Do I Really Need to Worry About the Chase 5/24 Rule? We get asked this question a lot. I would say that when you begin travel hacking, I would consider this rule. I know that when I started in this game, I didn't and so I was about 3 years into the game before I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, our favorite beginner card. Yes, I was still able to book a lot of great trips but then I learned about how great Hyatt was for oversized value stays and I couldn't book many of them.
Fast forward a few years later and I would totally suggest that as a beginner you get those Chase cards first. There is always time for all the other cards. Chase definitely has some of our favorite cards and you don't want to have to put yourself on an "application freeze" to get under 5/24, especially if you can't get business cards yet.
Currently, my husband and I are both over 5/24. It's not the end of the world if this happens. I am at 5/24 but after November, I will be back to 3/24 so I can get some more Chase cards. I am particularly anxious to get more Ultimate Rewards with the Chase Business Cards.
Travel Freely is the ideal way to know your 5/24 status!
In the meantime, I am concentrating on business cards. I have recently been working on:
When you work in 2-player mode, you can usually keep one player under 5/24 in case you want to apply for a new, limited-time offer on a Chase card. However, once you have travel hacked for a period of time, you can expect to be under 5/24 sometimes and over 5/24 sometimes and it is all good!
You may have different goals. Don't compare what you do to what someone else does. Maybe you have all the Chase cards you want and don't really care about them. Maybe you just love American Express Membership Rewards! In that case, ignore the Chase 5/24 rule. Your answer to the question "Do I Really Need to Worry About the Chase 5/24 Rule?" can be a resounding NO!
Maybe all you want out of travel hacking is a ton of Delta Flights. Get the Delta Credit Cards and all the AMEX points you can to transfer to Delta. You are in charge of your journey, no one else!
Do I Really Need to Worry About the Chase 5/24 Rule? That is up to you and your goals and it is totally fine if you worry about it sometimes and ignore it other times! What are your thoughts?