topic Re: How do you sock drawer your cards? in Credit Cards

How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 17:25:24 GMT

I was wondering how do you rotate your sock drawer cards to keep them alive?

I went on a spree and some of my cards are just not worth to use because they either don't have good benefits or my other cards have a better point system for travel, cash back, etc.

Do you let them sit for 6-122 months doing nothing - or do you buy gum/sodas at 7-11 to keep them on the radar?

Also, anyone have an opinion or experience with the following creditors CLOSING an account out of the blue for not using their cards - did you get notified or were you embarrased at the store finding out the card was dead???

1. Barclays?

2. Citi?

3. Amex?

4. Comenity?

5. Chase

Thanks.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 17:30:41 GMT

You can always try to pc to a better product . For instance I sock drawered my citi diamond for a couple months on and off then I realized I could product change to the double cash and so I did . I use it a lot mores often now . Of course your not going to carry 15 cc's in your wallet for the sake of using it . But if the card is boring and. Have no other option close it yourself ! In the case of chase you can always transfer the credit limit to another chase cards assuming you have more than 1 chase card .

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

kdm31091 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 17:34:04 GMT

I am not a huge fan of SD, with a few exceptions.

I think if a card is useless to you and there's nothing you want to PC to with the creditor, there's little point in keeping it open just for the sake of keeping it open. But yes, SD involves making a small charge each billing statement to keep the card "alive". It can be a pack of gum, soda, whatever. A tiny purchase will do.

But if a card is useless and you see no PC options I'd just close it. The only time I advise otherwise is if your utilization would skyrocket by closing the SD card. Otherwise, why keep it just to keep it? Many on here advocate keeping anything with no AF and I just don't get it (except for the utilization part like I said).

Move on if a card has outlived its useful life for you.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 19:28:48 GMT

I'm in the opposite camp as kdm. Why take the affirmative step of calling to close the account if you can just SD it and let it wither? If it gets closed by the lender so be it. Practically, in most cases sooner or later the issuer will give me some incentive to dig it out and use it. I do have one old card from 2000 that I make sure to use every six months or so to preserve age.

To the op's point, I have had cards closed by Chase and Usbank for non-use. The Chase was a painful stupid mistake, as it was a line from 1994. I'd love to have that in my history right now. The Usbank was funny, because they sent me a "please use your card, we'll give you $25" and the very next day I tried to use the card and it was declined because the account was closed, lol! Did get them to reopen. Then pc'd to a Cash+.

Chris.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Involver — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 17:51:14 GMT

For my truly sock-drawered cards, I usually just buy low dollar amount amazon gift cards once every 6 months to keep them active.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:08:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm in the opposite camp as kdr. Why take the affirmative step of calling to close the account if you can just SD it and let it wither? If it gets closed by the lender so be it. Practically, in most cases sooner or later the issuer will give me some incentive to dig it out and use it. I do have one old card from 2000 that I make sure to use every six months or so to preserve age.

To the op's point, I have had cards closed by Chase and Usbank for nonuse. The Chase was a painful stupid mistake, as it was a line from 1994. I'd love to have that in my history right now. The Usbank was funny, because they sent me a "please use your card, we'll give you $25" and the very next day I tried to use the card and it was declined because the account was closed, lol! Did get them to reopen. Then pc'd to a Cash+.

Chris.

Chris - thanks for your comments.

Re the Chase card - did you collect dust on it? lol Also, did Chase give you fair warning like a letter or call? How did you find out it was dead?

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

sccredit — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:11:30 GMT

I have a number of cards that are in a safe that I haven't touched in more than a year. Way I figure it is that I use the ones that are worth using and am not going to stress about using cards just to use them.

I have not had anything cancel, even on cards I have not used in 2 years (Logix, DCU)

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:14:15 GMT

My two SD cards are the QS and BBR cards. The BBR is SD by design. Once a month, I'll dust it off and make a small purchase.

The QS card is there for international travel (not that I travel much). I believe BoA's exchange rate is poor compared to Cap1, so when I do travel internationally, I'll be dusting off the QS card. Anyone know Cap 1s policy on inactive accounts?

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

sillykitty1 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:09:34 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
I am not a huge fan of SD, with a few exceptions.

I think if a card is useless to you and there's nothing you want to PC to with the creditor, there's little point in keeping it open just for the sake of keeping it open. But yes, SD involves making a small charge each billing statement to keep the card "alive". It can be a pack of gum, soda, whatever. A tiny purchase will do.

