Inactive credit card

[GTT]

I had my first credit card in Feb 2012, after using it for about 8 months, I stopped using it for almost one year.

I never missed any payment before.

So my question is, how does this 8-month inactive-period impact my credit score or my application to other cards?

Best Regards,

Gang

[Creditaddict]

I would use it... depending what else you got going on in your credit portfolio you could see a jump from an account showing active again or you could see a dip from an account showing active again with higher utilization.

best to always just keep them active... 1 small use every 4-6 months on each card and then just PIF.

but what is the card? limit? - store cards might be a little different as to how important.

as far as applying for new credit this card shouldn't matter if your credit is good and you have something else active.

[GTT]

That's the only card I have. The problem is I was out of the US for more than 1 year. That's why I didn't use it for a while.

Now I'm using it again carefully with low utilization. 

So you would believe that period might have cause some damage to  my credit history? ( Now in total I have about 2 years, but about half of the 2 years, there is no active credit card history ).?

[Creditaddict]

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@GTT wrote:

That's the only card I have. The problem is I was out of the US for more than 1 year. That's why I didn't use it for a while.

Now I'm using it again carefully with low utilization. 

So you would believe that period might have cause some damage to  my credit history? ( Now in total I have about 2 years, but about half of the 2 years, there is no active credit card history ).?

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have you pulled a fico report from here... sign up for the Equifax score watch and cancel if you wish... but see what your report says your score is.... as long as you have a score and it's decent I would go ahead and apply for some things...

Who do you have on your wish list to apply for?

[GTT]

I haven't checked my score yet.

I indeed want either Chase Freedom or AMEX. I don't need great cards but just need something with a higher CL. The only I have with C1 has only 500 CL.

[Creditaddict]

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@GTT wrote:

I haven't checked my score yet.

I indeed want either Chase Freedom or AMEX. I don't need great cards but just need something with a higher CL. The only I have with C1 has only 500 CL.

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okay great... go to chase.com and check pre-qual and see if you get an offer for a card now.

[GTT]

I indeed checked on Chase.com and I am 'pre-qualified' for Chase Freedom.

But I shouldn't take it seriously, right?

[Creditaddict]

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@GTT wrote:

I indeed checked on Chase.com and I am 'pre-qualified' for Chase Freedom.

But I shouldn't take it seriously, right?

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No, you should... Those offers are as good as gold in my book!

[GTT]

Oh! That's good to know!

All I was told before was never to believe the 'pre-approved' or 'pre-qualified' thing.

I also got a mail from Discovery saying I'm 'pre-qualified' for its card.

[GTT]

btw, the TransUnion score on creditkarma is not FICO score even it's from TransUnion, am I right?