Churning Glossary: 48 Terms Defined

0-9

1/5 (Amex velocity): Amex will usually approve no more than one credit card every five days. Apply for a second Amex card inside that window and expect a denial. Charge cards like the Platinum and Gold are generally treated more loosely.
1/8 and 2/65 (Citi velocity): Citi's commonly reported spacing rules: no more than one Citi card every eight days, and no more than two in any 65 day window. These are community datapoints, not published terms.
2/3/4 (Bank of America): BoA's unwritten approval rules: roughly two new BoA cards in a 2-month window, three in 12 months, four in 24. Going past these dramatically reduces approval odds.
2/90 (Amex): Common shorthand for the cap of two Amex applications within 90 days. Related to 1/5 but covers the 90 day window.
5/24 (Chase rule): Chase's rule that they will deny most personal credit card applications if you have opened five or more personal credit cards from any issuer in the past 24 months. Business cards do not count toward your 5/24 number. See the 5/24 Tracker for the full breakdown.
6/6 and 1/6 (other issuer patterns): Two loose patterns you will see quoted. 6/6 refers to Citi's sensitivity to six or more inquiries in six months. 1/6 refers to Capital One usually approving about one new card every six months. Treat both as guidelines, not hard rules.

A

AF (Annual Fee): The yearly fee charged to keep a card open. Fees range from $0 to as much as $895 on premium cards. Is the annual fee worth it? walks through the math. Decisions about whether to downgrade or close usually happen when the AF is about to post.
AOR (App-O-Rama): Applying for several credit cards on the same day so the hard inquiries cluster on your report rather than spreading out. Used to help with multi-issuer applications, less common today since most issuers update their internal data quickly.
AU (Authorized User): Someone added to a primary cardholder's account. AUs get a card with their name on the same account. Some issuers report AU cards on the AU's credit report, which can help or hurt depending on the situation.

B

BT (Balance Transfer): Moving a balance from one card to another, usually to take advantage of a 0% intro APR. Note that balance transfers almost never count toward a sign-up bonus spending requirement.
Bust-out (slang): Closing many cards in quick succession. Generally a bad idea because it can flag your account behavior across issuers. Spreading closures over months is almost always smarter.

C

CFF (Chase Freedom Flex): Chase's no-annual-fee card with rotating 5x quarterly categories and 3x dining/drugstores. One leg of the Chase Trifecta.
CFU (Chase Freedom Unlimited): Chase's flat 1.5x cash back card. Pairs with the Sapphire to convert that cash back into transferable Ultimate Rewards points.
ChexSystems (bank reporting agency): A consumer reporting agency that tracks your history with checking and savings accounts, including new account inquiries. Most banks check it when you apply for a bonus account, and too many recent inquiries can lead to denials. See ChexSystems explained.
CIC / CIU / CIP (Chase Ink): Chase Ink Cash, Ink Unlimited, and Ink Preferred. The three main Chase business cards, all earning Ultimate Rewards points and exempt from 5/24 (since they are business cards). See business cards and churning.
CL (Credit Limit): The maximum balance a card allows. Combined credit limit across all your cards is what determines your overall utilization ratio.
Clawback (issuer action): When an issuer takes back a sign-up bonus or rewards they previously awarded. Usually triggered by closing the card too soon or by activity that violates the terms (returning a large purchase that pushed you over MSR, for example).
CSP / CSR (Chase Sapphire): Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95 AF) and Chase Sapphire Reserve ($795 AF). The flagship Chase travel cards. Since January 2026, each Sapphire bonus can be earned once per lifetime, and holding one Sapphire no longer blocks the other's bonus.

D

DD (Direct Deposit): An electronic deposit to a bank account, usually used to trigger a bank account bonus. Definitions of "direct deposit" vary widely by bank. See what counts as a direct deposit for what usually works.
DoC (Doctor of Credit): Doctorofcredit.com, the largest community resource for tracking current bank and credit card bonuses. The first place most churners check for new offers.
DP (Datapoint): A user-reported experience. "Got approved for the CSP at 4/24" is a datapoint. The plural is the foundation of churning community wisdom.

E

EIN (Employer Identification Number): Tax ID for a business. Not required for most business card applications since you can use your SSN as a sole proprietor, but some churners get one to keep business and personal separated.

F

Family language (Amex): An Amex rule on the Green, Gold, and Platinum cards and the Delta and Hilton card lines. Having a higher tier card in a family can make you ineligible for the bonus on a lower tier card, so apply from the lowest tier up. See Amex lifetime language.
FR (Financial Review): Amex specific. Amex sometimes asks an account holder to verify their income and finances by submitting tax returns. Failing or refusing usually results in account closure. Triggered by spending patterns Amex finds unusual.

