When it comes to applying for American Express cards, the issuer’s five credit card limit is a restriction to be aware of. In this post, I’d like to discuss that in more detail, including discussing just how consistently this is actually enforced.
What is Amex’s five credit card limit?
All the major card issuers have different restrictions when it comes to approving people for new cards. One of the major restrictions for getting approved for American Express cards has been a limit on how many total Amex credit cards you can have (this doesn’t include cards you have with other issuers).
Specifically, Amex limits consumers to having at most five credit cards with the issuer at a given time. Presumably there’s a slight delay when a card is closed down, but the idea is that if you close down one card, you can then pick up another card.
It doesn’t matter if those are personal or business cards, as both count toward the limit. However, the trick is that non-credit cards, often referred to as hybrid cards, don’t count toward that limit. In the interest of being thorough, let me also mention that this is based on accounts that you’re the primary cardmember of — being an authorized user on someone else’s Amex card doesn’t count toward your limit.
Which cards don’t count toward Amex’s card limit?
Not all Amex cards count toward the five credit card limit. Generally speaking, both personal and business cards count towards the limit, with the exception of the following:
Why are these cards excluded? Historically these were known as charge cards, meaning there was no pre-set spending limit, and you couldn’t consistently finance charges. These are not credit cards. However, nowadays these are all hybrid cards, as the option to finance charges is now more consistently available. But still, for the purposes of these limits, these cards are still fully considered separately.
Is the Amex five card limit consistently enforced?
As far as I know, Amex’s five credit card limit continues to be in place… for the most part. I have seen several reports over time of people who have been approved for more cards beyond that limit. These are all people who understand how to figure out which cards count toward the limit, so it’s not a matter of confusion.
I’m not sure what exactly to make of that. Admittedly with just about all rules from card issuers, there are some quirks and inconsistencies. Personally I’d consider this to be the exception rather than the norm, and I’d assume you’re subjected to the limit, unless you have a reason to assume otherwise.
The good news is that you can typically apply for Amex cards in a pretty risk-free way, thanks to the “Apply with Confidence” feature. If you see that mentioned on a card application page, then you can be told whether or not you’re approved for a card before a hard pull is even performed.
That makes it pretty risk-free to apply for Amex cards, and see if you’re eligible (remember the “once in a lifetime” rule), even above the five card limit. I still wouldn’t waste my time on an application unless I had reason to believe I wasn’t subjected to the five card rule. But if there are more data points on that, I’d certainly appreciate them.
I’d submit an application myself, but unfortunately I was in Amex pop-up jail last time I checked, so that’s probably a waste of time. To be clear, that has nothing to do with the limit of five cards, but instead, some algorithm that at times limits the ability to qualify for welcome offers on Amex cards.
Bottom line
American Express has an unpublished policy of limiting customers to having five Amex credit cards at any given point. It doesn’t matter if these are personal or business cards, though hybrid cards don’t count toward that limit. This is always a restriction to be aware of if you’re considering applying for an Amex card.
However, it doesn’t seem like this is still enforced 100% of the time, and there are data points of people getting approved for a sixth or seventh credit card.
What has your experience been with the Amex five credit card limit? Have you managed to get approved for cards above that limit?
