It should go without saying that the good ole’ days of Bank of America’s leniency with approval and sign-up bonuses has come to an end and it’s now confirmed within their new rule that we will not be seeing those days again.
This new rule goes by the 2/3/4 Rule, basically allowing you to get no more than 2 new Bank of America cards in 2 rolling months, and no more than 3 new BoA cards in 12 months. You will also be limited at 4 BoA cards in 24 months. Of all evidence, it’s not as bad as it appears to be, comparative to American Express’s Once per Lifetime Rule or Chase’s 5/24 Rule and what’s better is that they don’t limit you on approval because you have have other cards with other banks.
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Bank of America Credit Card Application Bonus Rules Summary:
- You can only get approved for two new Bank of America credit card within a rolling 2 months
- You can only get approved for three new Bank of America credit card within a rolling 12 months
- You can only get approved for four new Bank of America credit card within a rolling 24 months
- People who have been applying for many cards will either receiving a denial or initially approval that turns into a “approved in error” notification.
- With confines of this new rule, it’s advised that you do a little more prioritizing on cards worth getting your hands on. Examples:
Rolling Limitations:
Bank of America has rolling limitations attached. Here’s how it works: if you have applied for, lets say an Alaska Airlines Card on April 12, then the Bank of America Premium Rewards card on May 16, you will still be eligible to open a new card 2 months from April 12 and further implies that you are given the green light for another application (3) on June 13.
I would also like to address reports of a manual override of these rules by BoA reps. if you’ve accidentally or mistakenly applied for a card that doesn’t qualify under these terms or time limit, it could be a viable option for you to request an exception.
90 Day Rule:
Your application will be rejected and deemed a “duplicate” if you apply for the same card in the past 90 days of card opening. I recommend waiting it out a little past this time frame to refrain from wasting your time.
4 Card Maximum:
This is not necessarily a set-in-stone rule; it’s more of a suggestion than anything. We’ve received data pols insinuating that Bank of America could have a limit to having 4 total personal credit cards withing a time period, frankly, from experience alone. I’d try pushing for a 5th or 6th personal credit card, however, approval may not be in your favor after accounting for a total of 4 Bank of American credit cards are sitting under your name as it is.
Conclusion:
It’s undoubtedly facts when I say that Bank of America used to have unmatched easier approvals comparative to a majority of big banks out there. With the 2/3/4 Rule, 90 Day Rule, and the “4 Card Maximum” Rule, it goes without saying that approvals have gotten so much more stricter. Not saying it’s exponentially more difficult to get your hands on any of Bank of America’s cards and bonuses though because from perspective, the restrictions still highly favor much more flexibility than that of Chase’s 5/24 Rule.
The maximum amount of cards you can get approved for in a year is three credit cards, so it’d make sense that you plan accordingly. My ideal line-up at the moment would have to be the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card, Premium Rewards Credit Card, and the Cash Rewards Credit Card. Make sure you also check out our complete list of Credit Card Promotions!
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