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

  • 2X on dining and travel
  • Great purchase and travel protections
  • Low annual fee ($95)

A great travel card with a lower annual fee

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the little brother of the Reserve but it still packs a hard punch. It offers 2X on dining and travel, allows you to redeem points for travel at 1.25 cents per point, gives you primary rental car coverage, and only comes with a $95 annual fee that you don’t even have to pay the first year.

For some people, coughing up $550 for a credit card is just too much to ask. If you’re not feeling the $550 annual fee of the Reserve then the Sapphire Preferred can be one of the best credit cards.

Chase Co-Branded Airlines Credit Cards

United MileagePlus Explorer

  • High sign-up bonus (varies over time)
  • Annual United Club lounge pass for two people
  • Free checked bag and priority boarding
  • Increased award inventory
  • Great purchase and travel protections

One of the best airline credit cards

Chase is known for its airline credit cards which often offer superb sign-up bonuses. The Explorer Card stands out because it often comes with a very high sign-up bonus — sometimes as high as 70,000 miles! 70,000 miles could you get you domestic roundtrip in first class to anywhere in the mainland USA.

The Explorer Card also comes with a day pass to a United Club lounge (worth $100) and perks like free checked bags and priority boarding (also worth $100). And you get access to more award seats than the public which can a huge benefit at times.

You get all these perks for a card that only comes with a $95 that’s sometimes even waived.

United MileagePlus Club

  • Access to all United Club locations and participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges worldwide
  • Priority check-in, security screening (where available), boarding and baggage handling privileges
  • The primary Cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation will each receive their first and second standard checked bags free
  • Hertz President’s Circle® Elite Status

Good card for United Club access

The United Club Card never used to come with a sign-up bonus. So now that you can get it with 50,000 miles —  that’s huge. This is a premium card that is designed for those who will frequent United Club lounges. It will give you access to all United Club locations and participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges worldwide.

It’s bonus categories of 2X on United purchases and 1.5X everywhere else are so-so considering that Ultimate Rewards transfer to United and you could earn these rates or better if you decided to apply for Chase credit cards like the Freedom Unlimited or Sapphire Reserve.

Still, this card is loaded with perks like Hertz President’s Circle Elite Status, priority check-in, security screening (where available), two free checked bags, and a few others. If you really dig United Airlines and their lounges (or other Star Alliance lounges), this might be a decent option for you. You can read my full review on this credit card here.

Get United Club Lounge access with this card.

Chase Southwest credit cards

Southwest credit cards offer different types of bonuses all of the time — we’ve seen offers range from 25,000 points to 60,000 points for these cards! Try to seek out the best offers for the business Southwest credit card and for the personal cards like the Southwest Premier and Southwest Plus.

While you are limited to one personal card, it is possible to get a personal card and a business card but I would wait 30 days in-between applications.

Explore the Caribbean with the Southwest Companion Pass.

British Airways Visa Signature Card

  • Earn a “Travel Together Ticket” after spending $30,000 within the first year of account opening.
  • Earn 3 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways, Iberia and OpenSkies purchases.
  • Earn 1 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
  • $95 Annual fee (not waived)

Perfect card for flying American Airlines

The British Airways Visa sometimes comes with a sign-up bonus that allows you to earn up to 100,000 British Airways Avios, plus an opportunity for a unique “Travel Together Ticket” benefit.

If you’re a fan of American Airlines (AA) and/or live near an AA hub, this credit card can be great for you. That’s because you can use Avios to book AA flights for ridiculously cheap prices like 7,500 Avios one-way. These rates cannot be beat by any other program in many cases so you’re able to get bargains left and right. You can learn more about some of the Avios sweet spots here.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Chase Hotel Credit Cards

Chase stands out above the competition when it comes to its hotel partners. And so it’s no surprise to see that Chase offers some of the most lucrative hotel rewards credit cards.

I’ve kept some of the expired cards in the article since many people were grandfathered in to the cards and might need a refresher for the perks their card offers.

IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card

IHG credit card offer

The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card comes with the following features:

  • Annual free night certificate at an “eligible hotel”
  • 10X for spend at IHG
  • 2X at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants
  • Automatic Platinum Elite Status
  • 20% discount on purchases of IHG points
  • 4th night free on award stays
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $100 every 4 years
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $89 annual fee

While Chase did devalue the free night certificate, this is still a strong contender of a card due to the great bonus earning rate at IHG properties, the discount on purchases points, and the 4th night free on award stays.