But if a card is useless and you see no PC options I'd just close it. The only time I advise otherwise is if your utilization would skyrocket by closing the SD card. Otherwise, why keep it just to keep it? Many on here advocate keeping anything with no AF and I just don't get it (except for the utilization part like I said).

Move on if a card has outlived its useful life for you.

Sock Drawer-ing a card does not require activity every billing statement. One charge every 6 months is sufficient to keep a card alive, some even less.

You don't believe in keeping a card SD'd for your lifestyle, but not everyone is the same.

I keep SD'd cards for 2 reasons:

- Emergencies - I have low APR CU cc's in the SD. With low APR credit available along with a rainy day fund, I am comfortable I can handle most financial emergencies comfortably. It's important to get the high CL's when you don't need them, so they're available in case you do.

- Utilization - My utilization won't "skyrocket" without my SD'd CL's. But I can keep my reported balance under 10% without micromanaging and paying before the statement cut date. I take full advantage of the grace period

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Imhotrodcrazy — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 19:13:25 GMT

I SD'd both of my US Bank Cash+ and LOC cards about a year ago, to let them die off. So far, the bank has not cancelled them. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the bank to get the hint that I will never use them again.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 20:16:09 GMT

@Imhotrodcrazy wrote:
I SD'd both of my US Bank Cash+ and LOC cards about a year ago, to let them die off. So far, the bank has not cancelled them. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the bank to get the hint that I will never use them again.

Hey crazy, can you give me your us bank and LOC to me?? I'll take it if you are not going to use it.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

kdm31091 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:10:08 GMT

I just do not see the point in charging on a card every 6 months just to "keep it alive" when it is otherwise totally useless. I don't need the util buffer from a totally unused card as a couple of my cards are barely used as is so the util is nil on them.

For emergencies it is nice to have a low APR card at the ready, I agree, but the best thing to have is a savings fund so you aren't charging emergencies to a credit card in the first place (should be a last resort even at a low APR). 0% is better than even 8%. Of course, I'm not trying to turn this into a lecture about savings and I agree that a low APR card can be useful for some emergencies, just not something that you want to rely on. You stated you have a rainy day fund, so I'm not saying you rely on the low APR card, but more just pointing out that no one should open a low APR card to get them out of an emergency. What they should do is have a liquid saving account and have a cushion for the inevitable so that you aren't going into debt because of an emergency.

That said, I agree with having a low APR card that you don't need to frequently use if it makes you feel better.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:20:10 GMT

Numerous small autobills. My dishworld (10 bucks a month) netflix (8) my phone bill (less than 30) just get plinked on my safe cards. All set to autopay from my credit union the day after the bill hits.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:23:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm in the opposite camp as kdr. Why take the affirmative step of calling to close the account if you can just SD it and let it wither? If it gets closed by the lender so be it. Practically, in most cases sooner or later the issuer will give me some incentive to dig it out and use it. I do have one old card from 2000 that I make sure to use every six months or so to preserve age.

To the op's point, I have had cards closed by Chase and Usbank for nonuse. The Chase was a painful stupid mistake, as it was a line from 1994. I'd love to have that in my history right now. The Usbank was funny, because they sent me a "please use your card, we'll give you $25" and the very next day I tried to use the card and it was declined because the account was closed, lol! Did get them to reopen. Then pc'd to a Cash+.

Chris.
Chris - thanks for your comments.

Re the Chase card - did you collect dust on it? lol Also, did Chase give you fair warning like a letter or call? How did you find out it was dead?

The Chase card collected about 18 months of dust (IIRC) before they closed it. No warning, no letter, no call. Just noticed when I logged in to my Chase account that the card was listed as "Closed." At the time I wasn't on the ball enough to care, I just figured "well, I'm not using it anyway, so what's the diff." What an idiot. It's possible they may have reopened it if I had called, dunno.

Chris.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

starry1 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:25:33 GMT

I have a secondary wallet because my card wallet doesn't have a change pocket. So except for 2 cards, the rest are always with me and I pull them out once in awhile and buy a Slurpee or something. The ones that are literally put away at home, I've set a tickler on my phone calendar to remind me to use them every 6 months.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

kdm31091 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:27:46 GMT

I don't want to have to be reminded to use a card every 6 months to keep it alive. I just do not get it. What is the point? If you don't want it just get rid of it. Clearly, if you are not using it except to be reminded to buy a pack of gum or something every 6 months, you don't really need it anymore.

