When applying for credit cards from different banks, it is very important to understand each bank’s requirements for applicants and their own unique quirks. This will not only help your applications go more smoothly, but also help you avoid unnecessary denials or missing out on a welcome bonus. Today, we’ll briefly summarize the key things you should know when applying with the major banks: AMEX, BofA, Barclays, Citi, and Chase. We’ll mainly cover the following aspects: application timing, HP, approval patterns, reconsideration, welcome bonuses, whether an SSN is required, and other notes.
【10/4 Update】Recently, BofA added the credit card approval 234 rule. You can only be approved for 2 new BofA cards within 2 months, 3 new BofA cards within 12 months, and 4 new BofA cards within 24 months. Only new BofA cards count toward this rule; credit card applications with other banks do not matter. It looks like BofA has also started cracking down on churners. HT.DOC
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AMEX (American Express)
- Application timing: In one day, you can only get instant approval for one personal or business credit card (BCP, BCE, SPG, EDP, etc.), or multiple charge cards (PRG, PLT, etc.). If you submit two credit card applications in one day, one of them will automatically go pending or be declined, and you may need to call and explain the situation before it can possibly be approved. Within 90 days, you can only be approved for two personal or business cards, plus multiple charge cards.
- Hard Pull: Usually appears on Experian
- Since you can only apply for one personal card per day, HPs usually will not be combined, because the other application may get another HP a few days later. If you call and ask for immediate review, and it is approved the same day, the HPs may be combined.
- For a personal card and a charge card applied for on the same day, the HP can be combined (confirmed).
- If you already have an AMEX card, AMEX may first do a Soft Pull when you apply, which does not affect your credit score. If approved, they will then do one HP and issue the card. If you are not approved, they will not HP you.
- 【New】Recently there have been some cases of successful applications with no HP at all, for both new and existing AMEX customers.
- Approval patterns:
- For no-annual-fee cards such as BCE and ED, 3+ months of credit history is generally enough; for charge cards such as PRG and PLT, 6+ months; for airline miles cards, 8+ months, assuming good credit history.
- Not very sensitive to HPs or recently opened accounts.
- You cannot directly apply for two copies of the same card.
- The limit is 5 credit cards total (including personal and business cards, but not charge cards such as PRG and PLT, and not AMEX cards issued by other banks).
- Reconsideration: Usually just identity and address verification; relatively few issues.
- Welcome bonus: You can only receive the welcome bonus once per lifetime on the same card. Different types of cards can each earn their own welcome bonus. Both the annual-fee and no-annual-fee versions of similar cards can earn a welcome bonus.
- 【New】 SSN: If you have a credit history, you may be able to apply without an SSN online by entering 000000001 as the SSN (this number no longer works; according to readers’ reports, numbers such as 123456789 may work). Personally, I do not recommend entering a fake SSN. If you want to apply, you can instead call and apply without an SSN.
- Notes: When applying, it is best to use your browser’s incognito mode, or clear your history and cookies, so AMEX will not detect that you are already an AMEX customer.
BofA (Bank of America)
- Application timing: You can apply for multiple credit cards in one day, whether they are the same card or different cards. If you submit two applications in one day, one of them may automatically go pending, and you may need to call and explain the situation.
- Hard Pull: HPs on the same day will be combined.
- Approval patterns:
- Not very sensitive to HPs or recently opened accounts.
- Students with short credit history may only be able to get 2 cards.
- You can hold multiple copies of the same card.
- Having a checking account with a lot of money in it can help with approval odds and credit limits.
- Reconsideration: Identity and address verification, questions about why you want the card, etc.
- Welcome bonus: The same card’s welcome bonus can be earned multiple times.
- 【New】 SSN: Basic cash back cards can sometimes be applied for at a local branch without an SSN, and the co-branded Alaska credit card can as well (per WeChat group reader data points).
- Notes: Airline miles cards may sometimes be approved as downgraded products, in which case the welcome bonus would no longer be the original one. So if your credit history is only average, apply cautiously.
Barclays
- Application timing: You can apply for multiple different credit cards in one day. If you submit two applications in one day and neither gets instant approval, you can call and explain the situation.
- Hard Pull: Usually HPs TransUnion
- HPs on the same day will be combined.
- If you already have a Barclays card, Barclays may first do a Soft Pull when you apply, which does not affect your credit score. If approved, they will then do one HP and issue the card. If you are not approved, they will not HP you.
- Approval patterns: Fairly sensitive to HPs and recently opened accounts, so if you want to apply for multiple cards, it is recommended to apply with Barclays earlier.
- Reconsideration: Identity and address verification, questions about why you want the card, understanding your job and repayment situation, etc., so you need to prepare carefully. You may also need to move credit limit from another card to get approved.
- Welcome bonus: The same card can earn a bonus multiple times.