The World of Hyatt Card

  • Bonus earning: 
    • 4X spent with your card at Hyatt hotels, including participating restaurants and spas
    • 2X on local transit and commuting, including taxis, mass transit, tolls and ride-share services
    • 2X at restaurants, cafes and coffee shops
    • 2X on airline tickets purchased directly from the airline
    • 2X spent on fitness club and gym memberships
  • Free nights: 
    • Receive one free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort every year after your cardmember anniversary
    • Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year
  • Elite status:
    • Receive 5 qualifying night credits toward your next tier status every year
    • Earn 2 additional qualifying night credits toward your next tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card
  • $95 Annual Fee 

The World of Hyatt Card is a solid hotel credit card with a great sign-up bonus along with some strong bonus-earning categories. The free night every year is okay and you can use it at some great properties but it’s great that it comes with an extra free night with only $15,000 in spend.

But this card is really great for high spenders who can spend their way into elite status with the card. Being able to to earn 2 elite qualifying nights every time you spend $5,000 is great and the 5 credits toward status gives you a head start towards elite status. Read the full review here.

Hyatt Ziva Jamaica.
Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, Jamaica, an all-inclusive Hyatt property.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa Signature Credit Card

  • 1 Free Night Stay every year after account anniversary (valued up to 35,00 points)
  • 6 points for every $1 spent at participating Marriott hotels
  • 2 points for every $1 you spend on all other purchases
  • Coming in 2019, Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year
  • Automatic Marriott Silver status
  • Marriott Gold status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year

Lots of flexibility offered with points

You get one free night stay every year after your account anniversary. The free night is limited to properties going for 35,000 per night but you can find some good properties in that range.

Transferring your Ultimate Rewards over to your Marriott account is generally not a great way to maximize value of your Ultimate Rewards, so this card can be one of the best ways to build up a points balance with Marriott.

Aruba Beach Marriott
Aruba Marriott Resort.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card

No longer available to new applicants. 

  • Two complimentary nights at any participating Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton hotel, after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
  • 5 points per $1 spent at participating Ritz-Carlton Rewards and SPG hotels.
  • Earn 2 points per $1 spent on airline tickets, car rentals, and restaurants
  • $300 annual travel credit
  • Upgrade to The Ritz-Carlton Club Level 3 times annually on paid stays of up to 7 nights
  • Marriott Gold status for one year (need to spend $10,000 each year to retain)
  • Saves you $100 on the total cost of between 2 and 5 qualifying round-trip, domestic coach airline tickets purchase

A luxury card with potential to save you on flights

The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card is premium card with a $450 annual fee. But this card comes with a lot of solids perks that quickly neutralize its high annual fee. The $300 travel credit knocks down the annual fee pretty quickly but there’s also a $100 discount on domestic roundtrips which is great. The Club Level upgrades can be very valuable to since some Ritz-Carltons have fantastic lounges.

This card has offered three free nights as a sign-up bonus in the past, so if you’re on the fence about this card it could be worth it to wait around and see if that higher bonus returns.

Chase Cash Back Credit Cards

Chase Freedom

  • $150 (15K Ultimate Rewards) after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
  • Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter
  • 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers

A high-earning cash back card

The Freedom comes with a solid bonus for a no annual fee card (though others are lucky enough to receive higher targeted offers). But this card is known for all of the points that you can earn with its 5% back on rotating quarterly bonus categories.

These categories change each year but in the past we have seen bonus categories such as:

  • Supermarkets
  • Department stores (including WalMart)
  • Gas stations
  • Dining
  • Local commuter transportation
  • Movie theaters
  • Amazon.com
  • Starbucks
  • Pharmacies
  • Theme parks

Since the Freedom is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule and is such a great cash back credit card/intro to the world of Chase credit cards, this is also one of my most recommended credit cards.

Chase Freedom Unlimited

  • $150 (15K Ultimate Rewards) after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
  • Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
  • 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers

One of the best credit cards for everyday expenses

The Freedom Unlimited is identical to the Freedom except that it offers a completely different bonus earning structure. The Freedom Unlimited offers 1.5% back in rewards on every single purchase. 1.5% back is pretty good but there are cashback cards that earn 2% back that you might want to compare this card to.

