How to Opt Out of Credit Cards Without Getting Punished
If you fold credit cards correctly, you can maximize your credit card reward, but make one mistake and those rewards can be refunded.
Here’s a really quick overview, in case you’re unfamiliar with any of these terms: Credit card swapping is the practice of opening multiple credit cards to churn signup bonuses. A refund is when a credit card company decides that you have violated one of its sometimes unclear rules and are no longer eligible for a reward.
Mel magazine recently posted a longread on how serious credit card churns are dealing with this , including repulsive ones that go so far as to create fake businesses to earn those cute cute miles:
Here’s how Eric, who is currently working on his “hardest minimum” (50 on Chase’s business card), manages his artificial spending: Opening business cards could mean a fake business or a little embellishment of what the business is doing. There is nothing wrong with that, but you have to be careful and be able to speak fluently from time to time. “
I know this is Wicked Week, but I disagree with Eric’s assertion that “it’s okay to” tell your credit card that you are running a business that doesn’t really exist. This is too evil for my blood (and I am a Scorpio, so that says something).
Fortunately, I can warn you that if you are indeed creating a fake business with the intention of opening a business credit card and the credit card companies become aware of this, refunds will be the least of your concerns. As Mel Magazine explains: “If the credit card company refuses to issue you a card or marks your expenses as fraudulent, you may be denied new cards for several months.”
So how do you give up on a credit card by being mean enough? Business Insider just unveiled the story of a couple who changed 40 credit cards in the last six years , and here are two pieces of advice (I won’t be mean enough to list them all):
Know which credit cards don’t fall under the Chase 5/24 rule. Chase is known to refuse to issue credit cards to people who have purchased more than five new cards in the past 24 months. However, Chase does not count some cards under the 5/24 rule, primarily business credit cards, because they often do not appear on your personal credit report. (Don’t mimic business just to stay below May 24, though. We’ve covered that already.)
There is no official list of which cards do not apply, but The Points Guy keeps a close eye on such things , so I suggest using this site as a reference.
If you are married or a partner, only one of you should be doing 5/24. If one partner adheres to the 5/24 rule to maximize their Chase bonuses, which are often some of the biggest sign-up bonuses in the credit card market, and the other partner applies for as many non-Chase cards as possible, this is a win-win. (Just make sure you don’t add your partner as an authorized user to your credit cards, because that might count against 5/24.)
However, other card issuers are developing similar regulations to combat credit card churn, so make sure this strategy doesn’t inadvertently block you from the products of another major credit card company. Check out Reddit r / churning for the latest news on this sort of thing.
If you got into shuffling, what evil tricks did you use to ensure you receive your rewards without returning them later? Have you ever had to return your reward at a credit card company, and if so, where did your dumping strategy go wrong?