As I said the only benefit I can see is util but then why not open a card you will actually enjoy, and replace the one that is collecting dust? I just do not get it, at all, but different strokes for different folks!

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:28:02 GMT

I stick mine in the safe.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

sillykitty1 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:31:31 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
I just do not see the point in charging on a card every 6 months just to "keep it alive" when it is otherwise totally useless. I don't need the util buffer from a totally unused card as a couple of my cards are barely used as is so the util is nil on them.

For emergencies it is nice to have a low APR card at the ready, I agree, but the best thing to have is a savings fund so you aren't charging emergencies to a credit card in the first place (should be a last resort even at a low APR). 0% is better than even 8%. Of course, I'm not trying to turn this into a lecture about savings and I agree that a low APR card can be useful for some emergencies, just not something that you want to rely on. You stated you have a rainy day fund, so I'm not saying you rely on the low APR card, but more just pointing out that no one should open a low APR card to get them out of an emergency. What they should do is have a liquid saving account and have a cushion for the inevitable so that you aren't going into debt because of an emergency.

That said, I agree with having a low APR card that you don't need to frequently use if it makes you feel better.

@kdm31091 wrote:
I don't want to have to be reminded to use a card every 6 months to keep it alive. I just do not get it. What is the point? If you don't want it just get rid of it. Clearly, if you are not using it except to be reminded to buy a pack of gum or something every 6 months, you don't really need it anymore.

As I said the only benefit I can see is util but then why not open a card you will actually enjoy, and replace the one that is collecting dust? I just do not get it, at all, but different strokes for different folks!

But the thread isn't why kdm doesn't sock drawer cards. There are good reasons for keeping SD'd cards, like the two examples I gave, that are relevant for me, and I'm sure some others as well.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

kdm31091 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:49:03 GMT

@sillykitty1 wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
I just do not see the point in charging on a card every 6 months just to "keep it alive" when it is otherwise totally useless. I don't need the util buffer from a totally unused card as a couple of my cards are barely used as is so the util is nil on them.

For emergencies it is nice to have a low APR card at the ready, I agree, but the best thing to have is a savings fund so you aren't charging emergencies to a credit card in the first place (should be a last resort even at a low APR). 0% is better than even 8%. Of course, I'm not trying to turn this into a lecture about savings and I agree that a low APR card can be useful for some emergencies, just not something that you want to rely on. You stated you have a rainy day fund, so I'm not saying you rely on the low APR card, but more just pointing out that no one should open a low APR card to get them out of an emergency. What they should do is have a liquid saving account and have a cushion for the inevitable so that you aren't going into debt because of an emergency.

That said, I agree with having a low APR card that you don't need to frequently use if it makes you feel better.
@kdm31091 wrote:
I don't want to have to be reminded to use a card every 6 months to keep it alive. I just do not get it. What is the point? If you don't want it just get rid of it. Clearly, if you are not using it except to be reminded to buy a pack of gum or something every 6 months, you don't really need it anymore.

As I said the only benefit I can see is util but then why not open a card you will actually enjoy, and replace the one that is collecting dust? I just do not get it, at all, but different strokes for different folks!

But the thread isn't why kdm doesn't sock drawer cards. There are good reasons for keeping SD'd cards, like the two examples I gave, that are relevant for me, and I'm sure some others as well.

The thread is a debate about SD'ing, so it is relevant to post my opinion. No more or less relevant than your pro-SD stance.

Just because you disagree does not mean my comments are out of line for the thread. Any thread is going to have arguments for and against the topic at hand.

There are good reasons to SD cards, yes. There are good reasons to NOT SD cards. Just like any good debate there are good arguments to be made for both sides.

Giving my opinion does not mean I am trying to turn it into "kdm's thread" or else everyone is doing the same exact thing.

Re: How do you sock drawer your cards?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:53:53 GMT

There seem to be two questions being addressed here:

1. What are the reasons to keep an SD card alive by using it occasionally?

and

2. What are the reasons to keep a card in the SD rather than closing it?

For me, the answer to #1 is primarily aging. I want some cards to give me a long AAoA and oldest T/L, and those tend to be old cards that have crappy rewards. Keeping those old ones eases the sting from all of the new cards I keep exploiting for signup bonuses.

The primary answer to #2 is pure laziness. Why take the effort to make a call and close the account? It doesn't seem to be of the slightest advantage to me.

And as a side effect to both, I'm opening myself up to bonus offers the issuer could send my way to use the card, as well as the opportunity to PC it to a card that is actually useful.

Chris.