Dormant Cards: Impact/Strategy

[NoHardLimits]

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@Fletcher2 wrote:

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@NoHardLimits wrote:

I'm a micromanager too.  I've been behaving just as you described.  Currently 12 open cards, all cards kept alive by some usage with most having activity every month.  I also rotate the cards which report a balance so that no card reports zero for more than 4 months in a row.

There is evidence about FICO placing less importance on tradelines that truly go dormant.  However, I believe that Experian dormant account message is just a remnant of their specific CMS (Credit Monitoring Service) coding because it can be triggered by zero reported balances even when the accounts are being constantly used.  

Is my behavior truly necessary?  No, of course not.  My profile produces 800+ scores no matter how much or how little I micromanage.  But, I happen to enjoy testing the FICO system to see how my actions cause fluctuations in scores.  It's just a nerdy hobby.

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Nice. Cut from the same cloth...but do you do this when the statement closes to ensure activity on each card? I need help. 

$5 dolla make you holla

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No, I haven't resorted to Amazon reloads...  yet.  I mostly keep sockdrawered card active through some recurring monthly charges.  I have newspaper subscriptions, charitable donations, some odd ball streaming services (that don't code correctly as streaming), and other miscellaneous charges like a fitbit premium membership and electronic toll pass reloads.  

[AC20]

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@Fletcher2 wrote:

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Nice. Cut from the same cloth...but do you do this when the statement closes to ensure activity on each card? I need help. 

$5 dolla make you holla

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So while everyone has been here giving us the correct answers (thanks everyone who replied!) I just scanned back through my info.  I don't think I have anything set up to give dormant messages, but my VS card has not reported a balance since at least 2019 and I have gone for periods of at least 10 months without using it at all. This has never impacted my scores or utilization numbers at all as others have said. My fear is always that it will be closed by synch, but so far so good. However, it is a store card. 

With non-store cards, I do use the Amazon reload trick pretty often - sometimes for only a dollar. I only do this if the card has not been used in the past 5 months for anything. I do a little reload and then pay it right off just to keep some activity. This thread is inspiring me to go close an account or two.

[FlaDude]

I just checked and two cards that have not been used at all since September still factor into UTI calcs. This is based on the reported utilization percentage from Experian free and Extra Credit (credit.com). I have a card that has not been used since 2021 but the CL is so small on that one that removing from the calculation barely changes the usage % so I can't tell for sure that one is included but the card is still being reported so I suspect it is. 

I don't recall ever reading any posts here that suggests that not using cards has any bearing on FICO. The links provided by @SouthJamaica all just say that the issuer could close the card, none of them suggest any FICO bearing either.

Some lenders are pretty quick to pull the plug on inactive accounts, but the fastest I have seen or recall seeing reported is after a year of activity. I make sure to use any card I don't want to lose at least once a year, it's worked for me so far. Sync is a good example of a lender that will close cards if they are not used. OTOH, I tried to close my Amex ED card a few years ago and they threw a retention bonus my way to keep it (no AF so I left it open). Since then it has not been used since at least Jan 2022 and it is still open.

If anyone wants to use every card every month that's great, but wildly far from necessary as far as I'm aware.

[AndySoCal]

@Fletcher2 

The basic criteria for the FICO is score is simple

https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/faq/scores/fico-score-requirementshttps://www.myfico.com/cre... 

This criteria can satisfied by one or more accounts.  Each time the FICO score is calculated FICO is using this criteria. You are welcome to disagree.

If an account(s) do not meet that criteria  how much impact on your credit score if any can be be debated. You can see that to some extent when you put an account(s) into dispute  and the change on the score either up or down will give you an idea of the impact. Keep in mind that when the account(s) come out of dispute those accounts will be fully included in the FICO score where they were not during the dispute. This does not mean you will gain or lose those same points back. The credit profile hss changed during the time the accounts are in dispute ie the length of time activity and age of the accounts has changed  and what was updated by the dispute.

If you use credit card and pay it off before the statment period ends that is considered activity on the account. The balance being reported or not only affects your credit utilization.

