The short answer: every issuer has a rule that can block a welcome bonus, but they are not the same rule, and several of the numbers the hobby repeats do not appear on the issuer’s own page. We read the application pages for Chase, American Express, Citi, Capital One and Bank of America on November 1, 2026 and wrote down what each one actually prints. Where a page says nothing, this guide says nothing too, and tells you what you would be relying on instead.
One distinction saves a lot of confusion. Approval rules decide whether you get the card at all (Chase’s 5/24 is the famous one, and our 5/24 explainer covers it). Bonus eligibility rules decide whether an approved card pays the welcome offer. This page is only about the second kind. You can be approved and still get nothing.
The rules at a glance (verified November 1, 2026)
| Issuer / card | What the issuer’s own page says about prior bonuses | Spend window printed on the page |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve | Unavailable if you currently have the card open. The bonus “may not be available” if you previously held the card or received a bonus on it. No month count is printed. | First 3 months from account opening ($5,000 on Preferred, $6,000 on Reserve) |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited | Not available to current cardmembers, or to previous cardmembers who received a bonus on the card within the last 24 months. | First 3 months from account opening ($500) |
| Chase Ink Business Preferred | Bonus “may not be available” if you have ever had the card. | First 3 months ($8,000) |
| Citi Strata Premier | Not available if you currently have or previously had a Strata Premier or Citi Premier account. No month count. | Amount and window did not load in the page text we could read |
| Citi Double Cash | Not available if you received a Double Cash bonus in the past 48 months, or converted another Citi card that earned a bonus in the last 48 months into a Double Cash. | Not readable in the page text |
| Capital One VentureOne | Not eligible if you received a bonus on VentureOne, Venture or Venture X in the past 48 months. | First 3 months from account opening ($500) |
| Capital One Venture | Prints a 3-month window. The eligibility footnote was not in the page text we could read. | First 3 months ($4,000) |
| American Express (Blue Cash Preferred, as the example) | “Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.” The detailed prior-holder language sits in the offer terms shown at application. | First 6 months of Card Membership ($3,000) |
| Bank of America (Premium Rewards, Customized Cash, Atmos Rewards Ascent) | No prior-bonus lookback printed on the product pages. The linked terms pages returned errors when we checked. | First 90 days of account opening |
Offers change constantly, so treat the dollar amounts as a snapshot. The structure of the wording is what lasts.
Chase: three different rules under one logo
Chase does not use one rule. It uses at least three, and which one applies depends on the card.
Sapphire (Preferred and Reserve). The page says the card is unavailable if you currently have it open, and that the bonus “may not be available” if you previously held the card or received a new cardmember bonus on it. Chase adds that it may consider how many cards you have opened and closed. There is no “48” anywhere in that wording. The 48-month figure still repeated across the hobby is the older rule. InsideFlyer summarized an August report that Chase swapped the explicit waiting period for broader language that may bar a bonus for life, and that the new wording reaches any personal Sapphire card. The page text we read names “this card,” so we cannot confirm the any-Sapphire part ourselves. Either way, the safe assumption is that a closed Sapphire is not a reset button, and the word “may” leaves the decision with Chase.
Freedom Unlimited and Southwest personal cards. These print a real number: no bonus if you received one on the card in the last 24 months. The Southwest wording is broader, because it refers to current cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card, with a carve-out for business and employee cards.
Ink Business Preferred. The page says the bonus may not be available if you have ever had the card. That is lifetime language on a Chase card, which is not what most people expect from the issuer.
Two fulfillment details are printed and easy to miss. Chase says to allow 6 to 8 weeks for the bonus to post, and the account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. If you cancel or downgrade the card while the bonus is pending, you are betting that the bonus is already on its way. Do not make that bet. Our guide on when to downgrade, product change or cancel explains the safe order of operations.
American Express: the rule lives in the offer terms
Amex’s marketing pages are deliberately vague. The page text we could read says only that welcome offers vary and that you may not be eligible. The specific prior-holder language is in the offer terms shown during the application, which require an in-flow view to read.
Here is what two independent sources report about that language. One Mile at a Time (May 2026) quotes the terms as “Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card.” AwardWallet (October 2025) reports that the wording on some cards softened to say applicants “may not be” eligible, which leaves more to Amex’s discretion. The two articles do not agree on which version is current, and we could not check it against Amex’s own terms. Plan around the stricter reading.
- It is generally one bonus per card, for life. Both sources describe it as a per-card rule, and some card families (AwardWallet lists Delta co-brands, Platinum, Green and Gold, among others) add family restrictions on top.
- Amex usually tells you before you apply. Both sources say a pop-up in the application flow warns you when you are not eligible. AwardWallet adds that you can back out before submitting.
- The “resets after seven years” idea is unconfirmed. One Mile at a Time calls it “purely what’s believed by many, rather than anything Amex has officially confirmed.” Do not build a plan on it.
