"We have one credit card that we use just for gas.Inactive Account Manager is a way for users to share parts of their account data or notify someone if they’ve been inactive for a certain period of time. Jacob recommends a similar approach to her clients, and says she and her spouse even use this tactic in their own lives. "In essence, what that's doing is keeping that activity happening." "Set up some sort of automated charge on the cards you are not using," he says. For example, Dlugozima suggests using the card to pay a monthly cable or cellphone bill. One way to keep the card modestly active is to make a single, regular charge on the card. The key is to strike a balance somewhere between using the card too little and using it too much. If you want to keep your card account active, it's best to occasionally use the card and check your statements every month for fraudulent charges. Jacob says an issuer will be in no hurry to close an unused card. "But I had another card that I didn't use, and they just kept on sending me new cards, kind of begging me to start using them." You shouldn't be concerned about leaving your credit card unused for a month or so, but a longer period warrants reaching out to your credit card issuer about its policy if you want to avoid a surprise account closure.ĭlugozima says he has owned credit cards where the issuer shut down the account after just six months or a year of inactivity. There are no hard-and-fast industry rules or standards as to when - or even if - a lender will close your account after a period of inactivity. How Long Can You Go Without Using a Credit Card? However, if the card has an annual fee, you will have to pay that fee whether you use the card or not. However, the Federal Reserve banned this practice in 2010.
In the past, issuers could charge credit card inactivity fees if you failed to use your card for a long period. That's because losing a source of credit affects your credit utilization ratio - a measure of how much credit you use in relation to your total available credit.Īnd if the card is one of your oldest credit accounts, that can lower the age of your credit history, bringing down the average age of the accounts in your report and lowering your credit score.Īnother consequence of having an account closed is that you may lose any accumulated rewards such as airline miles associated with the account.ĭo You Get Charged for not Using a Credit Card? However, if a lender notices your inactivity and decides to close the account, it can cause your score to slip. If you haven't used a card for a long period, it generally will not hurt your credit score. The other risk of leaving a card inactive is the issuer might decide to close the account.
"If you're not paying attention, that could go on for months," Jacob says. The longer you overlook the card, the more damaging fraudulent activity can become, says Linda Jacob, accredited financial counselor with Consumer Credit of Des Moines in Iowa and author of "No More Paycheck to Paycheck: Stop Living in Debt and Start Living the Dream."
"You're not going to be nearly as likely to stay on top of what's happening," says Chris Dlugozima, learning experience designer at GreenPath Financial Wellness. With a card out of sight and mind, you could miss seeing a fraudulent charge until long after it occurs. Failing to monitor your account might leave you in the dark about fraudulent activity. The most dangerous risk of not using a card is that you might stop looking at your statements, too.