What’s better than earning a credit card signup bonus? Doing it again. And again. Some banks allow you to earn their signup bonuses multiple times for the exact same card, but the rules for this vary with every bank. To make things easier, I’ve listed major credit card issuers with churn-worthy cards below, along with their rules regarding this practice.
And although some banks do not require it, I prefer canceling my old cards and waiting a few months before reapplying. I also don’t like to cancel new cards immediately after getting my bonus and normally hold them for a total of 6 to 11 months. Remember that just because a card is churnable does not mean that you’ll get approved again. Try to stay somewhat on the bank’s good side.
American Express
American Express credit cards cannot be churned.
In practice, some people have had luck reapplying for a card after ~7 years. You can check if you are eligible to receive the bonus on a particular card by asking a representative via online chat.
Bank of America
Necessary to Cancel Old Card: Yes if Alaska Airlines (personal) or Premium Rewards cards; otherwise no.
Waiting Period: See below
Bank of America will approve you for at most 2 cards per rolling 2 months, 3 cards per rolling 12 months, and 4 cards per rolling 24 months. It is unconfirmed whether this rule applies to only personal cards or both personal and business cards.
Additionally, there is a waiting period of 24 months for the Alaska Airlines (personal) and Premium Rewards cards. There is also a waiting period of 24 months on the Cash and Travel Rewards cards, but only if you currently hold them. Oddly, there is no waiting period if they have been canceled.
Bank of America will often deny applications for their personal credit cards if you have opened three or more credit cards (with any bank) in the past 12 months.
If you are a current Bank of America deposit customer, the threshold at which you may be denied is increased to seven or more credit cards (with any bank) in the past 12 months.
Barclaycard
Necessary to Cancel Old Card: Yes
Waiting Period: None
Barclaycard has been enforcing some restrictions for the Arrival+ card recently, though the specific details are not known.
Chase
Necessary to Cancel Old Card: Yes
Waiting Period: 24 months after receiving the sign up bonus previously (48 months for Sapphire family cards)
For the purposes of signup bonus eligibility, all cards in the Sapphire family (Reserve, Premier, regular Sapphire) and the Southwest family (Premier, Plus) are treated as the same card. To earn the signup bonus on the Sapphire Reserve, for example, you must not have any Sapphire card open, and you must not have earned the signup bonus from any Sapphire card within the past 48 months.
Chase will deny applications for their credit cards if you have opened five or more credit cards (with any bank) in the past 24 months.
Citibank
Necessary to Cancel Old Card: No
Waiting Period: 24 months after opening or closing any similar card within the same brand (e.g. American Airlines, Citi ThankYou)
In practice, Citibank’s churn-worthy credit cards all have annual fees, so you’ll want to cancel them in