H

HP (Hard Pull / Hard Inquiry): A credit check that affects your credit score, triggered by a credit card application. Each HP drops your score by a few points temporarily. Most fall off your report after two years.

I

IUR (Inquiry Update Rate): Less common. Refers to how quickly an issuer updates their internal records of your hard inquiries. Slow IURs occasionally let you stack approvals before the issuer "sees" earlier applications.

L

Lifetime language (Amex, Chase, Citi): The clause in most Amex sign-up bonus terms that says you cannot earn the bonus if you have ever held that card before. Chase Sapphire cards (January 2026) and Citi Strata cards (September 2026) now use similar once-per-lifetime terms. See how lifetime language works for the full picture.

M

MR (Membership Rewards): Amex's transferable points currency. Earned on most Amex cards and transferable to airline and hotel partners.
MS (Manufactured Spending): Spending on something you can liquidate back to cash, generating rewards along the way. Common forms include certain gift card purchases or money order arbitrage. High effort, often against issuer terms, and not the focus of this site.
MSR (Minimum Spending Requirement): The amount you have to spend in a set window to earn a sign-up bonus. Common values are $3,000 to $6,000 in three months. See how to meet minimum spend.

N

NLL (No Lifetime Language): An Amex offer that does not include the standard once-per-lifetime restriction. Usually appears in targeted offers and lets you earn an Amex bonus you have already earned before. Always check the offer terms before applying.

P

P1, P2, P3, P4 (Players): Player 1, Player 2, etc. Standard shorthand for household members in a multi-player churning setup. Each player has their own 5/24 count, Amex history, and credit profile. Churning as a couple walks through the basics.
PC (Product Change): Switching from one card to another within the same issuer family without applying for a new account. Used to drop annual fees while keeping account history. Same as a downgrade.
Points Boost (Chase): Chase's targeted redemption offers that raise the value of Ultimate Rewards points on select premium flights and hotels in Chase Travel, up to 1.5 cents per point on the Sapphire Preferred and 2 cents on the Reserve. It replaced the old fixed portal bonus for points earned after October 2025. See how to use credit card points.
Pop-up jail (Amex): When every Amex application shows the pop-up message saying you are not eligible for the welcome offer, even on cards you have never had. It usually comes from Amex's view of your past behavior, such as closing cards soon after earning bonuses. It often clears with time and normal card use. Chase now shows a similar warning on some cards.
PYB (Pay Yourself Back): A Chase feature that lets you redeem Ultimate Rewards points against eligible purchases on your statement, sometimes at elevated value. Chase has scaled it back as Points Boost rolled out, so check your account for what is still offered.

R

Recon (Reconsideration): Calling the issuer's reconsideration line after a denial to make a case for approval. Sometimes successful, especially with Chase, where the recon line can override automated denials. See the reconsideration call guide.
Retention offer (issuer): An incentive an issuer offers to keep you from canceling. Often a statement credit, bonus points, or a fee waiver. Always ask before downgrading or closing. See how to get a retention offer.

S

Shutdown (issuer action): An issuer closing all your accounts with them, usually for behavior they consider abusive. Most painful with banks where the shutdown can include the seizure of pending bonus payments.
Sock drawer (slang): A no-fee card you keep open but barely use. Sits in your sock drawer collecting account age. Charge it once a quarter for a small recurring item to prevent inactivity closure.
SP (Soft Pull / Soft Inquiry): A credit check that does not affect your credit score. Includes credit limit increases on existing cards, prequalification offers, and your own credit checks.
SUB (Sign-Up Bonus): The bonus you earn for opening a new card and meeting its spending requirement. Also called welcome bonus or welcome offer. The whole point of the exercise.

T

Targeted offer (personalized): A card offer above the public bonus, sent to specific people via email, mail, CardMatch, or in-app prompts. Often the highest available bonuses appear here, especially for Amex cards.
TY (ThankYou Points): Citi's transferable points currency. Its partner list includes American Airlines AAdvantage, which few other banks offer.

U

UR (Ultimate Rewards): Chase's transferable points currency. Earned across the Chase Sapphire, Freedom, and Ink families. Generally considered the most valuable transferable currency for travel redemptions.

V

Velocity (application pace): How quickly you apply for new cards. Issuers track velocity in different ways. Going too fast triggers denials, financial reviews, or shutdowns even when no specific rule is violated.
VGC (Visa Gift Card): Prepaid Visa gift cards. Used in some manufactured-spending workflows and as gifts. The $200 and $500 denominations are most common.

Y

YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary): The most-used acronym in churning, attached to almost every datapoint. Acknowledges that issuer behavior, approval odds, and bonus eligibility vary by person. Treat any single datapoint as one signal, not a rule.

Credit Card Churning Glossary

Track Bonuses in One Place