Credit Cards

[SportBike4Life]

I recently came across an article on bankrate.com which stated:

"Use credit cards you don't want to lose 

Though the Credit CARD Act banned issuers from charging inactivity fees, nothing prevents an issuer from shutting down an unprofitable account or reducing the credit limit. As our 2010 study of credit card fees shows, a number of card issuers close accounts if they go unused for too long.

While there are no guaranteed ways of preventing an unwanted shutdown, it's smart to regularly use credit cards you want to keep. Pay in full to stay out of debt.

Source: 10 credit card tips for 2011 http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/10-credit-card-tips-for-2011-1.aspx#ixzz23lLpgmwp"

My questions are:

1. How much do you need to spend on a credit card to maintain your given limit? Let's say you have a 35k limit. Can you only use $50 per month to maintain the CL?
2. How often do peoples' credit limits get reduced/shutdown, and by how much?
3. Do lenders usually give you a notice before they decrease your CL or close your entire account? Do they usually offer corrective actions you can take to prevent the CL decrease/shutdown?

[Uborrow-Upay]

Looking at your scores, I wouldn't worry about any of that too much.

Buy a pack of gum or something once in a while on a card you haven't used.  That will usually keep them (the ccc) from closing your account.

The only reason to keep an account open (if you are not using it) is for scoring.  If you need a higher score for the important things (like a mortgage), then by all means, stroke that ccc a bit by using their card.

If you don't need 'em, don't worry about them at all.

All they do is lend money.  Nothing more, nothing less. 

Answers to your questions are 1) Yes, or less.  2) Often, mostly for non-payment or highly increased utilization across all accounts or the one account.  3) No.

Hope this helps.

[CreditScholar]

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SportBike4Life wrote:

I recently came across an article on bankrate.com which stated:

"Use credit cards you don't want to lose 

Though the Credit CARD Act banned issuers from charging inactivity fees, nothing prevents an issuer from shutting down an unprofitable account or reducing the credit limit. As our 2010 study of credit card fees shows, a number of card issuers close accounts if they go unused for too long.

While there are no guaranteed ways of preventing an unwanted shutdown, it's smart to regularly use credit cards you want to keep. Pay in full to stay out of debt.

Source: 10 credit card tips for 2011 http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/10-credit-card-tips-for-2011-1.aspx#ixzz23lLpgmwp"

My questions are:

1. How much do you need to spend on a credit card to maintain your given limit? Let's say you have a 35k limit. Can you only use $50 per month to maintain the CL?
2. How often do peoples' credit limits get reduced/shutdown, and by how much?
3. Do lenders usually give you a notice before they decrease your CL or close your entire account? Do they usually offer corrective actions you can take to prevent the CL decrease/shutdown?

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I rarely use my BofA cards and they haven't AAed or CLDed me yet. I just put 1-2 automatic billing payments through for $15-20 per month and it seems to work for them. Other people have reported that they've been CLDed for similar spending patterns, but it hasn't happened to me yet.

[SportBike4Life]

I know CLD means 'credit limit decrease' but what is AA'ed?

[CreditScholar]

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SportBike4Life wrote:

I know CLD means 'credit limit decrease' but what is AA'ed?

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AA = Adverse Action. Basically it's something negative the bank does to you, usually because you triggered something in their system and now seem risker. It could include:

* CLD

* Increasing your APR

* Putting a hard limit on a charge card

* Closing your account outright