I seem to be in a minority but I close many accounts within 2-3 months of opening them. I’m aware of the general recommendation to keep an account open for 11.5 months and then closing it if the annual fee cannot be waived. However, if one wishes to churn a card, the old account must often be closed prior to applying for a new account. There are reports of people getting the exact same card 3 or 4 times in 1 year, it’s likely they closed each account within a month or 2 before applying the next time. And with AmEx specifically stating that certain bonuses are not available if one has had the same account within the past year it makes little sense to keep an account open if one is not using it.

As a recent convert to the App-O-Rama or Every-90-Day-Churn concept I strongly endorse it. Much better to do 4 or 5 or 6 applications all at once (rather than spreading them out over a few weeks or a month or 2). In that way, some of the card issuers won’t see all the other credit pulls.