Meet Alex, a hypothetical applicant with four recent personal-card openings and one authorized-user account. One of the personal cards is already closed. For planning a Chase application, should Alex work with a count of four or five?
Start with a dated account list. Follow Alex’s example, then check the reporting details, the rolling 24-month window and the offer’s separate bonus conditions.
Separate counting from approval
| Question | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Does this opening add to my count? | Whether the new account may affect a later Chase application |
| Does Chase screen this application under 5/24? | Whether your existing history may affect approval now |
| Am I eligible for this offer? | Whether the card’s separate bonus conditions are met |
A business card can illustrate the distinction: it may not add to the personal count after approval, yet its application can still face recent-account screening. “Does not add to 5/24” and “can be approved over 5/24” are different claims. 1
Which accounts should you review?
Start with recently opened personal credit cards from all issuers, including retail accounts and cards that have since closed. Closing a recent account does not erase its opening from the reported count. Loans and an unsuccessful application are different from a newly opened credit-card account. 1
Mark authorized-user accounts separately
Check business-card reporting by product
Some business cards do not regularly appear in consumer credit history; others do. Read the specific issuer’s reporting policy and your actual reports rather than assuming every business product receives the same treatment. The counting and application-screening distinction still applies. 1
If you changed a card’s product rather than opening an account, verify whether the existing account continued. NerdWallet reports ordinary product changes as not taking a new slot. 1
Follow Alex’s five-account list
Alex checks the list on October 1, 2026. All five hypothetical openings below are comfortably inside the previous 24 months; there are no other relevant accounts.
Alex’s account list, at a glance
Review date: October 1, 2026
All five openings are inside the recent 24-month window.
November 2024
Primary 1
Include
March 2025
Primary 2
Include
October 2025
Primary 3
Include
February 2026
Primary 4 · now closed
Include
June 2026
Authorized user
Flag for review
4 primary accounts + 1 authorized-user account
Conservative count: 5. Primary-account-only count: 4.
Both totals come from the same list: the difference is the unresolved authorized-user entry. Alex’s next step is to verify each opening date and relationship against the credit reports.
When does an older account leave the window?
The Points Guy’s reported planning guidance is to wait until the first day of the month after an account’s 24-month anniversary. For Alex’s November 2024 opening, that date is December 1, 2026. 2
Alex’s list on December 1, 2026
November 2024 opening → outside the working window
3 primary + 1 authorized user = conservative count of 4
Primary-account-only count: 3. Assumes no new openings. This uses the reported timing guidance above; check reporting and processing near a boundary.
How should you read reports of exceptions?
Prime Visa: public sources disagree
Public sources conflict: NerdWallet lists Prime Visa as subject to 5/24, while Doctor of Credit’s historical offer article describes an apparent exception. Treat that as unresolved reporting. The old promotion is not a current bonus offer. 13
Business-card reports: avoid a blanket threshold
Doctor of Credit’s September 17, 2026 article reports sole-proprietor denials at 3/24 or 4/24 alongside approvals. Those mixed outcomes do not establish a new universal 3/24 rule. 4
Invitations and preapproval
An invitation or preapproval label is only as useful as its actual terms. Read the remaining conditions before relying on it as an exception.
Bonus eligibility is a separate check
Chase’s published Sapphire Preferred wording says the card is unavailable if you currently have it open. Prior ownership or a prior bonus may affect bonus eligibility, and Chase may consider card-opening and closing history. That official offer test is distinct from the reported 5/24 screen. 5
Use our issuer application-rules guide for the broader eligibility checks. Once you have identified an offer, our welcome-offer spending guide explains the separate spending and timing questions.
Your application checklist
- Get your reports. The FTC directs consumers to AnnualCreditReport.com for free reports, including free weekly access. 6
- Build the dated account list. Include closed accounts and identify authorized-user entries.
- Read the actual application offer. Separate account approval, bonus eligibility and spending requirements.
- Flag the entries that need checking. For Alex, that means the authorized-user account and the timing of the oldest opening.
- Decide whether the card still fits. Consider its costs and your needs, even if an application is possible.
If declined, start with the adverse-action notice and ask about the actual reason. CFPB explains that the lender must provide specific reasons or tell you how to request them; credit-score factors alone do not necessarily explain the decision. Ask about relevant report entries if appropriate. 7
