AF cards I woudln't worry such as say IHG/Hyatt/SWA etc and the likes non af cards dunno but every 6 months to be safe. I rarely use my freedom just due to having to pay attention to rotating category and yet to be closed, but likely due to possibly having some higher AF cards with chase such as Ritz, CSP that use to be CSR and so on. Not sure how long it has been but has to be close to a year.. Not saying nothing will happen as should at least use every 6 months if not more for a small charge. I try to to do this with other bank cards just do a $5 amazon reload on all my cards every 4ish months other then said chase card
I agree with the other posters. I typically will use my SD cards every 3-4 months but some I know just do it every 6 months. Better safe than sorry. Can even do a small gas purchase at the pump for like $3 and be done with it.
I have a good bit of Chase experience, @AndySoCal. I've had at least one card with them since 2000. I agree they are not likely to close or CLD as quickly as some other lenders. I had a similar situation that you and @CreditCuriosity where I applied for the (original) Freedom card and then decided the rotating categories weren't as useful as I had expected. I allowed it to go for a little over 12 months without closure. Then, they notified me it would be closed if not used within (I believe) 60 days. I thought about it and preemptively closed it, combining the limits with other cards.
So on average, I would think most Chase cards can go about 12-18 months without closure, but I wouldn't push that if you don't want to lose the account. Like others have mentioned, the "at-a-minimum-six-months-usage" is a good rule of thumb for the majority of cards that you want to keep alive.
Also, although it doesn't apply in this situation, AF cards like Marriott can most likely stay open without swipes indefinitely. That's because at a minimum, you've got annual activity for the AF and the payment, while still getting the benefits such as elite status or free nights. IMO, AF cards tend to stay open easier to no-AF cards since the lender is reaping some revenue from the card without swipes.
Moving the limit to another Chase card is easy with them if you have another one to move it to. For me, they allowed me to move 100% of the limit as long as there was no activity within the previous six months.
No one has answered your product change question yet. Yes, they do, but the specific details depends on the card family you're moving from or to. With a Freedom Flex card, you can PC to a Freedom Unlimited or to a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve. You can't PC to a cobranded card such as a Marriott, Hyatt, Southwest, or United.
