Churning is the repeated opening and closing of card accounts with the aim of collecting welcome bonuses more than once.
Churning is the repeated opening and closing of card accounts with the aim of collecting welcome bonuses more than once.
Also called: Bonus churning.
How it works#
Issuers answer the pattern with waiting periods, once-per-lifetime clauses and internal approval rules. Someone flagged for it risks not just the bonus but the account and its balance, since the terms allow points to be withdrawn for abusive use. Frequent applications also leave marks in the credit file that can affect later lending decisions.
Not to be confused with#
Churning is not the same as switching cards: switching replaces a card with a better-fitting one, while churning targets the repeated bonus alone.
In German#
The German term is Churning. German version of this term
Related terms#
- Welcome bonus: A welcome bonus is a one-off points credit for opening a new card and meeting a minimum spending requirement within a set period.
- Once-per-lifetime rule: A once-per-lifetime rule is a condition stating that a given card’s welcome bonus can be earned only a single time per person.
- Credit inquiry: A credit inquiry is a lender’s check of a credit file; a hard inquiry is recorded and visible to others, while a soft inquiry is not.
Articles that use this term#
TopicEvery article and term onCards and money.