How much inactivity do banks tolerate, for credit cards?!

[Anonymous]

I have to mention that this forum has been quite helpful with my scores and such. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

I have like 19 credit cards. Although I try to rotate my spending, still, a few cards remain dusty for at least a couple of months, in the drawer.

What are your experiences of inactivity issues with banks?

After how many months or years do they attempt to close your account?

Do they notify you before, give you a warning, or just shut it down, or what?

[Dalmus]

If they close for inactivity, you're warning will be the letter in the mail (or email) saying that you account has been closed.  No banks will warn you ahead of time.

That being said...  If the card doesn't have an annual fee, I think you're perfectly safe with spending something on it once every 6 months.  If it has an annual fee, you can probably get away with a lot longer, since you aren't costing them anything, and in fact are pure profit for them.

[Skye12329]

Depends on the lender, generally i would say a year of non use might lead to closing or lowering limit.

[Thomas_Thumb]

Last month a MyFico member reported having a Wells Fargo credit card closed after 8 months of non use due to inactivity. No notice, just closure. Once closed, issuers typically will not re-open and you have to start over. This card had no AF.

Strongly recommend using cards you want to keep at least once every 3 to 5 months regardless of AF. Even if you have an AF, there is risk of a credit line reduction due to non use.