The scenario where a credit card in not used for more than 6 months. Some creditors after a certain period of time will close an account or reduce the credit limit on the account or both.  How long the time frame is varies for creditor to creditor depending on their policy.  Keep in mind with credit cards there is zero fraud liability. A creditor sees an account not being used  for a prolong period of time that account has the potential fraud liabilty on the account. Due the consumers lack of attention because the consumer is not using it.  The creditor can potentially take action to curb that liability on the account.  There are number of variations in this scenario. My own policy is if I am not using the card for several months I may close the account.  Hope this helps.

[CorpCrMgr1]

I'm a buy and pay CC user. There are some cards I suspect will be gone by mid Summer. They haven't been used in a long time. They still count toward my CL though they are definitely dormant. One has had  CLD. I have a couple of other cards that have a minimal monthly charge. Others I take out for a walk every couple of months. Others are used weekly.

[TrapLine]

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@NoHardLimits wrote:

I'm a micromanager too.  I've been behaving just as you described.  Currently 12 open cards, all cards kept alive by some usage with most having activity every month.  I also rotate the cards which report a balance so that no card reports zero for more than 4 months in a row.

There is evidence about FICO placing less importance on tradelines that truly go dormant.  However, I believe that Experian dormant account message is just a remnant of their specific CMS (Credit Monitoring Service) coding because it can be triggered by zero reported balances even when the accounts are being constantly used.  

Is my behavior truly necessary?  No, of course not.  My profile produces 800+ scores no matter how much or how little I micromanage.  But, I happen to enjoy testing the FICO system to see how my actions cause fluctuations in scores.  It's just a nerdy hobby.

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A Credit Guru/Scientist at heart!

[NoHardLimits]

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@TrapLine wrote:

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@NoHardLimits wrote:

I'm a micromanager too.  I've been behaving just as you described.  Currently 12 open cards, all cards kept alive by some usage with most having activity every month.  I also rotate the cards which report a balance so that no card reports zero for more than 4 months in a row.

There is evidence about FICO placing less importance on tradelines that truly go dormant.  However, I believe that Experian dormant account message is just a remnant of their specific CMS (Credit Monitoring Service) coding because it can be triggered by zero reported balances even when the accounts are being constantly used.  

Is my behavior truly necessary?  No, of course not.  My profile produces 800+ scores no matter how much or how little I micromanage.  But, I happen to enjoy testing the FICO system to see how my actions cause fluctuations in scores.  It's just a nerdy hobby.

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A Credit Guru/Scientist at heart!

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Guru and Scientist sound so much better than nerdy!  

[Guyatthebeach]

I have a spreadsheet that I use all my cards once every quarter that are not my daily drivers.  I have never had a problem yet with cards going dormant.

Guyatthebeach

[RedKhaos]

Good info! I've been wondering this as a couple of my cards are now dormant. So it sounds like:

1) Inactive cards (no purchase) go dormant after 6 months

2) Active usage but reporting 0 balance at statement date do not count as inactive

2a) Is there a spend minimum by chance? Like 1 dollar, will likely use Amazon refill for this later.

3) Dormant status  vs. active status mostly likely has no effect on FICO

4) CC lenders usually allow at least 1 year of inactivity before closing

Above sound right? I know outliers are always possible but I can live with it. I've been using spreadsheets and decided to add a "last use" column for my credit cards and calculate days I have before 1 year's up. I figure that should be good enough.

[Gunnerboy]

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@RedKhaos wrote:

Good info! I've been wondering this as a couple of my cards are now dormant. So it sounds like:

1) Inactive cards (no purchase) go dormant after 6 months

2) Active usage but reporting 0 balance at statement date do not count as inactive

2a) Is there a spend minimum by chance? Like 1 dollar, will likely use Amazon refill for this later.

3) Dormant status  vs. active status mostly likely has no effect on FICO

4) CC lenders usually allow at least 1 year of inactivity before closing

Above sound right? I know outliers are always possible but I can live with it. I've been using spreadsheets and decided to add a "last use" column for my credit cards and calculate days I have before 1 year's up. I figure that should be good enough.

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Perhaps banks will close them, but not credit unions, in my experience.