The reason the Freedom Unlimited still stands out with an earning rate of 1.5% is that it earns Ultimate Rewards. If you have other Chase cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, then you could redeem the points earned on the Freedom Unlimited at a rate of 1.5 cents per point or higher. That means that at a minimum, the Freedom Unlimited would be earning you 2.25% back. 

Depending on your spending habits, one Freedom might be better than the other — click here to find out which Freedom is right for you.

Chase AARP Card

Great card for cash back on dining and gas

  • 3% back at restaurants and gas stations
  • No annual fee

A lot of people who want to apply for Chase credit cards don’t know about the AARP card offered by Chase. Even though it’s not the most heavily marketed credit card, it offers solid cash back rates with 3% back on fuel and 3% back at restaurants. It also comes with a pretty decent sign-up bonus of $200. For a credit card without an annual fee, this is actually a pretty compelling package. That’s why I included it in my list of top gas rewards credit cards.

Chase Small Business Credit Cards

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

  • 80,000 Ultimate Rewards sign-up bonus after you spend $5,000 within 3 months of opening your account.
  • 3X the points on every dollar spent up to $150,000 on the following categories:
    • Travel
    • Advertising with social media and search engines
    • Shipping
    • Cable, internet, and phone services
  • $600 in protection against any covered damage or theft of your cell phone when your bill with the Ink, up to three claims per year.
  • $95 annual fee

Arguably the best business credit card

With it’s super-high sign-up bonus of 80,000 points, the Ink Business Preferred is a contender for best business credit card. 80K Ultimate Rewards could be worth over $1,500 depending on how you value Ultimate Rewards. This card also is perfect for any type of content creator or entrepreneur who will be spending money on online advertising. The cell phone protection up to $600 is also a very valuable perk.

The Ink can be a bit of wildcard to get approved for though and your application will often end up in reconsideration. I highly suggest you read my tips for dealing with a Chase business reconsideration phone call before you apply for this card.

Ink Business Cash Credit Card

  • 50,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening
  • 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
  • Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year
  • Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year
  • No annual fee

A solid no annual fee business credit card

The bonus earning structure for the Ink Cash is similar to the Chase Ink Plus which is no longer available. 5X at office supply stores, internet, cable and phone services, can add up quickly. Also, the 2% back on gas and dining isn’t horrible for a non annual fee credit card.

You will need a premium card like the Ink Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve/Preferred to transfer the Ultimate Rewards from this card to travel partners however. Read the full review of this card here.

Feel ready to apply for Chase credit cards?

Applying for Chase cards is not as daunting a task as you might think. But you absolutely need to pay attention to the applications rules. Not only so you avoid an unnecessary credit card application rejection but so you can maximize your earnings with these cards.

American Express Application Rules Ultimate Guide [2021]

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

There are a lot of credit card application rules for American Express cards and they require you to keep tabs on a lot of different things at once and to be familiar with the policies that differ between charge cards and credit cards. In this article, I will give you a comprehensive look at all of the American Express Application rules.

What are the American Express application rules?

There are a handful of American Express application rules that you need to know about and they include the following:

  • 1/5 Rule: “You are allowed one Amex credit card every five day period.”
  • 2/90 Rule: “You are allowed two Amex credit cards every 90 day period.”
  • 4 or 5 Card Limit: “You may concurrently hold 4 or 5 credit cards from Amex.”
  • Once Per Lifetime Rule: “You will not be eligible for the welcome bonus if you’ve opened up the card before.”
  • Platinum 90 Day Rule: “You cannot get more than one Platinum card in a 90 day period.”
  • Marriott rules (see below)
  • Hilton Ascend Rule: “You will not be eligible for the welcome bonus if you’ve opened up the Hilton Honors Ascend.”

By the way, you don’t have to worry about finding these rules and keeping up with them because the new (free) app WalletFlo will do all of that for you but in case you are in need of a refresher, keep reading below!

1/5 Rule

American Express application rules typically (though not always) limit you to one Amex credit card approval per 5 business days.

This is an automated fraud-prevention feature that Amex uses and it will usually apply whether you’re applying for personal or business credit cards.

