I was wondering if anybody knows the length of inactive time the following cards would be in danger of closing:
Wells Fargo: Microcenter card.
Synchrony: Lowe's card.
Discover IT card.
Of all my cards these are used the least and I don't want to over use them but also do not want them to close.
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As always, YMMV but I haven't used my Lowe's card in 15 months and it's still open (5% doesn't stack with 10% military discount so I use other rewards cards, and haven't had a major purchase to take advantage of a 0% for XX months offer in a while). I frequently go 6 months or longer without using my Discover it card.
I've had cards close within six to nine months of last usage and I've had cards stay open for many years without swipes. Unfortunately, there's no magic number and as @K-in-Boston said, it's a highly-YMMV issue. The best general advice I give is if you care about keeping an account open, usually if you swipe it at least once every six months that is probably enough to keep it active.
Some other observations I've seen over the years:
- Retail store cards seem to be closed more quickly in some cases than non-store major bank cards.
- The length of time you've had a card and the amount of overall usage over the years sometimes matters. If I've used a card heavily many years ago, that has seemed to help insulate from quick closure. If I don't swipe a card or use it lightly, it seems more at risk.
- Your overall relationship with the lender may matter. I've had cards stay open for years without activity when I also happened to have active deposit accounts. Also, when I have multiple cards with a lender, it has appeared that heavier activity on some cards may help protect less active cards.
I would never go more than a year.
Buy something cheap.
Gas, Soda, Trash Bags...
I split mine up and make $50-$100 utility payments.
@raisemysc0re wrote:I was wondering if anybody knows the length of inactive time the following cards would be in danger of closing:
Wells Fargo: Microcenter card.
Synchrony: Lowe's card.
Discover IT card.
Of all my cards these are used the least and I don't want to over use them but also do not want them to close.
I try to use them at least every six months, but have gone as long as almost a year without anything closing. But, as others have said, it's a very individual issue with each bank and even each card, customer, history, other exposure with the bank, etc.
One way to find out for sure is to contact the bank! That's what I would do. Call, talk to an actual person, make sure they seem to know what they're talking about, and ask how long an account can be idle before it's at risk for closure. If you have any doubt, try again and see if a second CSR gives the same info.
@raisemysc0re wrote:I was wondering if anybody knows the length of inactive time the following cards would be in danger of closing:
Wells Fargo: Microcenter card.
Synchrony: Lowe's card.
Discover IT card.
Of all my cards these are used the least and I don't want to over use them but also do not want them to close.
Seems to me the MicroCenter card might be best to just close? Or do you anticipate a computer refresh / new computer accessories soon?
Same with Lowes. As a store card, we use mine weekly, but the account monitoring one has to do can be a chore if the only goal is to hope it stays open,
Discover has quarterly bonus categories, but again if you aren't using it at all, why worry about it?
So I've convinced myself you should close all three, you're welcome 
