Keeping cards alive is an annual fee on it's own.

[Subexistence]

For example if I had a QS I wanted to keep alive by buying a pack of gum worth $2.00 then I would get 3 cents back. However if I used a citiDC(active card) to buy the gum, I would get 4 cents back. Thus to keep the QS alive, I paid an annual fee of 1 cent.

[EAJuggalo]

But buying that pack of gum on a QS means you can have those three cents whenever you like.  With the DC you'd not only have to wait for the statement period to end, then the statement period in which you paid the charge, then until you had $25.00 to redeem.

[DeeBee78]

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@Subexistence wrote:

For example if I had a QS I wanted to keep alive by buying a pack of gum worth $2.00 then I would get 3 cents back. However if I used a citiDC(active card) to buy the gum, I would get 4 cents back. Thus to keep the QS alive, I paid an annual fee of 1 cent.

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You're also forgetting that Capital One isn't likely to CLD or close the account, like other *ahem, Barclays* lenders. You could SD a Capital One card for several years and the account would be fine. 

[Anonymous]

You could probably pump a penny of gas and that transaction and payment would constitute usage. That said, the AF of doing this would be negligible, if one didn't already consider the penny or two insignificant.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the basic sentiment although I wouldn't classify it quite that way (or use such a small example!)

To keep a card alive, you either:

a) remember to buy something small every few months

b) put a monthly subscription on the card.

In the case of a) the lost rewards can be very small indeed, but there is an effort involved in remembering to do this.   (Some will find this effort small as well, but wait till you get older.... I've got enough to remember now in 2015, or is it 2016...)

In the case of b) the lost rewards are likely to be a bit higher, but still not immense.

But to me the point is that it is not "free" (either in money or time) to S/D a card but need to keep it alive, apart from the need to monitor S/D cards from time to time.   So if you really don't need the card, consider whether it's worth bothering to keep it alive.

[Anonymous]

Forgive me, I must be missing something here...

Buying a small negligible item, just for usage actually EARNS a couple of cents, as in positive side of the ledger

How would that be considered a fee or of much consequence to be of much concern, given the value sought from having the aged open account?

It's like the 'hassle' of starting a car now and again to keep it in decent running order...Just not a big enough deal to ponder, as a negative

[Anonymous]

It seems to me that if having the card isn't worth "losing"a penny, then you should close the card.  Seems like a silly thing to worry about to me.

[Anonymous]

One strategy I am going to try and employ this year (for those SD cards) is to simply take them all to Walmart every 4-5 months and buy a pencil with each one, separate transactions.

[wasCB14]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Forgive me, I must be missing something here...

Buying a small negligible item, just for usage actually EARNS a couple of cents, as in positive side of the ledger

How would that be considered a fee or of much consequence to be of much concern, given the value sought from having the aged open account?

It's like the 'hassle' of starting a car now and again to keep it in decent running order...Just not a big enough deal to ponder, as a negative

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The argument is based on opportunity cost; if you use a 1.5% card only to keep an account active when you could otherwise earn 2%, you've paid a small fee by sacrificing the 0.5% difference. Now if someone is rebuilding or has some very old account, I can see value in paying that small "fee".

I've become a fan of closing cards when they no longer serve a clear use. Also, as someone who is into MRs and URs, I think it's silly to fret about a $25 minimum redemption. What's the point of having a card if it takes a long time to only give you $25 of value?

[Anonymous]

Amazon subscribe and save you can use a different payment card for each thing you have shipped to your house. Dog food and toilet paper cost the same as at the store