As far as I know, there’s no way around this besides getting lucky. Typically, your second application will go to pending for 3 to 5 business days and then you might be automatically approved or receive a rejection and need to call into reconsideration.

Note: the week-long processing period for a pending application can sometimes result in two separate hard pulls

Multiple charge cards

You can apply and be approved for multiple charge cards at the same time. So you could get the Amex Platinum and Amex Gold at the same time.

The maximum number of charge cards that I would ever apply for at once is two, because it’s not uncommon for Amex to hit you with financial reviews if you quickly open many new accounts.

And in case you are wondering, Amex charge cards aren’t “credit cards” in the typical sense. With charge cards, you need to pay off the balance each month in order to avoid fees. The great thing about charge cards is that there are no set spending limits like a traditional credit card.

This doesn’t mean that you’ll have an unlimited credit limit. Typically, Amex will require you to work your way up to a higher credit limit by showing them your spending habits for a couple of months. At some point, it’s likely that they will offer you the Pay Over Time option which essentially converts the charge card into a normal credit card that can carry a balance.

They often provide you with an incentive like extra points for enrolling in Pay Over Time, too!

2/90 Rule

The Amex 90 day rule does not allow for you to be approved for more than two credit cards within any 90 day period. Remember, this rule applies to credit cards, not charge cards. Some people are lucky enough to get around this rule and get 3 credit cards in 90 days, but I think those people are outliers. 

There’s actually no strict limitation on charge cards, although I’d probably try to limit charge card applications to 2 per 90 day period. Just my personal recommendation.

Amex application strategy tip

In my experience, charge cards tend to be easier to get approved for than credit cards. If I were new to American Express, I would consider going for the Green Card or the Gold Card and then building up my relationship with American Express. Of course, if you are looking for a premium card, the Platinum Card would be a much better option for you.

Four or five Amex credit cards total

American Express will limit you to a total of four or five credit cards at any given time. This rule applies to both personal and business credit cards so there’s no getting around it that way. However, the good news is that if you are an authorized user on an Amex card, that will NOT count against you for purposes of this rule.

Some people have been able to get approved for even more than five Amex credit cards but those seem to be the exceptions and not the norm. 

Unlimited charge cards?

It’s a tad unclear if Amex has any limits on charge cards. Some state that the rule is four total charge cards but there are several data points showing others getting approved for more than four Amex charge cards. I would personally try to keep it at four or five and only apply for additional cards with the expectation that you may very well be denied.

And again, I’m only talking about charge cards right there. That means that you could have a total of at least 9 Amex cards (5 credit cards and 4 charge cards).

Once Per Lifetime Rule

One of the most important American Express application rules to know about is the once per lifetime rule.

This means that once you open a specific card, you can never earn the bonus again. You can still get approved for the card, but you just can’t get the bonus.

This rule applies even if you don’t receive the bonus when you open up the card. So let’s say that you signed up for the Platinum Card but never met the minimum spend requirement to earn the welcome bonus. Well, that does not matter — you still will not get the welcome bonus. It is a bit harsh but that is just how American Express rolls.

There’s also no distinction between charge cards and credit cards with this rule, either.

Another thing, if you upgrade to a card, that also counts toward the once per lifetime rule. This is why you want to seek out upgrade offers if you are ever thinking about upgrading a card.  

There are only two potential ways around the the once per lifetime rule.

Waiting around seven years

If you close your card and then wait a long period of time such as seven years, it is possible that American Express will allow you to receive the welcome bonus for a second time. This is one of those unofficial policies that might work for you or might not so I would not necessarily count on it working. 

Targeted offers

Another way around the this rule, which is the only true exception, is to jump on targeted offers. This method is still YMMV, but it’s a way to get a bonus for a card for a second time. I would suggest checking the terms and conditions of the targeted offer first to see if the welcome bonus is limited to new cardholders. If it’s not, then you at least have a basis for making an argument with Amex that you deserve the bonus.

This is the language that you don’t want to see:

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card

Platinum 90 Day Rule

This is one of the newest rules and it states that you cannot get more than one Platinum card in a 90 day period. The Platinum Rule only applies to: 

  • Platinum Card
  • Schwab Platinum
  • Morgan Stanley Platinum
  • Goldman Sachs Platinum

This rule is not that damaging since it only takes about three months to wait it out. 