- Spend windows vary by card. The Blue Cash Preferred offer on Amex’s site counts purchases in the first 6 months of Card Membership, while a Delta Platinum offer shown on the same pages uses 3 months. Read the window for the specific card you are applying for.
Citi: lifetime on some cards, 48 months on others
The Strata Premier page is blunt: the bonus is not available if you currently have or previously had a Strata Premier or Citi Premier account. No clock, no month count. Because the older Citi Premier counts too, rebrands do not reset anything. Citi also says you may be ineligible “based on a number of factors, such as your history of opening, closing and using credit cards,” which is a discretion clause, not a rule.
The Double Cash page uses a 48-month lookback and adds a trap worth knowing: converting another Citi card that earned a bonus in the last 48 months into a Double Cash also blocks the Double Cash bonus. Product-changing into a card does not manufacture a fresh bonus.
We found no Citi page that states the “8 cards in 65 days” style limits some sites quote, so we are leaving them out here.
Capital One: the Venture family is one pool
Capital One’s rule is the cleanest to read, because the VentureOne footnote prints it in full: you are not eligible if you received a new cardmember bonus for VentureOne, Venture or Venture X in the past 48 months. AwardWallet’s side-by-side of the three cards’ terms shows the pool is lopsided on purpose:
| Card you are applying for | Blocked if you earned a bonus on |
|---|---|
| VentureOne | VentureOne, Venture or Venture X (past 48 months) |
| Venture | Venture or Venture X (past 48 months) |
| Venture X | Venture X (past 48 months) |
The practical consequence is sequencing. Starting with VentureOne does not block a later Venture or Venture X bonus, but starting at the top can block everything below it. If you plan to hold more than one, go bottom to top.
Bank of America: the page prints a clock, not a rule
This is the thinnest of the five. The Premium Rewards page asks for $4,000 in purchases “in the first 90 days of account opening,” the Customized Cash page asks for $1,000 in the same window, and the Atmos Rewards Ascent page (reached through BofA’s Alaska Airlines card URL) asks for $2,500 within 90 days. None of the three product pages we read states a prior-bonus lookback, a posting time, or an application limit, and the terms pages they link to returned “not found” errors. That is a gap in what the issuer publishes, not proof that no rule exists. If you are chasing a BofA bonus after holding the same card before, read the terms shown at application and assume nothing.
When spend counts: the part nobody prints
Every issuer above prints a window. None of the pages we read says whether the clock stops on the transaction date or the posting date. Treat posting as the one that counts. A purchase made on day 88 of a 90-day window that posts on day 92 is a purchase you are hoping gets counted.
- Finish a week early. Our rule of thumb is to hit the spend target at least seven days before the window closes.
- Know what does not count. Chase’s page excludes balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like transactions (including crypto, wire transfers and money orders), lottery tickets, casino chips and betting, person-to-person transfers, interest and fees of any kind, including the annual fee. Purchases by authorized users do count.
- Different clocks start at different moments. Chase, Capital One and BofA count from account opening. Amex counts from the start of Card Membership.
- Budget for the lag after you qualify. Chase prints 6 to 8 weeks. We found no printed posting time for the others. Keep the card open until the bonus shows in your account.
Who this guide is not for
If you are applying for your first card from an issuer, none of this applies to you yet, and the only number that matters is the spend target. This page matters once you have held a card from the same issuer before, or you plan to move between cards in the same family.
Bottom Line
Read the card’s own terms before you apply, not a summary of them, because the printed wording is looser than the folklore in some places (Sapphire no longer prints a “48”) and stricter in others (Ink Preferred says “ever”). Order your applications so the lowest card in a family goes first, keep every account open until the bonus posts, and finish the spend a week early.
FAQ
Q: Does closing a card reset the welcome bonus clock?
A: Not on any of the pages we read. Chase, Citi and Capital One all count prior holding or prior bonuses regardless of whether the account is still open, and Chase says it may consider cards you have opened and closed.
Q: Can I get a bonus by product changing into a card?
A: Generally no. Citi’s Double Cash page explicitly blocks the bonus for converted cards, and the reporting we read says an Amex card you product change into counts as one you have had.
Q: Does being an authorized user make me ineligible?
A: None of the pages we read says so. Authorized-user purchases count toward Chase’s spend requirement, and the pages we read do not list authorized-user status as a disqualifier.
Q: What if the offer page says I am eligible but I never get the bonus?
A: Bank of America’s pages carry the line “All terms may be subject to change,” and Chase prints that the account must be open and not in default at fulfillment. Keep your application confirmation and the offer terms you saw, and ask the issuer to review it if the bonus does not post within the stated window.
Issuer pages read for this guide: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Ink Business Preferred, Citi Strata Premier, Citi Double Cash, Capital One VentureOne, Bank of America Premium Rewards, and Amex Blue Cash Preferred.
Wording verified from each issuer’s public product pages on November 1, 2026. Offers and terms change without notice; confirm on the issuer’s site before you apply.