Why I am Not Applying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, Yet…


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Yesterday I wrote about the AMAZING offer for the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. This card comes with a 100,000 point sign up bonus (worth $1,000 if you want to simply take the cash, $1,500 if you want to redeem for travel, and in my valuation $2,000 if you want to transfer to a loyalty partner). The everyday benefits that come with the card are pretty awesome too and include a $300 travel credit (per calendar year, so get it now in 2016 and again in 2017 before your first anniversary year of the card and that will get you $600 in your first year!), free Global Entry, and 3x points earned on travel and restaurants. While there is a $450 annual fee tacked onto the card, the benefits and points earned outweigh this cost big time, at least for the first year. Assuming a $1,500 valuation on the points + $600 in travel credits + $100 global entry reimbursement, you are looking at a $2,200 sign up bonus! Subtract the $450 annual fee and you are still ahead $1,750!
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But… I’m NOT applying for this card, yet…

While I am personally a huge fan of this card and desperately want to apply. I cannot apply for this card right now. Chase has an unofficial policy that many of us call the “5/24” rule. This means if you’ve applied for 5 or more cards in the past 24 months they will not approve you. The 5 cards include ALL personal credit cards from all banks, not just Chase. Fortunately though for the past two years I haven’t gone that card crazy knowing that I’d be purchasing a house and din’t want to over do it.

I have a spreadsheet that lists out all of the cards I’ve ever applied for, the date I applied, the sign up bonus,the perks, and whether they are opened or close. As of right now, I’ve applied for 7 personal cards in the past 24 months. But… come November 3 of those cards will be dropping off leaving me with just 4 cards in the past 24 months. At that time, assuming the sign up bonus sticks around, I will 100% be applying for this card! My other hope is that I can receive a pre-approval for this card offer prior to November, but no guarantee. Now I just need to make sure I do not apply for any other cards between now and November!

I’ll be writing in more detail about the benefits and perks of this card over the next few weeks, but if you want to get a quick recap of the card, you can read my post from yesterday.

Key Links:

  • Chase Sapphire Reserve: 100,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points after you spend $4,000 on the card within the first three months.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

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Elan David
Elan David
7 years ago

Hi, I have applied for 8 personal credit cards within the past 16 months, but since there was some open debate around whether the Reserve card was subject to the 5/24 Rule, I applied anyway on Monday. I was instantly approved with a $35K credit line. Further, I already see the Reserve (including the last 4 digits assigned to me) showing up in my Chase online account summary. Given the AMAZING nature of this offer, it is sure to attract a lot of attention – I would highly suggest applying ASAP. Worst case, you get denied – yes it will be a hard credit pull, but it won’t affect your 5/24 standing. By the way, I just found your blog a few months ago and it is now in my daily digest. Keep up the great writings and thank you very much!

Stefanie
Stefanie
7 years ago

Do they automatically charge you the annual fee the 1st month, and if so, does that go towards the $4,000 spending in 3 months?

Julia
Julia
7 years ago

I was at 8/24 and went into branch to have banker check if I was preapproved. I was. I was instantly approved with no problems. From other blogs, I understand that many over 5/24 have taken this route successfully, including those who do not have banking accounts (Checking, saving, etc.) with Chase.

Sarah
Sarah
7 years ago

Is there a way you can easily check how many cards you’ve applied for?

Marc
Marc
7 years ago

I thought the 5/24 rule was in reference to how many credit card accounts you’ve opened in the last 24 months, not the number of cards you’ve applied for. Can you confirm? Also, would applying for a card on more than one occasion count more than once against the 5/24 rule?

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