will banks close my credit cards

[Anonymous]

i have no cc debt and really havent been using them..i am trying to build a new home.my scores are 720 equifax and 726 transunion...i have a car loan and a  total of 9 cc in which two of them are store cards..the only card i use is my sams discover since i earn 2% cash back..i pay my bill on my sams card on the same day i make the charge.my question is since i havent used any other cards in the last four months i am wondering if my banks willl close my accounts.i have no baddies and no lates and as i mentioned no cc debt. 

[Shane1]

Use them or lose them. Some will be quicker than others, but if you are not using your cards, they will take that as a sign you don't need them. At 4 months, I'm surprised no lenders have yet made the decision to pull the plug.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the input...how much of the limit should i charge on them or should i just charge 5 dollars or so on each one of them next time i go to a gas station.

[DI]

I think Sears gives you something like a warning if your accout is about to be closed  You'll have trouble logging in online.  I went almost a year without using my card.  Before I went to a Sears store to use it, I tried logging into my account to check the available balance and see if it was still open.   I was unable to log into the account.  I called the automatic number and it said how much credit was available.  The same day I  made a purchase, I was able to log into my account again.  So, I'm thinking Sears was about to close my account for lack of usage.  I only use the card to purchase tires. 

Now that I'm about to go back to college full-time, I fear all 11 of my cards, except for Capital One, may get close for non-usage.  I have zero balances on all of them.  I don't want any credit card debt or bills while in college. 

[Anonymous]

i dont have sears but i have the following

1.lowes

2.home depot

3.first niagara bank

4.citizens bank

5.citibank

6.hsbc

7.another hsbc

8.capital one

9.m &t bank

[Anonymous]

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@DI wrote:

Now that I'm about to go back to college full-time, I fear all 11 of my cards, except for Capital One, may get close for non-usage.  I have zero balances on all of them.  I don't want any credit card debt or bills while in college. 

---

I use my credit cards for buying things that I would buy anyway. As far as bills go, I do everything online. I also use an account aggregator to keep an overview of my finances. That way, handling credit cards is easy and not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

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@DI wrote:

I think Sears gives you something like a warning if your accout is about to be closed  You'll have trouble logging in online.  I went almost a year without using my card.  Before I went to a Sears store to use it, I tried logging into my account to check the available balance and see if it was still open.   I was unable to log into the account.  I called the automatic number and it said how much credit was available.  The same day I  made a purchase, I was able to log into my account again.  So, I'm thinking Sears was about to close my account for lack of usage.  I only use the card to purchase tires. 

Now that I'm about to go back to college full-time, I fear all 11 of my cards, except for Capital One, may get close for non-usage.  I have zero balances on all of them.  I don't want any credit card debt or bills while in college. 

---

Watcha going back to school for?? I've thought about a career change but i'm not entertaining that option anytime soon though.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

i dont have sears but i have the following

1.lowes

2.home depot

3.first niagara bank

4.citizens bank

5.citibank

6.hsbc

7.another hsbc

8.capital one

9.m &t bank

---

Some banks are more patient that others, but HSBC/ Orchard bank cards (as opposed to store-only cards) have been known to be closed after 2 months' of non-usage. You might want to check to see if you even still have a CL on those two.

Store cards in general will let you go longer without usage than a bank (Visa, MC, Discover, AmEx logo) card. But I try to use a store card at least once every 6 months. If the Lowe's and Home Depot are pure store cards, without a Visa, MC etc logo, go buy light bulbs and charcoal every now and then.

Local banks and credit unions are also often better about non-usage. Nonetheless, I'd try to use each of those at least once every 3-4 months.

Pick one of the bank cards and use it for something like your cell phone bill. If you have any other recurring bills (cable, etc.) that let you pay with a CC, do the same.

Then take the remaining bank cards (and I do worry about the 2 HSBC cards), and take turns with them being credit card of the month, kind of like letting kids take turns riding shortgun in the front seat of the family car. Just keep one or two cards in your wallet at a time and use for gas or groceries, whatever you're normally buying anyway. At the end of each one's biling period, take it out and put in another one.

Pay them off in full every month, and you won't pay any interest. If you pay each one off before the statement drops (or before the last business day of each month with HSBC/ Orchard), the balance will post as $0, so your util won't rise, either.

It's a bit of a pain having lots of cards, as many of us have found. I have maybe 4 old reliables that I use for everything, due to their rewards structures, and every now and again I air out the others. With the drastic changes in rewards cards these days, I'm letting them tell me via their actions which ones are the keepers over the long run, and which are duds that are OK to let go.

eta: I should have mentioned that once these cards start showing signs of life again, you might temporarily lose 5 points or so on your FICO scores, for usage of a dormant account. (I don't think that's the actual term, but that basically describes it.) And I've gotten this ding even when I paid in full before the statement drops, resulting in it reporting a $0 balance. Just grin and bear it. The point ding goes away after that first month, unless you let the card slump back into their comas.

[stan_the_man]

HSBC is problematic. They are my oldest trade line, and I actually let the card site for nearly 7 years without using it. Several CLD later and I lost +95% of my credit limit -- I'm actually surprised they didn't close it.

To make matters worse, they don't accept CLI requests nor will the reinstate CLs.

I'm actually thinking about closing the account, but I'm holding out for the possibility that they might give me a respectable CL by years end -- otherwise I'm sock drawing the card until they close it starting 1/1/11.

[Anonymous]

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@DI wrote:

I think Sears gives you something like a warning if your accout is about to be closed  You'll have trouble logging in online.  I went almost a year without using my card.  Before I went to a Sears store to use it, I tried logging into my account to check the available balance and see if it was still open.   I was unable to log into the account.  I called the automatic number and it said how much credit was available.  The same day I  made a purchase, I was able to log into my account again.  So, I'm thinking Sears was about to close my account for lack of usage.  I only use the card to purchase tires. 

Now that I'm about to go back to college full-time, I fear all 11 of my cards, except for Capital One, may get close for non-usage.  I have zero balances on all of them.  I don't want any credit card debt or bills while in college. 

---

I hear you.

I'm also an adult who is attending college this fall and I'm also concerned about my cards being closed for non-use.   I know you don't want any debt so if you use them will you be able to pay in full?   That is what I am going to do  although I'm not sure how it's going to work out with less than my usual income coming in but I'm certainly going to give it my best shot.

Good luck to you in school