topic Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card in Credit Cards

How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

credit_is_crack — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 01:19:08 GMT

Hi All,

So i've been on a building mission this past year and am back in the garden. now that i've got a few cards, i rotate the cards charging something on each one at least every 45-60 days. I've heard of some banks that either close your account (worst case), or decrease the credit limit for low/no usage. has anybody experienced this recently - like in the last 2 years, although i'm still interested in any of these horror stories lol

how often should i charge something on my card so the bank doesnt get weird? do some of you think thats based on how much (or low) the average spend is in a certain time frame, or are people actually putting their cards in the sock drawers for 6+ months at a time?

how long do you let your card go without any use?

Thanks!

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 01:28:10 GMT

Idk, it hasn't happened to me, but then again I get multiple cards from each lender so even if one has been SD'd for years it's highly probable that I've used a different card from their bank in the last 6-12 months. I'm sure that's taken into consideration. At least I hope so.

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

credit_is_crack — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 01:39:42 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Idk, it hasn't happened to me, but then again I get multiple cards from each lender so even if one has been SD'd for years it's highly probable that I've used a different card from their bank in the last 6-12 months. I'm sure that's taken into consideration. At least I hope so.

that makes sense. half of my cards are from the same bank so that seems like something that does play a factor, not sure how much though. how long are you having a card sit there before using it again? i've heard of some users using a card once or twice a year.

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 01:53:03 GMT

Really depends on the issuer. Barclaycard likes to be your only bank so if you go months and months without use and then use it randomly they have cut people's credit limits. Keep in mind that most of the people this has happened to are aggressive credit seekers.

Personally, I haven't used my credit union card in 2 years and it's still opened along with Wells Fargo. Although I did call and ask and they said they'd never close it unless if I initiated it.

Most CUs won't close you out that I have seen. Haven't used my freedom in almost 7 months and it's still good

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 02:01:01 GMT

For me-

I think it is very important to make sure that my cards stay over on the left side of the drawer with my socks-

On the right side of the drawer are my wifes socks and as we all know they cannot be trusted- sure they seem like a decent lot of socks... but no!

YMMV

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 02:01:15 GMT

@credit_is_crack wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Idk, it hasn't happened to me, but then again I get multiple cards from each lender so even if one has been SD'd for years it's highly probable that I've used a different card from their bank in the last 6-12 months. I'm sure that's taken into consideration. At least I hope so.
that makes sense. half of my cards are from the same bank so that seems like something that does play a factor, not sure how much though. how long are you having a card sit there before using it again? i've heard of some users using a card once or twice a year.

To be honest I doubt cap 1 would cancel me even if I never used their cards, maybe im wrong. I think in terms of lenders not cards. I try to give each bank some love each year. I would be so pissed if I ever had AA against me.

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

credit_is_crack — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 02:04:34 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Really depends on the issuer. Barclaycard likes to be your only bank so if you go months and months without use and then use it randomly they have cut people's credit limits. Keep in mind that most of the people this has happened to are aggressive credit seekers.

Personally, I haven't used my credit union card in 2 years and it's still opened along with Wells Fargo. Although I did call and ask and they said they'd never close it unless if I initiated it.

Most CUs won't close you out that I have seen. Haven't used my freedom in almost 7 months and it's still good

thanks for the info. I have NFCU and PenFed, along with USAA (CU trapped in a Banks body) lol but my other cards are thru more traditional banks (chase, amex, citi, discover, barclays)..most of the stories i've read/heard usually have barclays in the mix somewhere

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 02:04:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For me-

I think it is very important to make sure that my cards stay over on the left side of the drawer with my socks-

On the right side of the drawer are my wifes socks and as we all know they cannot be trusted- sure they seem like a decent lot of socks... but no!

YMMV

Cards belong on the lefthand side of the drawer with the socks, the righthand side with the boxers is incorrect.

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 07:52:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For me-

I think it is very important to make sure that my cards stay over on the left side of the drawer with my socks-

On the right side of the drawer are my wifes socks and as we all know they cannot be trusted- sure they seem like a decent lot of socks... but no!

