The 5/24 Rule Is Still Important
The number one comment / question we seem to be seeing these days is – well, is 5/24 even still important with these new rules? And I get why that is. It is natural to process negative news in an emotional way. That usually includes letting reason fall to the wayside a bit, replaced by lashing out to combat the way you are feeling. If they want to take something away from me (that I somewhat felt entitled to at this point) then I am going to say the hell with them too. That isn't a successful line of thinking though. While things have changed, they have also kind of stayed the same. The problem is people were trying to do something that was not supposed to be the goal before. That goal, the path we try to lead you down, is still available to everyone. Let's dig in to it.
What Has Changed?
The main thing that has changed is Chase has added some murky rules to their most popular business and personal cards. Chase uses language that gives them a lot of outs in their welcome offers now. That should not be a surprise, lawyers like to lawyer after all! The main goal of these changes to their application rules is to combat serial abusers and users.
They have also added some quasi-family rules that are sometimes enforced and sometimes not. That includes our favorite no annual fee Chase Ink Business Unlimited and Chase Business Ink Cash cards. While these were always a big part of getting the best wallet possible, you may now need to choose between one or the other (cough, Ink Cash, cough). That is – unless you don't have to choose. Because plenty of people have still been able to grab one while holding the other. That is where Chase using the word “may” everywhere in their terms comes into play though.
Chase Is Fighting Against Bad Customers
It seems pretty obvious that Chase is trying to fight against “bad” for them customers. For a long time people would be opening and closing the same two or three Chase business cards over and over again, year after year. They would mostly sock drawer the card for the rest of year, until it was time to do it all over. People started to feel entitled to Chase paying for their vacations in perpetuity. That was until Chase decided to say, enough! At least some of the time, which is where the word “may” rears its ugly head. People have reacted to that hand slap by shouting from the rooftops that 5/24 doesn't mean anything now. Wrong! It still does, but just not in the way you were acting like it did.
There Was A Disconnect On The Plan
See the goal here at ToP was never to stay under 5/24 for forever. We told people to line up the 3-4 Chase business cards they needed, and then grab the 5 or so personal cards that looked useful long term. Then it was time to move on past 5/24, because there is a whole big world out there beyond Chase. The problem is either people said we cared too much about 5/24, or that we didn't care enough about it.
People either thought it was worth grabbing a few of their cards and then get all of the shiny objects outside of Chase. Or, they would plan to stay under for forever, grabbing a few over 5/24 cards along the way. All while continuing to grab the same few Chase cards over and over again in their process. Both of these were wrong, and are now FOR SURE the wrong way to go about this. The way we have always instructed people is still right, and probably more so than ever.
You Still Want To Line Up The 3-4 Most Useful Business Cards
The goal of your miles and points foundation should still be to get the 3-4 business cards with Chase that make sense for you long term. This is assuming that you are eligible for business cards at least, which many are and don't realize it.
Your three card lineup could be the Ink Business Preferred, the Ink Business Cash and the World of Hyatt Business card. If your business can handle the spend then maybe the Sapphire Reserve for Business would make sense too. That is especially true since it seems to be a successful option for your 4th business card approval at this time. This is a great set up even if you can't get Ink Business Unlimited card with the Ink Cash card.
If you prefer United Airlines over Hyatt, then go that route for the third option etc. If you continue to use the cards you grab long term then don't be surprised if that “may” terminology works in your favor in an Unlimited application down the road either.
Find The Personal Cards That Work For You
While you are working on the most useful business cards (to you) to get locked in, you can sprinkle in personal cards and some non 5/24 business cards from other banks too. This will allow you to round out your wallet for a successful future. The first decision is of course picking between the Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred. From there you will want to focus on which cards and card perks and earnings fill your needs. You might want to sprinkle in a Freedom Flex on your way over 5/24 too. You could downgrade your Sapphire product choice into a second one for double the 5x earning each quarter too. That would only be possible if you have an Ink Preferred or Sapphire Reserve for Business, from the group above, to make your points transferrable though.
If you are ineligible for business cards then that makes walking the 5/24 path even more important on the personal side of things. Without business cards you will not get the benefit of having access to the earning portfolio they can provide and will have to supplement it entirely with personal cards. I will once again encourage you to consider whether or not you are eligible for business cards though.
Something Is Better Than Nothing
For the people that like to say, yeah – well, that World of Hyatt card‘s offer doesn't really excite me much. Who cares! A great welcome offer is not the only thing to consider. The question should be will it be a useful card long term? There is also the saying that something is better than nothing that people seem to turn a blind eye to.
Envelope Example
Let's say I put 10 envelopes full of money in front of you. Then I say once you select 5 of these on the right you can no longer pick up any from the 5 on the left. Then let's say the ones on the left only have $10 in them and the ones on the right have $50 in them. Are you going to grab the big money envelopes on the right because the $10 in the first 5 envelopes isn't as exciting as the $50 ones to the right? That would be dumb. Because you can get your cake and get to eat it too in this scenario.
