It was hard to qualify for free money in 2024, since most banks wont give you a new credit card if you apply more than 5 cards in 2 years. So I took 2024 off and kept my money in money market accounts yielding more than 5% APR.
Most banks do not have a strict, publicly disclosed limit on the number of credit cards you can get in a year, but they do have various rules and considerations that can affect approval:
Chase has an informal rule known as the "5/24 rule," where they are unlikely to approve you if you've opened 5 or more cards across all issuers in the last 24 months. They also review each application carefully, considering factors like recent card openings.
American Express generally limits customers to no more than 5 cards at a time. They also have rules regarding welcome bonuses, allowing one bonus per lifetime per card.
Bank of America follows what's referred to as the "2/3/4 rule," where you can get approved for 2 new cards in 30 days, 3 in 12 months, and 4 in 24 months. There's also a 24-month wait period for opening the same type of card again for a bonus.
Citi does not have a hard limit on the number of cards, but there's a restriction where bonus points are not available if you've opened or closed a card in the same family within the past 24 months.
Capital One is more strict, allowing a maximum of two cards and suggesting a wait of at least six months between applications.
Barclays does not have a limit on cards but considers your overall credit profile, including the number of hard inquiries and existing debts.
Wells Fargo generally doesn't limit the number of cards but might refuse based on the number of accounts opened in a short period or if you've recently opened another Wells Fargo card.
While these rules give a general idea, the actual number of credit cards you can get in a year varies significantly based on your credit profile, income, credit utilization, and how banks interpret their own policies. Applying for too many cards in a short period can negatively impact your credit score due to hard inquiries and might signal to issuers that you're a high credit risk, leading to denials. Therefore, most people might find 2-3 new cards per year to be a reasonable limit if managed responsibly, but this is highly dependent on individual circumstances and the specific bank's approval criteria.
