How Chase Determines Bonus Eligibility

Chase has one of the most complex systems for determining sign-up bonus eligibility among US credit card issuers. Beyond the well-known 5/24 rule — which determines whether you can be approved for a card — Chase has multiple additional rules that determine whether you can earn the bonus. Being approved and being bonus-eligible are two separate things, and understanding all the factors is essential for maximizing your Chase rewards.

This guide consolidates every known Chase bonus eligibility rule into a single reference: the 5/24 rule, current Sapphire exact-product terms, product family rules for Southwest and co-branded cards, and the key differences between product changes and new applications.

The 5/24 Rule (Approval Requirement)

The 5/24 rule is Chase’s most famous restriction, but it is technically an approval rule, not a bonus rule. If you have opened 5 or more personal credit card accounts across all issuers in the past 24 months, Chase will deny your application for most of their cards — meaning you cannot even get the card, let alone the bonus.

We have a comprehensive guide dedicated to this rule, covering what counts, what does not, and strategies for managing your count. See our complete Chase 5/24 guide for the full breakdown.

Key points as a quick reference:

• Counts all personal cards from all issuers opened in 24 months
• Business cards from most issuers do not count (Chase business cards still require you to be under 5/24)
• Authorized user accounts count (but can sometimes be excluded via reconsideration)
• Product changes do not count as new accounts

Sapphire Exact-Product Bonus Eligibility

Current public Sapphire terms separate card availability from bonus eligibility. For a personal Sapphire card, the exact product is unavailable while that same card is open. Prior exact-product ownership or a prior bonus means the new cardmember bonus may not be available at Chase’s discretion.

How It Works

The Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve are evaluated as separate personal products. Sapphire Reserve for Business has its own history. This means:

• Preferred ownership or bonus history does not itself cross-block the personal Reserve offer, and vice versa.
• Prior ownership or a prior bonus for the exact target product can trigger discretionary bonus review without creating a fixed unlock date.
• Current ownership of the exact personal product is a card-availability issue; prior exact-product history is a bonus-availability issue.

Practical Sapphire Strategy

Because Chase makes the final repeat-bonus decision, preserve clean product history where possible and verify each live offer:

1. Wait for an elevated offer. The Sapphire Preferred has offered bonuses ranging from 50,000 to 80,000+ UR points, and the Reserve has ranged from 50,000 to 70,000+. Apply when the offer is at or near its historical high.
2. Choose the right Sapphire product. Compare the current offers on both cards. If the Preferred has a much higher bonus relative to its norm, it may be better than the Reserve even if the Reserve is the more premium card.
3. Track exact products, not a family clock. Use our eligibility checker to identify prior ownership or bonus history that may require Chase review.

Sapphire Product Availability

Current public terms do not publish a blanket one-Sapphire rule. Instead, a personal Sapphire card is unavailable while you already havethat exact product open. A different Sapphire product does not automatically make the target unavailable.

Product changes still matter because they affect your product history:

• Product-changing out of a Sapphire card closes that exact product, but it does not erase the fact that you previously held it for future bonus review.
• Product-changing into another Sapphire card does not earn a sign-up bonus and may count as having held the target product, which can matter for a later bonus.

Product Change vs. New Application

Understanding the difference between a product change (PC) and a new application is critical for Chase strategy. The following table summarizes the key differences.

When to use a product change: When you want the card benefits but do not need the bonus (perhaps because the bonus is low or you are within a cooldown), or when you want to avoid a hard inquiry and 5/24 count increase.

When to apply new: When you are eligible for the sign-up bonus and want to capture it. This is almost always preferable when the bonus is available, as the bonus typically far outweighs the costs of a hard inquiry and 5/24 count increase.

Southwest Card Family Rules

Chase’s Southwest cards have their own set of bonus eligibility restrictions that interact with the Companion Pass strategy.

The Southwest Personal Product-Family Restriction

Chase treats the Southwest personal cards as a family: the Southwest Plus, Southwest Premier, and Southwest Priority. A current holder of any Southwest personal card cannot obtain any of these products: current ownership makes all three personal products unavailable. The same product-level restriction applies if you received a new-cardmember bonus on any Southwest personal card within the past 24 months. Business and employee cards are excluded, and the clock starts on the date the personal-card bonus was actually received.