You could grab the 5 envelopes that have $10 each in them AND then get the 5 envelopes full of $50. Only if you do it in the right order though. So many of you are skipping the $10 envelope chasing the $50 one – and all that does is cost you $10 more dollars. It isn't a successful line of thinking. Everyone needs to fight that toddler syndrome we have going on right now!
It Does Not Have To Be This Or That
This isn't the zero sum scenario that people are making it out to be. Saying I want that American Airlines card, and don't think the Hyatt or Aeroplan card are all that exciting, doesn't make sense. The American Airlines card (essentially the $50 envelope on the right) isn't going anywhere. You should still pick up the ones on the left first. Those ones on the left, when you figure out they are useful as you grow and develop in miles and points down the road, will no longer be there. Order matters, it is as simple as that.
Personal Card Perks To Consider
Another thing to consider with 5/24 is that the co-branded cards actually help you protect your Ultimate Rewards balance. This may be the key thing people are seemingly missing here too. If you transfer Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt then earning 45,000 World of Hyatt points is like saving yourself 45,000 Ultimate Rewards. Even if grabbing the Ink Business card is no longer an option, you can still prolong the points that you have in your account now by looking at “less desirable” personal cards. So many out there are chopping off their nose to spite their face here because they are angry Chase slapped their hand.
Useful Perks For The Personal Chase Cards
Let's go through a lot of these cards and the perks that make them each a long term keeper. Which is extremely important even if their welcome offers don't excite you much:
- World of Hyatt Card
- Free night certificate each year for paying a $95 annual fee
- That is like buying up to 18,000 Ultimate Rewards for $95 – no brainer if I offered you that deal
- Earn a second free night certificate for spending $15,000 a year
- 5 elite night credits to start the year
- Free night certificate each year for paying a $95 annual fee
- Aeroplan Credit Card
- 3x earning at grocery stores
- 500 bonus points for every $2,000 you spend in a calendar month – up to 1,500 points per month.
- Chase Aeroplan credit cardmembers get a 10% transfer bonus after transferring 50,000 or more Ultimate Rewards points in a single transaction from an eligible Chase credit card to their Aeroplan account.
- Maximum of 25,000 bonus points per calendar year.
- This stacks with any transfer bonuses going on as well.
- If you spend $50,000 or more in a calendar year, you get to “level up” all the way to Aeroplan's highest elite level, Aeroplan Super Elite Status.
- Multiple United Credit Cards
- Gain access to extra award space
- Some offer lounge passes each year
- Free checked bags
- Award sales for cardholders only
- Earn points towards status
- Multiple Southwest Cards
- Rapid Rewards points to help offset the annual fee each year
- Free checked bags
- Free seat assignments
- IHG Premier Card
- Annual free night certificate worth up to 40,000 points (top off with bonus points)
- $50 in United TravelBank Cash each calendar year (registration required)
- 10,000 bonus points and a $100 statement credit after spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year
- Fourth night free on award stays of 4 or more nights
- Bonvoy Boundless
- 15 elite night credits towards status annually
- An annual free night award every year after your account anniversary, valid for up to 35,000 points
- The ability to earn 1 elite night credit for every $5,000 that you spend
- British Airways
- Up to 3 reward flight statement credits, worth up to $600 total (statement credits are per reward flight booking, with economy and premium economy rewards receiving a $100 statement credit, and business and first class rewards receiving a $200 statement credit)
- 10% discount on British Airways flights
- Travel Together/Companion Ticket (each calendar year after spending $30,000)
There are several other Chase co-branded cards not listed here that may be of use to you long term too. There is absolutely no way you can not come up with 5 or 6 good options for your travels from this list. Especially when including the Sapphire and Freedom cards too. Don't forget about the ability to downgrade some of the cards too, which could increase earning caps and open up new application options.
There Are Some People That Are Right About 5/24 Not Being Important Anymore
If you are one of the people saying 5/24 isn't important anymore because you can't get the same cards over and over again, then you are actually right. That is because you should already have the Chase cards you need. The goal was never to stay under 5/24 for forever anyway, and that is likely exactly what you were doing in an effort to grab the same cards over and over again. These rules were made to combat exactly what you were doing, so 5/24 likely is not important for you any more. That is unless you neglected the personal side of things during that time, since you were just focusing on business cards. Then it is still important until you get your personal wallet set up for the long term.
If you were not a part of the group grabbing the same few cards over and over again then ignore the noise coming from them. It is irrelevant, and is downright wrong. What they were doing was never the goal, it was not the path to walk down. If you follow the path we have shown you then 5/24 is still extremely important. You want to make sure you get all of the envelopes on the left AND the right after all, don't you? Share your thoughts on this over in the ToP Facebook Group.
