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I see 3 prime cards in your lineup AMEX / Cap1 / BOA. Of course keeping an older/est card open helps your score but, if you have to go out of your way to use it to keep it active then it's not really one you need to keep. AFAIK there's not a MC/V version to either of them but, Synch typically doesn't close things out for inactivity until it's closer to 2 years w/o use. I had a Sam's store card that I quit using when I applied for the Disc/MC version because they refused to upgrade it from the store version for a few years. They ended up closing the store one finally around 22-23 months for non-use. I replaced it with AMEX / Discover instead and now those two combine have a CL over 90K and the 10K store card loss pales in comparison now. Even when I initially applied for those two they came in at 14.5K combined which was almost like an instant CLI that they wouldn't budge past 10K anyway on the Sam's card. The MC side of them also was a bit stubborn to get past 10K for a couple of years until stumbling across some posts on here mentioning the overseas # for CLI's that worked better than the US based CC.
I guess what I'm getting at here is you should probably come up with a plan for replacing them and then let them die off in due time. Find some good cards that fit your needs and come up with a plan of action on how / when to get them into your rotation. For some 3 prime cards are enough and from the perspective of a mortgage it's enough to get past some of the UW guidelines wanting 3 lines with 2 years of history. Of course diversifying lenders is better than piling up 3-5 cards with BOA/Chase/AMEX/ etc. Putting all of your eggs in one basket can backfire when they decide to get bipolar and CLD/AA all of your accounts.
@Khalifa_Jayy wrote:Greetings, all. I just wanted to see if there was a list out there with data points giving a good idea of which cards / card issuers close due to lack of activity, and what timeframe people have seen in general. Does something like that exist? Maybe we can create a working file as a forum to have for reference.
I only ask because I have a JCPenney card which I don't really plan on using much, if at all, but it has a $5k limit, so I don't want it to close randomly on me. I also have a Kay Jewelers line of credit which I don't ever really plan on using, but it's one of my older trade lines and I would hate for it to close.
Anyone have any ideas? What has your experience been like? Are certain issuers - e.g. Synchrony, GE Capital - more likely to close your card due to inactivity? Share any and all details here!
I've had the JCP card for almost 3 years. Never swiped. Also sitting on the original $300 limit. Almost used it on Black Friday. Checkout lines were just too long.
Care Credit will shut you down if you do not use their card for 12 months. When the 13th billing cycle hits they auto close the card.
@Aprile421 wrote:Care Credit will shut you down if you do not use their card for 12 months. When the 13th billing cycle hits they auto close the card.
Better start buying the 6 month supply of heartworm pills with Care, then!
I have too many major cards with 0% purchase offers AND rewards to usually make me think to pull Care out of the sock drawer...
NFCU MR: $25K | Venture: $21K | Amex ED: $18K | NFCU CR: $18K | Amex BCE: $15K | IT #1: $17.5K | PNC Core: $15K | PPMC: $12K | Wells Fargo: $11K | Savor: 12K | Cap1 QS: $8.5K | Barclays Rewards: $7.75K | IT #2: $7.3K | MLife: $9.5K | Sportsman's Guide: $8.7K | PenFed PR: $5.5K | Elan Plat: $2.3K | TRV: $3.6K | BotW: $3K
Current FICO 8 Scores: EQ: 828| TU: 805 | EX: 814
CC issuers that have closed me down, due to inactivity so far:
(1) Macy's store card
(2) JC Penney's store card
(3) Lowe's store card
(4) Lowe's Project card (also a store card)
(5) Two inactive, never-used Wells Fargo VISA cards I used to have in the past (the APRs were way too high to justify using, in mho).
I opened a Discover card in 2011. At the same time I opened 2-3 other cards. That prompted Discover to slash my limit from SL $5k to $500 within the first month I think. So I never once used the card. I closed the card down earlier in 2016 after they approved a Miles card with a decent limit.
@galahad15 wrote:CC issuers that have closed me down, due to inactivity so far:
(1) Macy's store card
(2) JC Penney's store card
(3) Lowe's store card
(4) Lowe's Project card (also a store card)
(5) Two inactive, never-used Wells Fargo VISA cards I used to have in the past (the APRs were way too high to justify using, in mho).
Hmmm, I guess I should use my JCP card this Christmas for something. Thank you for sharing.
CreditXpert Scores: EX [672] | EQ [681] | TU [677] | American Express FICO 8: EX [698]