Business Bonus Offers Are Exact-Product Rules

Southwest business cards ( Performance Business and Premier Business) use bonus-offer-only terms, not a rule that product approval is unavailable. Each business product applies an exact current-holder and exact-product 24-month restriction to its own bonus offer. The Performance Business offer is unavailable if you currently hold Performance Business or received a Performance Business new-cardmember bonus within the past 24 months. The Premier Business offer separately checks current ownership of Premier Business and whether you received a Premier Business new-cardmember bonus within the past 24 months. A personal card or personal bonus does not affect either business offer; one business product does not affect the other; and business ownership or bonuses do not affect personal-product eligibility.

Companion Pass Strategy

The Southwest Companion Pass requires 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. Combining a personal and business Southwest card bonus (both of which count as qualifying points) is one of the fastest paths to the Companion Pass. The key is to time both applications so that the bonuses post in the same calendar year — ideally early in the year for maximum Companion Pass duration.

Co-Branded Card Bonus Rules

Chase’s co-branded cards (United, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, British Airways, Aeroplan) each have their own bonus eligibility terms. Here is a summary of the key restrictions.

IHG personal family: IHG Premier and IHG Traveler share one personal-card scope. You must not currently hold any IHG personal card, and you must be at least 24 months past the date you received the most recent new-cardmember bonus on any IHG personal card. The boundary is the exact 24-month anniversary of bonus receipt. IHG Business is excluded from this personal-family rule and does not apply to that ownership or bonus clock.

IHG Premier Business: The current public product page and Offer Details do not show a lifetime restriction or a fixed 24-month repeat-bonus restriction for this business card. This does not guarantee bonus eligibility: Chase may make the final determination, and the secure application terms control. Review those terms before applying.

The Marriott Cross-Issuer Rule

Marriott Bonvoy cards have a unique restriction: Chase and Amex Marriott cards share bonus eligibility restrictions. If you currently hold or recently received a bonus on an Amex Marriott card (Brilliant, Bevy, or Business), you may be ineligible for a Chase Marriott bonus, and vice versa. This cross-issuer restriction makes Marriott cards one of the most complex product families to navigate.

Always check the current Marriott card terms carefully before applying, as the cross-issuer rules have changed multiple times over the years. Our eligibility engine automatically evaluates these cross-brand restrictions.

Practical Scenarios

Scenario 1: Choosing Between a Product Change and a New Application

You hold a Sapphire Preferred and want Sapphire Reserve benefits. Current public terms treat these as separate products, so Preferred ownership does not itself make the Reserve application unavailable. You still have two materially different paths:

• Option A (Product Change): Product change your Preferred to the Reserve. You receive Reserve benefits without a new application, but no welcome bonus; holding Reserve may also matter in a future exact-product bonus review.
• Option B (Apply New): Apply separately for Reserve and verify the secure offer terms before submitting. Chase makes the final bonus decision, so do not assume a guaranteed bonus or invent a 48-month unlock date.

Scenario 2: Maximizing Chase Before 5/24

You are at 2/24 and want to get as many Chase bonuses as possible. Here is a sample plan:

1. Month 1: Apply for Sapphire Preferred (moves to 3/24)
2. Month 4: Apply for Ink Business Preferred (stays at 3/24 — business card)
3. Month 7: Apply for World of Hyatt (moves to 4/24)
4. Month 10: Apply for Ink Business Cash (stays at 4/24)

This plan earns 4 sign-up bonuses while only using 2 personal 5/24 slots, thanks to the business cards not counting. For more on this approach, see our Ink Business Strategy guide.

Scenario 3: Southwest Companion Pass

You want the Companion Pass for 2027. In late 2026 or early January 2027, apply for a Southwest personal card. Three months later, apply for a Southwest business card. If both bonuses post in 2027, you earn the Companion Pass for the remainder of 2027 plus all of 2028.

Key Takeaways

1. 5/24 controls approval; bonus rules control the bonus. Being under 5/24 is necessary but not sufficient for earning a Chase bonus.
2. Sapphire terms are exact-product and discretionary. Separate current card availability from repeat-bonus review, and do not apply a shared family cooldown.
3. Product changes never earn sign-up bonuses. Always apply as a new application when you want the bonus.
4. Marriott cards have cross-issuer restrictions. Check both Chase and Amex Marriott history before applying.
5. Business cards are your 5/24 safety valve. Ink and other Chase business cards earn bonuses without increasing your 5/24 count.

Frequently Asked Questions