YMMV

hey, when you're right.. you're right! oh wait, is it the left??? crap, now im confused! lolz

kidding aside, imo between 3-6 months of showing a card some luv would suffice. i've also read, payment is considered 'activity' but don't quote me on that.

me, personally i have a couple of cards SD'ed. i read about just charging 50c amazon EGC on them every few mos. i plan to do it also. hopefully that would suffice. if someone has gotten AA doing this, please let me (us) know. tia! *it's not a barclaycard btw. we all know how they are lately.

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 13:33:24 GMT

Payments do count. If you're carrying a balance and don't use your card for a year because you're paying it off it still counts

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

takeshi74 — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 13:41:52 GMT

@credit_is_crack wrote:
I've heard of some banks that either close your account (worst case), or decrease the credit limit for low/no usage. has anybody experienced this recently - like in the last 2 years, although i'm still interested in any of these horror stories lol

@credit_is_crack wrote:
how long do you let your card go without any use?

Polling isn't how you answer your question.

If you want to avoid account closure due to inactivity then you need to verify with each of your creditors what their polciies are on the matter. Then ensure that you meet at least the minimum activity requirements.

The creditor's specifics on CLD's due to inactivity isn't likely to be disclosed but you can reference existing threads. You can also ask regarding your creditors to see if anyone can provide feedback.

Safely SD'ing isn't just about avoiding account closure and CLD's. It's also about ensuring that you actively monitor all of your accounts for fraud. If you cannot or will not monitor an SD'd card then consider closing it.

@credit_is_crack wrote:
how often should i charge something on my card so the bank doesnt get weird? do some of you think thats based on how much (or low) the average spend is in a certain time frame, or are people actually putting their cards in the sock drawers for 6+ months at a time?

Creditors vary. Don't assume that they're all identical in regard to these matters. I do have cards that have not been used for 6+ months but I know those creditors won't close them due to that. The cards that require more activity to avoid closure see more activity.

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

_NERD — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 15:22:52 GMT

When we sock drawer a card that's already PIF, and don't use it for a couple months, does our credit reports still report green OK for payment history on those unused months? Or will Unknown or No Payment Data be reported for those unused months?

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 15:44:24 GMT

An easy thing to do is put small payments on certain cards. For instance I have Netflix on a card that is essentially SD. My other cards that don't recieve much use I just buy something small every once in a while. I have rarely used my quicksilver and amex blue cash for instance. I'll just buy something on them every once in a while.

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 15:47:31 GMT

In my experience I get the green ok from each of my creditors

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 16:15:34 GMT

Technology our friend. you can load cards up in phone wallets. if you are a consistant Amazon Customer you can split up the whole subscribe and Save Shipment between 5 credit cards (one per item) if you want.

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

credit_is_crack — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 16:34:44 GMT

They should still report 'ok'. Very few banks only report when they have activity, but that's more sketchy banks and I think most of that has stopped. Regardless of balance, if the account is open, it should report to the CRA's

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 19:05:00 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For me-

I think it is very important to make sure that my cards stay over on the left side of the drawer with my socks-

On the right side of the drawer are my wifes socks and as we all know they cannot be trusted- sure they seem like a decent lot of socks... but no!

YMMV

Hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 19:10:47 GMT

I have had cards closed due to inactivity, but that was a long time ago. I think if you use the cards for a purchase every 3-6 months you should be good.

SN: If you are finding that a card is no longer useful to you, then you may need to close it or let the creditor close it due to inactivity. I know you stated in your post that you have spent the last year rebuilding but if a card no longer fits your needs then... Best of luck!

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

nycplayboy78 — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 19:47:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For me-

I think it is very important to make sure that my cards stay over on the left side of the drawer with my socks-

On the right side of the drawer are my wifes socks and as we all know they cannot be trusted- sure they seem like a decent lot of socks... but no!

YMMV

SCREAMS-n-FAINTS!!! I see no lies in your post....LOL!!!!

Re: How To Safely Sock Drawer (SD) A Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 19:56:21 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Technology our friend. you can load cards up in phone wallets. if you are a consistant Amazon Customer you can split up the whole subscribe and Save Shipment between 5 credit cards (one per item) if you want.

This is a genius idea! I don't have many bills so I've been looking for a recurring charge for a few of my other cards to PIF each statement. Coffee and TP it is!