Amex Centurion Lounge in Las Vegas.
Amex Centurion Lounge in Las Vegas.

Amex Marriott rules

The credit card rules for the Marriott cards are straight up ridiculous. They are extremely lengthy and a little bit confusing with all of the many different varieties of Marriott cards. They also crossover with Chase cards which makes them even more confusing. WalletFlo will really come in handy for these rules. 

Below are the Amex Marriott rules that currently apply. 

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card Rule

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who:

  • Have or have had this product or the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Luxury Card.
  • Have or have had the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card (from Chase) in the last 30 days
  • Have acquired the any of the following cards in the last 90 days:
    • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Rewards Premier Plus (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Bonvoy Premier (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Rewards Premier (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Bonvoy Bold (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business (from Chase) 
  • Have received a new Card Member bonus or upgrade offer in the last 24 months for the:
    • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Rewards Premier Plus (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Bonvoy Premier (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Rewards Premier (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Bonvoy Bold (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business (from Chase) 
    • Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business (from Chase) 

Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card Rule

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who:

  • Have or have had this product or the Starwood Preferred Guest Business (from American Express). 

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who have had the following in the last 30 days:

  • Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Bonvoy Business (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Rewards Business (from Chase) 

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who have acquired the following in the last 90 days:

  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Rewards Premier Plus (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Bonvoy Bold (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Bonvoy Premier (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Rewards Premier (from Chase) 

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who have received a new Card Member bonus offer in the last 24 months on the:

  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Rewards Premier Plus (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Bonvoy Bold (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus (from Chase) 
  • Marriott Rewards Premier (from Chase)

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Hilton Ascend Rule

You will not be eligible for the Surpass welcome bonus if you’ve opened up the Hilton Honors Ascend.

Will Amex combine hard pulls?

Amex (or more accurately the credit bureaus) can definitely combine hard pulls for multiple applications.

The only issue with this is that it doesn’t always happen. I’ve applied for multiple Amex cards on numerous occasions and each time the hard pulls were combined. However, there are data points out there where applicants were hit with two hard pulls. If I had to guess, applying for two charge cards probably makes it more likely for a combined hard pull than applying for two credit cards, but I can’t tell you what Amex will do for sure.

As an interesting aside, existing Amex cardholders will usually not incur a hard pull upon an application rejection. Unless Amex detects a significant change in your credit report, they will usually only conduct a credit check using their own internal credit check system and deny you.

And in some cases, existing Amex cardholders may not even incur a hard pull upon being approved.

Anti-gaming rules

American Express also has pretty strong anti-gaming language. For example, when you apply for one of their cards you might see the following language in the terms and conditions:

We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

There is also this language as well:

 If we in our sole discretion determine that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the welcome offer in any way or that you intend to do so (for example, if you applied for one or more cards to obtain a welcome offer (s) that we did not intend for you; if you cancel or downgrade your account within 12 months after acquiring it; or if you cancel or return purchases you made to meet the Threshold Amount), we may not credit bonus points to your account. 

In practice, what this means is that if you have applied for a ton of American Express cards, especially in a shorter amount of time, you will have issues getting approved for the card and earning the bonus.

Also, if you have downgraded or canceled cards before the annual fee posts or done anything shady or semi-shady to achieve a welcome bonus, that can come back to bite you pretty bad.

Luckily, there is a pop-up window that usually shows up when you go to apply that will let you know that you have exceeded the limit of acceptable gaming activity by American Express to get a welcome bonus so you don’t have to waste an application.

Final word

So, in conclusion, you should ask yourself the following three questions to make sure you’re not violating any Amex application rules:

  • Do you have a total of five Amex credit cards? If so, you cannot apply for another credit card (but you can still apply for a charge card)
  • Have you opened up more than two credit cards in the past 90 yes? If so, you cannot apply for another credit card (but you can still apply for a charge card)
  • Have you ever had this card before? If so, you probably will not be given the welcome bonus again (subject to the above exceptions).

Or you can just sign up for WalletFlo and have these questions and calculations ordered for you. 

 

3 Ways to Get the Amex Platinum 100K Offer (CardMatch Link) [2020]

Hello, if you landed on this page from my recent email please disregard. We experienced a glitch in our email system but it has been fixed. Sorry about the inconvenience!

