You're jumping to conclusions. Just because you have one anecdote that one partner card appears to have been denied for 5/24, does not prove that all partners cards are treated that way, or that people don't have as many Chase cards open as you do are treated that way even for a Marriott card.

There's been a theory that Chase would have to get permission from each partner individually to change how it takes applicants to that partner's card. (In part, that's because the partners send out invitations to apply for the card, and so the partners can get blamed for any denials which don't make sense to a consumer.) It could be Chase has just negotiated this with Marriott, but not with all other partners.

Or, because you're the first person to claim this was the only reason given (and did it 5-7 minutes to claim that as the only reason?), it could be that the agent was making things up (and not listing another reason which was even more important). Please come back and tell us what your denial letter says, word for word, as to the reason(s) for denial. Thanks.

I also wonder whether this is just another case of

• applicant whose total Chase CL was already maxed out or close to it
• neglecting to lower said CL in preparation for the app
• making the mistake of calling in, and
• getting a rep just itching to invent additional reasons that had nothing to do with the app's failure to be approved instantly

Just applied for a United card, called in and told no way i had opened 11 cards in the last 24 months. No moving credit.My credit score in 790 and high income with no debt.

What was your CL when you applied? Were you maxed out, or had you pruned your CL before applying?

My advice to anyone applying for a co-brand card:

1. Lower your CLs beforehand to what you actually need, plus 5K. The old days when you could bank more credit than you needed & then easily move some around with a CSR to get an app approved are over. (The key is "easily." Some lucky people will still be able to do this, which is the reason to hold that extra 5K; don't bet on your being one of them.) You want to be auto-approved & avoid closer scrutiny.
   
2. Do. Not. Call....unless you've already been denied. Numerous reports suggest that Chase CSRs have itchy trigger fingers & will find additional reasons (such as the 5/24 rule) to deny you even when those reasons wouldn't be triggered by automated review. OTOH, if you've already been denied after waiting for a decision, you have nothing to lose by calling.

After lowering your CL, what's the earliest general recommended time frame before applying for a new card?

We don't have much good evidence that there's a particular wait time needed, so I'd give it at least a couple business days to make sure the new CL info is propagated across the various systems that make use of it. My preference is not to wait until I'm ready to apply for a new card, but instead to lower the CL on each curent card not long after the signup bonus is earned (& the balance paid off).

Just want to point out that if someone lowers a credit line, doesn't pay off the balance, and the card reports, there may be unwelcome news.

For example if you lower the credit line on a card line on a card from $10,000 to $500, and it reports with a $500 balance, don't be shocked to see a double digit drop in your FICO scores. This happens even if the overall utilization barely changes.

Well, in that example, yes. But that doesn't mean don't lower the credit line, just don't lower it too much.

Ie, you want to keep the utilization below 30%, so if you're planning on charging enough to get up to a $300 balance, don't lower below $1000, if you're planning on charging enough to get up to a $600 balance, don't lower below $2000, etc.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't lower a card from $10,000 to a few thousand (thus making many thousand available for the next card), it just means you shouldn't go overboard in the lowering if you might use the card again and haven't paid off your last charges in full already.

I don't disagree. Perhaps I should have spelled it out explicitly, but that was part of what I meant by "[l]ower your CLs beforehand to what you actually need." People definitely need not to blow up their utilization ratios.

After HUCA, I got a CSR who let me move some CL from another business card to open this one. Thanks to all who helped out!

Are you kidding? I have like 40/24 and was approved with no problem. Same for my friend who has 45-50/24.

Did you call and talk to someone? It blows my mind people are not getting instant approval with several hard pulls and think calling in is going to "help" them these days.

People, let the process play out without attracting attention and calling in before a decision! Call after you get denied of you want.

Truer words might have been spoken once or twice, a very long time ago.

You mean the Chase Denial Center? That would be a no.

:D