Originally Posted by mia
I would say that churning means opening, collecting the enrollment or activation bonus, closing, and then reapplying for the same card to repeat the cycle. I don't think the number of cards is relevant.
I believe that the number of new cards _is_ relevant. My credit score came in lower than my partner's and the difference between us is that I added new Citibank cards (several). One of the "dings" on my credit report was "too many accounts open for short period of time". They didn't seem to know or care that I had closed them also. (Well, except for the current "churn" account -- I just do one at a time).