-Daniel

Chase Credit Card Pre-Approval: (How to get offers) [2020]

Chase credit card pre-approvals are very easy to check but there are some additional things you need to know about these offers. I’m going to first show you how to check for basic Chase credit card pre-qualified offers and then get into more advanced discussion about what a Chase credit card pre-approval is since that topic is less clear.

I’ll also give some tips on how to get some of these offers by taking specific actions. 

Interested in finding out the top travel credit cards for this month? Click here to check them out! 

Where to find Chase credit card pre-qualified offers

You can try this link or this link to check your pre-qualified offers from Chase’s official website. Simply enter your name, address, and the last four digits of your social security number and it should pull up any of your offers.

You can also try the CardMatch tool to see if any Chase pre-qualified offers pop up there.

Being pre-qualified does not mean that you can get around the 5/24 Rule (more on that below) and it also does not mean that you will be auto-approved. Your odds of approval are probably high (some say around 90% though that sounds high to me) but it will not guarantee you an approval.

Also, these offers are entirely separate from qualifying for a Chase pre-approval mortgage.

Chase credit card pre-approval
The Chase credit card pre-approval online page.

What Chase cards can I get pre-qualified for?

Chase has been known to offer pre-qualified offers for the:

(Keep reading below about pre-approval for other co-branded cards, such as the Southwest and United cards).

What if I’m not pre-qualified?

You can still get approved for a Chase credit card even if you are not pre-qualified for it. This is not uncommon so don’t sweat it if you’re not pre-qualified.

Does checking for Chase pre-qualified offers affect my credit?

No, Chase will perform a “soft-pull” which will not affect your credit score. A soft pull just means that your credit report is looked at but there are no hard inquiries performed that will reflect on your personal credit report. This is in contrast to a hard pull on your credit report which will affect your credit score — usually dropping your score a three to five points temporally.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Let the confusion begin…

If you’re only concerned with checking pre-qualified offers, you’ve got all the info you need at this point. But if you want to find out about Chase credit card pre-approval offers (which might allow you to bypass 5/24) then keep reading.

The Chase 5/24 Rule

In case you’re not aware….

The Chase 5/24 Rule prevents you from being approved for certain Chase cards if you have opened up 5 or more accounts within the past 24 months. This can be a major hurdle for getting the some of best Chase cards like the Sapphire Preferred.

Some pre-approvals may allow you to bypass 5/24 so it’s a major thing to consider. If you’re trying to maximize credit card rewards, then checking for pre-approval offers with Chase is a must! 

Note: In addition to 5/24, there are other important restrictions to know about when applying for Chase credit cards. You can read more about those here

Chase credit card pre-approval vs. pre-qualified

Pre-qualified offers are those offers that you can find by checking the official Chase website link posted above. These offers could also show up when you log in to your Chase account or you could possibly receive an offer in the mail or via email.

Note that some people use the terms “pre-approval” and “pre-qualified” interchangeably. I like to use pre-approvals to describe offers that may allow you to get around the 5/24 rule. Meanwhile, pre-qualified offers are just those usually found online or in mailers.

Also, these are completely different from referral link offers that can be generated via the Chase refer a friend program. To learn more about how those referrals work click here.

Chase credit card pre-approval offers

Chase credit card pre-approval offers are those that are typically given in-branch but you can also receive mailers with pre-approvals. Pre-approvals differ from pre-qualified offers because they can allow you to get around the Chase 5/24 rule.  

You will typically need to go into an actual Chase branch (even if it’s our of your state) and be physically present to receive these pre-approvals. If you have a great relationship with a banker they might be able to do it for you remotely but that’s the exception.

Below are the various forms that pre-approvals have been found.

“Selected For You” offers

“Selected For You” offers are those found in in your Chase account when you log-in. These used to allow you to bypass the 5/24 rule and get approved. But this is no longer seems to be the case

Instead, I think these now act more like standard pre-qualified offers.

Update: The Selected For You Offers do appear to still bypass 5/24. 

Mailers

If a mailer is for a pre-approval, you should see see an invitation number in the top right corner of the document (or somewhere on the document). If that’s the case, you might be able to get around 5/24 but it’s still not a guarantee. However, if you’re not given a specific number or code then you will most certainly be subject to the 5/24 rule.  

