SDing cards and letting it report with $0 balance?

Anonymous · ‎06-21-2017

Okay, so I was wondering if anyone knows if you leave a balance of $0 reported when you sock drawer a card for months does your credit report still give you the "Current" "Ok" Green label? Or does it show "unknown" or blank spots on months for any inactivity?

This is because out of all my cards, I've decided I'm going to only use 2-3 max was planning to SD the rest leaving all with $0 balance with the exception of swipes here and there just to keep it active. However, I was hoping it'll still show the "current" or "ok" label on all my of sock drawer cards every month. Does anyone know or have experience on how the process is? For whats it worth, I think one of my cards on credit karma that has no activtiy with 0 balance has been showing current and green on it every month still. But I'm not sure if its like this on the REAL CREDIT REPORTS?

Any negative affects doing this?

rmduhon · ‎06-21-2017

It depends on the card. We have some that are SD unless we need them and some report 'paid as agreed' every month and some need activity (mostly Comenity). We also have a few that have small things that go on the cards monthly (Netflix, Ancestry.com) and those cards are set up with autopay.

AverageJoesCredit · ‎06-21-2017

I think most cards will be ok. Comenity can be hit or miss. Even without usage, some times i will see ok even without forcing the issue. I think so long as nothing negative is happening , theyll put ok green.

Loquat · ‎06-21-2017

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
I think most cards will be ok. Comenity can be hit or miss. Even without usage, some times i will see ok even without forcing the issue. I think so long as nothing negative is happening , theyll put ok green.

+1 AJC is right on this one...the only one who wouldn't update without usage was my Overstock card when I had it. Everyone else always reported without issue.

Kforce · ‎06-21-2017

1) You should put some use on your card every few months to keep your bank/CU happy.

2) You should let a statement cut with a balance every 5-6 months for "Fico" to see activity.

Anonymous · ‎06-21-2017

@Kforce wrote:
1) You should put some use on your card every few months to keep your bank/CU happy.
2) You should let a statement cut with a balance every 5-6 months for "Fico" to see activity.

So if you don't let a balance cut then you won't get the green " current" " paid as agreed" or "ok"? I never knew there was a label for activity or non active on the credit report. I was hoping leaving it at $0 but using the card every few months but paying it off before the statement cuts to still have it at $0 was okay?

iced · ‎06-21-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
Okay, so I was wondering if anyone knows if you leave a balance of $0 reported when you sock drawer a card for months does your credit report still give you the "Current" "Ok" Green label? Or does it show "unknown" or blank spots on months for any inactivity?

This is because out of all my cards, I've decided I'm going to only use 2-3 max was planning to SD the rest leaving all with $0 balance with the exception of swipes here and there just to keep it active. However, I was hoping it'll still show the "current" or "ok" label on all my of sock drawer cards every month. Does anyone know or have experience on how the process is? For whats it worth, I think one of my cards on credit karma that has no activtiy with 0 balance has been showing current and green on it every month still. But I'm not sure if its like this on the REAL CREDIT REPORTS?

Any negative affects doing this?

The only cards I can test this on are an old Barclays I haven't swiped in about 4 years and a Macy's card I use a few times a year.

- When Macy's goes unused in a given month (no swipes, no payments), it shows up as unknown/no data. It's Citi-backed, but not sure if they do this on other cards.

- Barclay's keeps reporting happily every month.

I'm not aware of any negative effects, but that's not to say there aren't any.

Kforce · ‎06-21-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
@Kforce wrote:
1) You should put some use on your card every few months to keep your bank/CU happy.
2) You should let a statement cut with a balance every 5-6 months for "Fico" to see activity.

So if you don't let a balance cut then you won't get the green " current" " paid as agreed" or "ok"? I never knew there was a label for activity or non active on the credit report. I was hoping leaving it at $0 but using the card every few months but paying it off before the statement cuts to still have it at $0 was okay?

I believed that as well, however was informed in this thread otherwise!

{ http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/keeping-CCs-active-swipe-or-statement-cut/td-p/4971090 }

ashjt2011 · ‎06-22-2017

My Overstock card doesnt report when not used. And it did effect me negatively last time. I used it after not using it for about 8 months and got an alert when the statement cut from myFico "A card has recently become active again" or something along those lines and I got slapped with a 8 point score decrease.

rmduhon · ‎06-22-2017

Just checked our reports. His and my Cap1 secured, Best Buy Visa, Cabelas, Care Credit, Car Credit, Buy Power card all report paid as agreed monthly even though they never report a balance