- SSN: Unknown
- Notes: None for now
Citi (Citi Bank)
- Application timing: You can only apply for one card every 7 days, and only two cards every 65 days. If you exceed that, the application will be automatically declined.
- HP: Since you cannot apply for multiple Citi cards in one day, HPs obviously cannot be combined; HP is usually on Experian.
- Approval patterns
- Moderately sensitive to HPs and recently opened accounts.
- No-annual-fee cash back cards generally require 3+ months of history, while airline miles cards generally require 8+ months, assuming good credit.
- Reconsideration: Identity and address verification; they may ask you to move credit limit.
- Welcome bonus: You can only receive the welcome bonus after approval if, in the past 24 months, you have neither opened nor closed this card or another card in the same family. For example, ThankYou Preferred and ThankYour Premier are in the same family; Hilton cards with and without an annual fee are also in the same family. For a detailed explanation, see: Citi 24-month rule. Note that if the application page does not mention the 24-month rule, you may still be able to receive the welcome bonus. Be sure to read the terms carefully; this is not recommended for beginners.
- SSN: At a local branch, you may be able to get a basic card or student card without an SSN.
- Notes: Having a checking account may help with your application, especially Citi Gold.
Chase
- Application timing: You can apply for multiple cards in one day.
- HP: HPs on the same day can be combined. Usually the HP is on Experian, or there may be an additional pull on TransUnion (TU).
- Approval patterns
- New “5 cards in 2 years” policy: You cannot have opened more than 5 new accounts in the past 2 years, or your application will not be approved (this applies to Chase’s own cards such as Freedom, CSP, and Slate). Some co-branded airline and hotel cards are also affected. You may be able to get around this rule through prequalify. Detailed analysis: Chase 5/24 Rule Explained
- No-annual-fee cashback cards generally require about 6 months between applications; airline and hotel cards start at 8 months (with good credit)
- You cannot directly apply for and hold two copies of the same card
- Reconsider: They may verify your identity and address, and may ask you to move credit limit from another card. If you have large deposits, a staff member at a local branch may be able to submit a special consideration form, which can greatly improve the odds of approval.
- Welcome bonus: If you have not received the welcome bonus on that card in the past 2 years, you can apply again and earn the bonus again.
- SSN: A local branch may be able to help you get a basic card without an SSN (unconfirmed)
- Notes: Having a checking account may help with your application
Recently, Chase added a new restriction: if you currently already hold a card in the Sapphire family (Sapphire, Sapphire Preferred, or Sapphire Reserve), then applying again for any card in this family will result in an automatic denial (HT. DOC). In addition, if you have received a Sapphire-family welcome bonus within the past 2 years, your application will also be denied. In other words, within a 2-year period you can only get one Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, similar to Citi’s TYP-family policy. If it has been more than 2 years since you last received the bonus, you can downgrade that card to Freedom/Freedom Unlimited and then apply again.
Note that this new policy only restricts new applications. If you already currently hold more than two cards in this family, that is fine. However, unless you have a special need, it is still better to downgrade to a CSR/CSP + Freedom/Freedom Unlimited setup.
Discover
- Application interval: The same card requires a 1-year gap; the rule for different cards is unknown
- HP: It is unknown whether HPs on the same day can be combined; HP is usually on TransUnion
- Approval pattern
- You can apply as soon as you get your SSN
- You can hold two copies of the same card, but for the second application you must call in. See: Second Discover Credit Card
- One person can hold at most two Discover cards total
- Reconsider: They may verify your identity and address and ask for a bill. If it is for a second Discover card, they may ask you to move credit limit.
- Welcome bonus: You can earn the welcome bonus multiple times on the same card
- SSN: Required
- Notes: None at this time
Capital One
- Application interval: Only one card can be approved every 6 months (HT.lz80521)
- Hard Pull: It will appear on all three bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax
- Adding an authorized user will also pull the authorized user’s credit reports at all three bureaus, so adding an authorized user is strongly discouraged
- Approval pattern: You can hold at most two Capital One-issued cards per person; store and other co-branded cards are not limited
- Reconsider: You cannot request reconsideration before receiving confirmation of the application
- Welcome bonus: You can earn the welcome bonus multiple times on the same card
- SSN: Required
- Notes: None at this time
Wells Fargo
- Application interval: One card every 16 months (because you can only earn a welcome bonus once every 16 months)
- Hard Pull: Multiple HPs on the same day will be combined
- Approval pattern: You must be a permanent resident or a U.S. citizen to be approved
- Reconsider: Call 866-412-5956
- Welcome bonus: Within 16 months, you can only earn one bonus on any of their credit cards
- SSN: Required
- Notes: None at this time
Summary
The summary above is based only on current policies and data points, and everything may change at any time. The blog will keep updating this information. For detailed analysis of related topics, see the following articles: