☠️ Is the 5/24 rule dead?

Plus, Hyatt has sent out even MORE excellent offers

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 40 seconds

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Howdy. Welcome back to Daily Drop, your one-stop shop for all things points and miles.

I’ve got some fun tips for you today, so let’s dive in:

☠️ Is the 5/24 rule dead?

If you’ve been in the points and miles game for a while, you probably always have the infamous “5/24 rule” in the back of your mind.

Historically, it’s been one of the more important rules to be aware of when it comes to getting new credit cards.

5/24 meme

For those of you who haven’t heard of it (or hear it every day and just don’t know what it is), let me give you a quick refresher:

This bank has always had a sort of “unwritten” rule.

Essentially, they won’t allow you to apply for a new credit card if you’ve signed up for five or more cards in the previous 24 months.

Hence, 5/24.

Opening cards with ANY bank can contribute to this bank’s rule… As a result, people like me have always had to work around it.

Usually, this means prioritizing cards with this bank and then opening cards with other banks once you’re over 5/24.

It also means missing out on a LOT of excellent offers if they come out while you’re over 5/24…

At least, that’s how it’s worked in the past…

Now, however, it’s starting to feel like this rule is dead. And I’ll tell you why.

Last month, I saw the offer on this business card come out.

I got really excited because it has no annual fee but could yield almost 100,000 UR Points, which I could then transfer to Hyatt.

So I applied, only to receive the pending message of doom…

Pending message after card application

I checked my credit report to see all of my recently opened accounts, only to see that I was, in fact, at 5/24… oops…

I cried a bit and moved on with my life, assuming the pending message meant a rejection due to my 5/24 status.

But a few days later, to my surprise, I received this email:

Approval message for the same card

Yup. Not only was I automatically approved without calling the bank to plead my case, but I was very much over 5/24.

And after digging in, it turns out I am FAR from the only one who’s experienced this recently.

In fact, our other writer, Tiffany, had this experience… TWICE.

She was approved for both this card (which currently has an elevated offer) and this hotel credit card (also with an elevated offer) despite being at 6/24, which is really bananas.

So what the heck? Is 5/24 just completely dead? 🤔

Last year, I also heard about a ton of people getting approved for co-branded cards despite being at 5/24.

That means that we have a bunch of data points showing the following trends regarding 5/24:

That’s right - it seems that the bank in question has been approving more applications during elevated offer periods, even if people are over 5/24.

And just between Tiffany and I, we’ve proven this with cards that earn UR Points, co-branded cards, and business cards.

Don’t get me wrong - there are more examples of the exact opposite happening.

Still, it might be worth keeping in mind, especially with two insane elevated offers currently on the table (though both are ending soon).

  • Daily Drop’s top card is currently offering tens of thousands of points AND hundreds of dollars with a travel credit.

  • This business card has no annual fee and is offering even MORE UR Points. If those points are transferred to partners like Hyatt, the welcome offer is easily worth around $2,000.

So here’s the bottom line:

The strict unwritten rule that has always loomed over us may not be so strict. But is the rule dead? Well, I can’t say for sure… but what do you think?

Have you been approved for a card while over 5/24?

Tell me more about what you think of this rule

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🏨 Hyatt sends out even MORE crazy offers

Speaking of Hyatt…

It’s only been a few weeks since I told you about a round of targeted offers they sent out.

I also lamented that I hadn’t received any offers myself…

Well, they just sent out ANOTHER set of offers… and this time, I was included. And I bet many of you were, too.

Hyatt promotion banner image

I found this offer in my Hyatt account a few days ago, and just received an email about it this morning.

Here are the details of my targeted offer:

  • Earn 10,000 bonus points per 10 nights stayed

  • Maximum of 30,000 bonus points

  • Must register for the offer by December 12th

  • Valid for 90 days after registration

Targeted offer details to earn 10k points for every ten nights

Overall, this is a great offer for me because I’ll likely spend at least 30 more nights at Hyatt this year…

Since I’m also sitting at around 100 nights, I’ll also earn another 40,000 points from milestone benefits like this one:

Example of a Hyatt milestone award

But don’t worry, there are other offers floating around that appeal to people who might only spend a few nights at Hyatt, including:

  • Double points on paid stays

  • Discounts on award stays

  • Double elite night credits

  • Earn awards like FNAs, Suite Upgrades, and more

So here’s the bottom line:

Hyatt has sent out no fewer than five rounds of targeted offers… even if you’ve received one in the past, there’s a good chance you have another one now.

So go check your accounts and check your emails to see what you have, and make sure you register before booking any stays.

👂Did you hear?

Earlier this week, we just dropped the world’s best flight and hotel points search tool (in our opinion, of course 😉)… A little something called Daily Drop Pro.

But oh, it’s SO much more than that.

Yeah, you can search for points redemptions on flights and hotel stays, but you can also receive cheap cash fares, organize your credit cards and rewards programs, and get involved with our Pro Lounge.

If you’d like a brilliant walkthrough of how all these features work and how freaking easy it is to plan a trip all in one place, then check out our latest YouTube video.

Plus, until November 4th at midnight, we’re offering this to you for just $99 a year FOR LIFE.

After that, Daily Drop Pro is going to cost $149 a year after this celebratory launch period. So don’t wait to sign up 😎

That’s all for today, folks! I hope many of you are able to jump on some of those elevated offers (especially this one) before it’s too late.

For now, have a great day, and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow!

Mike Dodge
Head Writer, Daily Drop

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