My parents and I were all recently each approved for a Chase Freedom Unlimited card despite being way over 5/24. We all applied online after seeing an offer in our Chase accounts and were approved without having to call Chase reconsideration.

There have been reports of people getting approved for Chase credit cards despite being over 5/24 in a few situations: 1) Applying in-branch after being told they were preapproved, or 2) receiving invitation offers by mail.  (Doctor of Credit has a good post explaining the 5/24 rule and ways to bypass the rule.) It seems that there is now another way to bypass 5/24: being invited online.

A few weeks ago I was logged into my dad’s personal Chase account and noticed this banner on the bottom left side of the screen right under his Ultimate Rewards balance.

It looked like it was some kind of preapproval so we decided to apply even though he is way over 5/24. His application went into pending so my first thought was that 5/24 still applied, but a week later he received the Chase Freedom Unlimited card by mail.

I logged into my Chase account a few days later and saw the same banner.  I applied as well and was instantly approved!

I immediately checked the Chase accounts of a few other family members (including my mom) and no one else had that banner in their account. The interesting thing was that my dad and I are the 2 family members that have applied for the most credit cards in the last 2 years.

Yesterday while signed into my mom’s account, I saw the banner in her account (which was not there on the date I applied), she applied and was immediately approved for the Chase Freedom Unlimited as well. (My other family members still have no banner in their accounts.)

After logging back into my mom’s account a few minutes later, another banner appeared on her account and it looked like she was preapproved for 3 cards: Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Slate and Chase Sapphire Preferred.

We tried to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred but received an error message and then could no longer find the banner.  After logging in and out of her account multiple times we finally saw the banner again and ended up applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred but it went into pending.  Update: My mom was also approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred!

A few things to note about these Selected For You offers:

1) This is different than being prequalified by Chase.

Between the time my mom applied for the Freedom Unlimited and the CSP we checked on the page that shows Chase prequalified offers and she was not prequalified for any cards.

2) Update: This offer is only showing up on Chase personal accounts that have the new Chase website design. If you have linked any business cards to your account you see Chase’s older website and you will not see these offers. We have separate online profiles for business and personal cards.

3) Can apply in 1 click.  After clicking on the banners, we all saw a screen that just asked us to enter our income and our applications were submitted:

4) You might be able to receive a higher sign up bonus in-branch.

There have been reports on reddit of people receiving a 30,000 signup bonus on the Chase Freedom Unlimited and 70,000 on the Chase Sapphire Preferred after being preapproved in branch.  Some people that did not receive the higher sign up bonus when they applied were able to be matched if they applied in branch while people that applied online were not matched.  In my case, I read about the higher offer in branch after applying online and there is no way to know if I would have been preapproved in-branch.  My parents have no desire to visit a Chase branch so they are happy with their sign up bonuses.

5) You will not be able to use Chase refer a friend referral links.  My dad was able to generate a refer a friend referral link the day after he activated his Chase Freedom Unlimited card.  If my mom and I were not over 5/24 we would have rather applied using my dad’s referral link.

6) This is the language in the terms and conditions regarding the offer:

Notice About this Offer: You were selected for this offer based on an existing Chase relationship. This offer is not guaranteed, and in some instances we may not be able to open an account for you.

Before we approve you for a credit card, we will review your credit report and the information you provide with your response to confirm that you continue to meet the predetermined criteria for this offer. Based on this review, you may receive a Signature card, a Platinum card with different benefits, or you may not receive a card. If approved for a Signature account, your credit access line will be at least $5000. If approved for a Platinum account, your credit limit will be at least $500. It is possible that certain applicants directly applying for a credit card from us, now or in the future, could obtain cards on the same terms or on more favorable terms than the terms available through this offer.

Replying to this offer: If we receive your response after the expiration date, or the name and address on this offer differ from the information you provide to us, we will treat your response as an application for an account that was not prescreened. If you omit any information on the form, we may deny your request for an account. Chase cardmembers who currently have or have had a Chase credit card in any Rewards Program associated with this offer, may not be eligible for a second Chase credit card in the same Rewards Program. Chase cardmembers currently receiving promotional pricing, or Chase cardmembers with a history of only using their current or prior Chase card for promotional pricing offers, are not eligible for a second Chase credit card with promotional pricing. You must have a valid permanent home address within the 50 United States or the District of Columbia. The information about the costs of the card described in this form is accurate as of 10/3/2016. This information may have changed after that date. To find out what may have changed, write to us at Cardmember Service, P.O. Box 15043, Wilmington, DE 19850-5043.

To summarize, if you are over 5/24, log into your Chase account and check for a banner that you are preapproved for any Chase credit cards. Even if you don’t see anything, keep checking every few days. I would still recommend checking if you are preapproved in-branch first, in case you are able to receive a higher sign up bonus.

Is anyone else seeing an offer when logged into your Chase account and for what card(s)?