Confirmation: Bank of America’s “2/3/4” Rule for Credit Card Approvals

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Chase has their ‘5/24 rule’ where they won’t approve most new credit cards for many customers with 5 or more new card accounts within the last 24 months.

That’s why it’s a good idea to get a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card right away, for instance, because if you get other cards first you’ll have a hard time coming back to it later. But if you get it now, and get other Chase cards first, it’s almost opening up the freedom to get cards from other issuers.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that Bank of America was cracking down on issuing new credit cards to customers who have opened several with the bank recently.

Doctor of Credit confirmed new card approval limits for Bank of America. Here are the maximums for new Bank of America card approvals:

  • 2 new Bank of America cards within 2 months
  • 3 new Bank of America cards within 12 months
  • 4 new Bank of America cards within 24 months


Copyright: wolterk / 123RF Stock Photo

That’s a far cry from when they used to approve multiples of the same card on the same day and folks who rinse, repeat quarterly.

The good news is this is a limit on new cards from Bank of America and – unlike Chase – doesn’t factor new accounts opened with other card issuers.

One open question on BofA’s new approach seems to be whether new Bank of America small business cards count towards your 2, 3, and 4 limits or not.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. My wife just got BofAs new premium card. She’s had 5 biz and 3 personal in the last 24 months (3 biz, 0 personal in the last 12)

  2. this paragraph confused me, esp the ~~last sentence~~ :

    “That’s why it’s a good idea to get a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card right away, for instance, because if you get other cards first you’ll have a hard time coming back to it later. ~~But if you get it now, and get other Chase cards first, it’s almost opening up the freedom to get cards from other issuers.~~”

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