The Guide to Citi’s Credit Card Application Rules
Citi application rules have varying timelines and affect specific cards differently.
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Senior Editor & Content Strategist Citi has an impressive lineup of rewards credit cards with generous welcome bonuses. Whether you’re looking to stock up on transferable Citi ThankYou points or AAdvantage miles, Citi has multiple cards to choose from. The downer? Citi has also begun restricting the welcome bonuses on some of these credit cards. In some cases, if you’ve had a Citi card in the last 48 months, you will not be eligible for another welcome bonus on a similar card.
So, how many Citi cards can you have? There’s a lot that's important to know if you’re contemplating applying for a Citi card any time soon. Here's what you need to know about Citi's credit card and application rules.
» Learn more: Citi ThankYou points: How to earn and use them
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What is Citi’s 48-month rule?
Citi’s 48-month rule restricts certain credit card welcome bonuses to once every 48 months. So if you apply for one of the affected credit cards now and decide to cancel the card in two years, you will not be eligible to reapply and receive the bonus again until 48 months after your first application.
Citi credit cards affected by 48-month rule
The good news is that basically all Citi credit cards are impacted by the 48-month rule. An easy way to identify impacted cards is to look for a disclaimer on the card page stating the following: “American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a [card name] account in the past 48 months.” Here's a list of credit cards impacted by this rule:
- Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi.
- Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi.
What is the Citi 8/65 rule?
Citi's 8/65 rule states that applicants are ineligible to apply for more than one Citi credit card in eight days, and not more than two credit cards in 65 days.
» Learn more: What to know about Citi's travel portal
Citi credit card rules, recapped
If you’re ineligible for a Citi welcome bonus because of one of the above-mentioned rules, all is not lost. You can still get around these rules and figure out ways to continue earning points and miles in large quantities.
The information related to CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® and Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2025:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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