Don’t get these confused with generic mailers that come in for cards like the Chase Southwest card. Those type of generic marketing mailers don’t do anything to get you around 5/24. Receiving them might mean your odds of approval are slightly better in some cases but it does not mean that you’ll be approved even if you are under 5/24.

In-branch pre-approvals

To receive an in-branch pre-approval visit a local Chase branch and ask a banker about pre-approval offers. If you’re already a customer you can just swipe a debit or credit card to bring up your account but you’ll probably need your driver’s license/ID if you’re new to Chase.

When you’re told that you’ve been pre-approved for an offer, request to see the terms of the pre-approval. If there is a single APR interest rate listed on the documents they give you, then you have been pre-approved for that card. But if they give you an APR range, that’s just a standard pre-qualified offer.

For example, if they print out a document with an APR range of 14.4% to 18.3% that’s not a pre-approved offer. But if they give you a document with a specific number (APR of 13.4%), then that means you are pre-approved. This is significant because a fixed interest rate pre-approval usually means you can get around the 5/24 Rule for that card.

But note: There are mixed data points recently emerging and it’s possible that these fixed interest rate in-branch pre-approvals won’t always allow you to circumvent the 5/24 rule.

Chase credit cards.

How to get pre-approval and pre-qualified offers

I don’t think anyone knows for sure who receives these offers. There are sporadic data points and accounts found in various forms and blogs that offer ideas about why you might receive a pre-approval. I’m not sure how valid some of these are but I don’t see a lot of downside to trying out some of these.

Opt-in

One thing you need to make sure that you have done is opt-in to receiving pre-screened offers. If you’re currently opted out there’s a chance you may have missed offers. You can opt-in by clicking here.

No recent Chase cards

There’s been speculation that if you’ve recently opened up new Chase cards within the past few months that your odds of being pre-approved go down significantly. Generally, it’s said that you should wait until 6 months after your latest Chase card approval before expecting a pre-approval though it could come sooner.

Update income

Some state that if you update your income when you log-in to your Chase account that you might trigger something in Chase’s system to activate a pre-approval.

Obviously, an update that goes up rather than down is probably going to increase your oddd best.

Authorized users

Some advise you to remove yourself as an authorized user of a Chase card if you’re hoping for a pre-approval for that same card.

Open a Chase bank account

It never hurts to keep a healthy bank account with a credit card issuer. In this case, having a checking or savings account with Chase might help to trigger an offer.

Large withdrawal

There’s also a “trick” that some swear by to get pre-approvals. With this trick you must withdraw a substantial sum of funds from a Chase account, such as around $30,000. After doing this, it’s thought that this kicks in a retention offer of sorts so Chase will send you an offer.

There may be a degree of validity to some of these but ultimately I think it depends a lot on your personal luck.

Chase pre-qualified cards

What cards can I get pre-qualified for?

Generally, pre-qualified offers and pre-approved offers only come around for Chase-branded credit cards. These are cards like the:

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred
  • Chase Freedom
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited and
  • Chase Slate.

You can also get pre-approved for some of the United credit cards and for business cards such as the Chase Ink (but you need to inquire specifically about business credit cards).

The Chase Sapphire Reserve used to have pre-approval in-branch but Chase took those away (though they should be coming back at some point). Also, I don’t believe that Chase offers pre-approvals for other co-branded cards, such as the Southwest credit cards.

One great thing about these pre-approvals is that sometimes they come with ever higher sign-up bonuses so it’s always worth giving them a shot.

Of course these things could always change.

Will offers disappear?

If you apply for a pre-approval offer, all of your other pre-approvals will likely vanish. You might see them again within a few months but you may not. If you’re over 5/24, then you need to really make sure that you’re making an informed choice of your pre-approval offer since you may not see it again.

Final word

Chase credit card pre-qualified and pre-approval offers are easy to check, whether online or in-branch. They generally mean you stand pretty good odds of being approved but it’s no guarantee and many are still subject to the 5/24 rule. And while there may be some ways to trigger for your pre-approval offer, it usually just comes down to luck so try not to stress over finding these offers.

Barclays Retention Offer Guide (Aviator Red, Arrival Plus) [2019]

In my personal experience, Barclays has been one of the more reliable banks when it comes to offering retention offers so you should always check in for retention offers before you cancel one of their cards, as some of these offers can be pretty lucrative.

