How often to charge to keep CC open?

[Walt_K]

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@jsucool76 wrote:
The general consensus is usually one use every 6-12 months, 6 to be on the safe side. It varies by lender but I've never seen anything less than a year really.

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I'm pretty sure there are reports of less than a year, but they were likely during the credit meltdown.  I feel like I used to see posts recommending 3 months if you wanted to be sure you wouldn't see a problem.  I would agree that in the current market, 6 months is probably fine.

[Wolf3]

I think there is a lot more leeway in a store card (which op has) rather than a bank card or cobranded card.   I would say 3 to 6 months for a VISA/MC/DISCOVER.

[MovingForward_2012]

Thanks all. It is a store card, so I think I can only use it for things in that store so I don't think I can setup recurring charges on this one...unfortunately. Correct?

[Wolf3]

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@MovingForward_2012 wrote:
Thanks all. It is a store card, so I think I can only use it for things in that store so I don't think I can setup recurring charges on this one...unfortunately. Correct?

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Correct!

[BlueHusky]

I have many store cards I haven't used in 3-4 years and all are still open. 

My BoA Visa, Barclay Card, and Citi Forward card - I haven't used in about 2 years or so. They are still open. I hope they warn me before they close them.

[Walt_K]

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@BlueHusky wrote:

I have many store cards I haven't used in 3-4 years and all are still open. 

My BoA Visa, Barclay Card, and Citi Forward card - I haven't used in about 2 years or so. They are still open. I hope they warn me before they close them.

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You will not necessarily be warned.  They can just shut them down due to inactivity.

[MovingForward_2012]

Thanks Wolf! :-)

[LS2982]

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@BlueHusky wrote:

I have many store cards I haven't used in 3-4 years and all are still open. 

My BoA Visa, Barclay Card, and Citi Forward card - I haven't used in about 2 years or so. They are still open. I hope they warn me before they close them.

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I'd probably set some recurring charges on those bankcards.

[bs6054]

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@LS2982 wrote:

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@BlueHusky wrote:

I have many store cards I haven't used in 3-4 years and all are still open. 

My BoA Visa, Barclay Card, and Citi Forward card - I haven't used in about 2 years or so. They are still open. I hope they warn me before they close them.

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I'd probably set some recurring charges on those bankcards.

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This is where some cost-benefit analysis would come in handy!  I assume in general that people s/d cards that are less valuable than their "wallet" cards, i.e. there are bigger rewards on the wallet cards.

So, there is a real cost to putting recurring charges on the "bad" cards rather than the good ones.   It might be small of course, but then people need to compare it to the benefits of keeping these cards open.  I suspect that once you have enough credit to entertain the concept of s/d, the utilization benefit of keeping the old cards open is probably pretty small as well.  (And the AAoA isn't impacted for many years).

[Wolf3]

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@bs6054 wrote:

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@LS2982 wrote:

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@BlueHusky wrote:

I have many store cards I haven't used in 3-4 years and all are still open. 

My BoA Visa, Barclay Card, and Citi Forward card - I haven't used in about 2 years or so. They are still open. I hope they warn me before they close them.

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I'd probably set some recurring charges on those bankcards.

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This is where some cost-benefit analysis would come in handy!  I assume in general that people s/d cards that are less valuable than their "wallet" cards, i.e. there are bigger rewards on the wallet cards.

So, there is a real cost to putting recurring charges on the "bad" cards rather than the good ones.   It might be small of course, but then people need to compare it to the benefits of keeping these cards open.  I suspect that once you have enough credit to entertain the concept of s/d, the utilization benefit of keeping the old cards open is probably pretty small as well.  (And the AAoA isn't impacted for many years).

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Once you have excellent credit, there is no benefit to keeping accounts open that you don't use either.  There is more risk to keep it and sock drawer it than to close it.   It could be stolen, or hacked.  Something could screw up on recurring charges and auto payments and you not notice and you end up with a late charge.   . Once you have execellent credit, a few good cards that you use and take care of is all you need.