Putting activity on recently inactive cards

[thirst305]

Is it the case that if you don't use a card for an extended period of time, FICO dings you?  

If so, if you charge something and PIF before statement is generated, does it register as "activity" on the card - or do I need the balance to report for a month for it to take effect?

[danielodonoll]

It does register activity

[thirst305]

okay thanks, so i can PIF and it will awaken this card that i rarely use.

Thanks

[danielodonoll]

Yes it will.

[myjourney]

You should use them ever so often to show activity even if there in the SD but i don't think your score would see a ding if you didn't.

The CB's  just like to see that you use the credit that was extended to you 

[thom02099]

---

@thirst305 wrote:

Is it the case that if you don't use a card for an extended period of time, FICO dings you?  

If so, if you charge something and PIF before statement is generated, does it register as "activity" on the card - or do I need the balance to report for a month for it to take effect?

---

FICO doesn't care.  The card issuer may.  Always good to have some activity on a card that's been sitting dormant for a while.  That's why you'll frequently see advice to break a card out of SD prison and use it occasionally.

Your FICO score reporting is simply a snapshot of what's going on with your credit at that particular moment in time.  FICO doesn't ding for that, but the issuer could take action that WOULD impact your score, such as a CLD for lack of use. 

[bettercreditguy1]

The card will show activity. One over looked point here is this: All cards will show activity with the issuer's computer and tracking. Not only do they see the individual charges, they see payments, date paid, etc. IMHO, the internal history of a credit card is far more important than if a card shows a balance or paid before statement date. These are the icing on the cake when you apply for a cli or ask for favor such as credit back on a late payment, etc.