In this article, I’ll talk about what kind of retention offers you can expect to receive from Barclays for cards like the Arrival Plus and the Aviator Red and give you some tips for handling your retention call. 


What are retention offers?

Retention offers are special offers that credit card issuers make to customers in order to prevent them from cancelling their credit cards.

These can take various forms which might include:

  • Annual fee waived
  • Statement credit for annual fee
  • Annual fee partially waived or reduced
  • Bonus miles equal to annual fee
  • Bonus miles less than value of annual fee
  • Bonus for spending $X amount
  • Credit limit increases (with no hard pulls)
  • 0% APR promotional spending periods

Because retention offers can take so many different types of forms, it’s a good idea to go into the phone call with an idea of what you’re most interested in.


What Barclays cards offer retention offers?

You might try to get a retention offer from the following cards.

  • Arrival Plus
  • Aviator Red
  • Aviator Silver
  • Lufthansa
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Wyndham Rewards
  • JetBlue

Here are some examples of retention offers others have reported in the past for the Aviator Red:

  • Annual fee waived
  • Annual fee waived + 5,000 miles for spending $1,000 in 90 days
  • 0% APR on new purchases for 9 months
  • $4,500 credit limit increase
  • Bonus miles on spend (gas, groceries, etc.)

For the Arrival Plus, annual fee waivers seem to be a little tougher to come by but they will still sometimes offer you something like 1,000 bonus points after the first use of your card (sometimes after a downgrade).

For the JetBlue card, many have reported getting the annual fee waived by 50% and 5,000 points after $1,000 spend.

Other cards might have different offers, but it seems like the most common retention offer across all cards is 5,000 points after spending $1,000 over the course of 3 months.


Tips for getting retention offers

Here are several tips for getting your retention offers from Barclays.

Put spend on your card

Your odds of receiving a retention definitely go up as you put more spend on your credit card, so I always suggest putting spend on your credit cards before your annual fee hits (and preferably throughout the year). It’s not clear exactly how much spend you need, but generally putting at least a few thousands dollars in a year is a good starting point.

With that said, you don’t always have to put a lot of spend on your card. I’ve been given retention offers from Barclays for some cards like the Aviator Red, despite the fact that I had very little spend on my card (less than $500).

But there does seem to be a recent trend where Barclays is requiring more spend for retention offers and just becoming less generous with these offers as a whole.

Wait until your annual fee hits

For the most part, you’re not going to be able to request a retention offer if your annual fee has not hit. There are some exceptions, but generally you’ll need to wait until you see that annual fee hit your account.

Contact Barclays

Once your annual fee hits, then you want to call up the number on the back of your card.

You usually want to tell the phone representative something like “I noticed my annual fee hit recently, and I wanted to check and see if I was eligible for any any offers as an incentive to keep my card open.” You can specifically mention retention offers but I try to be a little more subtle/vague when I call in, at least initially.

Also, I try to avoid using the words “cancel” or “close” because in the past over-zealous/incompetent agents have closed cards upon hearing those words and re-opening cards often involves a lengthy “investigation” of your phone call, file, etc. (If you are actually seriously considering cancelling your cards then obviously this is not as much of a risk for you.)

If you bring up closing your card, you might be asked why you are thinking about closing your card so it’s best to be prepared to give them a reason. Don’t overthink it — simply telling them that you’re having trouble justifying the annual fee is usually sufficient.

After telling the rep the purpose of your phone call you will probably get transferred to an “account specialist” and/or the “retention department” and they will then review your file and then let you know if there are any offers.

Here’s the thing, don’t take them up on the first offer that they give you. It’s often the case that there will be multiple offers available for you but you will need to request for them to tell you about alternative offers. 

What if I don’t get an offer?

If Barclays doesn’t offer you anything or they don’t offer you something that you like, you can always get on the phone and call them back and try again with another agent.

If there are no offers for you, the rep might offer you the chance to downgrade your card if you’re calling in about a card like the Arrival Plus, which was a no-annual fee version. They might also give you the chance to close your card and have your credit line transferred over to another card which is always a smart way to close your card.


Final word

Getting retention offers from Barclays for cards like the Aviator Red has been pretty easy in my experience. All you need to do is call in and be sure to inquire about alternative offers so that you don’t end up leaving anything on the table.

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