Credit Card Rules to Live By (2024)

FAQs

What is the 15 30 rule for credit cards? ›

When you have a credit card, most people usually make one payment each month, when their statement is due. With the 15/3 credit card rule, you instead make two payments. The first payment comes 15 days before the statement's due date, and you make the second payment three days before your credit card due date.

What is the 5/24 rule? Many card issuers have criteria for who can qualify for new accounts, but Chase is perhaps the most strict. Chase's 5/24 rule means that you can't be approved for most Chase cards if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (from any card issuer) within the past 24 months.

A general rule of thumb is to keep your credit utilization ratio below 30%. And if you really want to be an overachiever, aim for 10%. According to Experian, people who keep their credit utilization under 10% for each of their cards also tend to have exceptional credit scores (a FICO^® Score^☉ of 800 or higher).

2-in-90 rule: You can only be approved for up to two American Express cards within a 90 day period.

Pay Off Your Balance

The golden rule of credit card usage is to do everything you can to pay off your entire balance each month. If you can do this, you won't be charged any interest.

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals. Let's take a closer look at each category.

The 2/3/4 rule: According to this rule, applicants are limited to two new cards in a 30-day period, three new cards in a 12-month period and four new cards in a 24-month period. The six-month or one-year rule: Some issuers may only let borrowers open a new credit card account once every six months or once a year.

$5,000 in credit card debt can be quite costly in the long run. That's especially the case if you only make minimum payments each month.

Pay your balance every month

Paying the balance in full has great benefits. If you wait to pay the balance or only make the minimum payment it accrues interest. If you let this continue it can potentially get out of hand and lead to debt. Missing a payment can not only accrue interest but hurt your credit score.

The CCCA is a pro-competition bill that finally addresses the failings of the U.S. credit card industry. The Visa and Mastercard duopoly have created a system that allows them to set swipe fee rates and lock out competitors through exclusivity contracts with large banks.

What is the Chase 2 90 rule? ›

If you manage to get approved for 2 personal cards on the same day, Chase will combine them into 1 hard inquiry on your credit report. If you do happen to get approved for 2 cards in the same day or month, you're probably better waiting at least 90 days before applying for another card with Chase.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Releases Final Rule on Credit Card Late Fees, with Overdraft Fees on Deck. On March 5, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced the final rule governing late fees for consumer credit card payments, likely cutting the average fee from $32 to just $8.

By making a credit card payment 15 days before your payment due date—and again three days before—you're able to reduce your balances and show a lower credit utilization ratio before your billing cycle ends. That information is reported to the credit bureaus.

No interest rate increases for the first year.

Your credit card company cannot increase your rate for the first 12 months after you open an account. There are some exceptions: If your card has a variable interest rate tied to an index; your rate can go up whenever the index goes up.

That said, making two payments per month actually can help your score—but for a different reason. This strategy makes your credit utilization ratio appear lower, which can boost your credit score in the long run.

Making two payments a month helps your credit score in the sense that it will keep your credit utilization down.

But despite what you may have heard, there's nothing special about the hack itself. Making multiple payments a month could help keep your balances low and avoid late payments, but there's no extra advantage if you do it 15 days or three days ahead of your statement date or due date.

FICO Scores are calculated using many different pieces of credit data in your credit report. This data is grouped into five categories: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%).