sdsearch

BofA is now usually limiting people to 2 of its own cards per 2 months, 3 of its own cards per 12 months, and 4 of its own cards for 24 months.

This now appears to affect all BofA cards.

Agents may or may not be able to override this based on your "relationship" with BofA if you have a good enough reason for the new card.

Business cards do not seem to be affected.

See this Doctor of Credit page for details:
(This is not the only anti-churning policy at BofA, but it's [a] the newest one, and [b] the only one that's well-defined. BofA obviously checks other things too.)


UPDATE 9/28/19:

BofA seems to have a policy similar to Chase's 5/24, but it focus on 12 months instead of 24 months, and it appears to be most commonly 3/12 for people with no banking relationship at BofA and 7/12 for people with a banking relationship at BofA (but there may be random expections). More more details, see this Doctor of Credit page:

Report: Bank of America ‘7/12 Rule’ & ‘3/12 Rule’ for New Cards

UA Fan

The screws are tightening.

AugustWest

DP: I am 790+ with only one BOA card and was denied for the Premium card, even after a recon call. They said (plainly and politely) "too many recent accounts". So it is not just BOA they are looking at. FYI I am so far over any reasonable x/24 that x does not even matter. I do not know what too many means to them, but they look beyond BOA for sure.

sdsearch

But if so, that's a separate policy. It's not 2/3/4, because plenty of people who've applied for 5 or 6 or 7 cards from other banks are still getting approved.

Most banks look at other banks, in the sense that most banks look at the very least at inquiries, and those come from other banks (as well as the same bank).

In fact, I've been seeing reports like yours (in the Alaska card thread, the only BofA thread I've been following for a while) since long before this recent 2/3/4 policy. So what you ran into had nothing to do with 2/3/4, and was another (to date unnamed) policy at BofA.

Many banks have multiple layers of anti-churning policies. For example, Chase layers multi-bank 5/24 on top of same-card-bonus 24, on top of yet other policies. Citi layers same-card-type 24 (instituted a year or two ago) on top of 6-or-so inquiries in 6 month (around for decades) on top of 8/65 (which has been around for maybe a decade now I think, since the "two-browser trick' ended at Citi).

I've updated my post above to clarify that.

KIcarus

I currently have an Amtrak card that I use often. Unfortunately, they only gave me a $5k limit on the card, so it's not a lot of room to work with. I've had the card for almost two years, thinking I would get an auto-upgraded credit limit, but that did not happen.

If I ask for an upgraded credit limit, that will be a hard pull, correct? I do not want to waste a hard pull unless I'm opening up a new card.

If I open an Alaska card at the same time I request a credit increase on Amtrak, I will only be "spending" 1 of my hard pulls, correct, not 2? I don't require any Alaska miles at this time, but if I have to spend a hard pull for the Amtrak credit line increase, I would prefer to pick some up Alaska miles, too.

How would the forum approach this? In the long run, I will be spending on the Amtrak card, but past the minimum spend, I probably would not be spending on the Alaska card. I have too many airline miles as it is right now anyway.

Your advice is appreciated. Thanks!

sdsearch

You misunderstand 2/3/4. BofA's 2/3/4 is about how many cards you can open, not how many pulls.

KIcarus

However, if I request a credit limit increase with a BoA card, that hard pull WILL effect my Chase 5/24 eligibility, correct? And potentially my credit status with other banks too.

If I have to have a hard pull on my credit with BoA, I want to maximize my hard pull's value by opening up a new card using that pull, rather than simply getting a line increase.

Thanks for the advice.

philemer

No, not correct. Read the WIKI post here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...17-onward.html Especially, number 2.

As far as BofA combining two HP in the same day that is a YMMV. I've seen "yes" and "no" with a Google search.

fliesdelta

This is just one data point, so take it with a grain of salt: two months ago I requested a CL increase on my AAA Visa card (BofA issued), and it was granted with a soft pull (during the call to get this done, I asked the agent if the request would incur a soft or a hard pull, she replied "only a soft pull", so I told her to go ahead).

FrankZap

Applied for 2 new personal cards same day and a business one too.
All approved. All showed up on online account with BofA. Cards all arrived but one personal one could not be activated. Agent said it was closed due to a credit issue, but could call again during the week. Have hundreds of thousands in Merrill account.

Of course way over 2/3/4, more like 6/24 with BofA alone excluding business cards. Credit is excellent, 1% utilization though total CL is more than annual income (that's never been an issue). Credit score is well over 800 and has been for years.

Should I call again possibly risking fallout on other cards?

dangw20

Question about the 2/3/4 policy:

If you were "approved in error", does that "approved in error" card count against the 2/3/4 policy, or does BOA treat it as if the card account never existed?

I was "approved in error" in mid-2017. If I exclude that card I am under the 2/3/4 policy, but if include it I am over. I have applied for the Alaska card twice recently and both times was told I had too many accounts opened with them recently, which leads me to believe the "approved in error" account does count against the 2/3/4 policy. I am curious if anyone else has data points to corroborate this assumption.

sdsearch

First, what exactly does "approved in error" mean? (I've never heard of it before.) Does it mean that they meant to deny you but accidentally approved you? Or does it mean that they opened the card for you without applying for it (Wells Fargo style )? Or does it mean something yet different?

Second, depending on what it means, that fact may recorded in a special place not accessible to those evaluating future applications, or may not be recorded at all.

So, yes, without knowing the details, I would assume it's more than likely that it's just treated (months down the road) as an ordinary approval, for the purposes of BofA's 2/3/4 as well as for anything else when opened accounts are counted.

dangw20

"Approved in error" is the term that was used on various blogs and websites in 2017 for situations where customers were initially approved for a new Bank of America cards, but then a few days or weeks later were informed the account was "approved in error" and had the account subsequently closed by BOA. The explanation typically provided by BOA was that the customer had sufficient accounts with BOA and shouldn't have been approved for the new card. It appears this was occurring because BOA had started implementing the 2/3/4 policy however it was not hardcoded into the system, so they were manually checking approvals after the fact and closing accounts that were over the threshold. The account is never reported to the credit rating agencies so it does not show up on your credit report, however I am not sure how BOA handles these accounts internally and if they are included as new accounts in the 2/3/4 rule.

For more info on "approved in error" see links here and here.

LWT3

Same here. As recently as the fall of 2016 I was able to get approved by BofA despite having some insane number of apps within the prior 24 months, but they now shoot me down for that reason.

peggypwr1

Hello way back in 2016 I signed up the B of A cash card. They offered $150 cash back after $500 spending.

They still have this offer today. Can I sign up again and get the offer? I understand they have new churning rules:

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/co...g_restriction/

but I think I satisfy these requirements.

If I do apply for the cash card, should I close down my current b of A cash CC??

or just apply for the new one and keep the one I have. Would I still get the $150 cash back?