What to do with large limit cards you barely use?

[icyhot]

Hi all, after successfully being approved for Discover, Marriott, and PRG, most of my spend has been on those cards. Discover for category spend and bills, PRG for gas and groceries, Marriott for travel, restaurants and general spend. Restaurants will go on Discover next quarter. I'm concerned that some of my other cards that don't have as much usage will be AAd for little spend. Even if they aren't closed they could be CLD'd. I'm really concerned about BofA, Capital One not so much but they are used rather infrequently. What do you to ensure your large limits stay intact aside from keeping your scores on the up and up?

[kdm31091]

I don't have a good answer, other than the obvious. This is why I try to only apply for cards I will regularly use and not just SD. Partly because I don't want to hassle with spreading spend to keep them active and also the AA thing. Adding cards dilutes spend so some inevitably end up fairly unused. 

If there are some cards you will never use again then consider consolidating to the ones you do use. Not much point in spending on cards you don't like just to keep a large limit that you aren't using because the card isn't beneficial.

[FinStar]

You would need to at least put some periodic activity (not necessarily every month - perhaps every couple months or every 6 months) to ensure they stay active.  Otherwise, why get CCs you're not going to (or barely) use?

[icyhot]

BofA and QS are over a year old and were used heavily until I got new cards. Venture as well. I never thought I'd get approved for the Disco PRG or Marriott but I did. I would like to PC BofA to a BBR but it's a no go from what I hear

[FinStar]

Correct, BOA will not honor a PC to BBR.  You have to apply for that directly.  Just formulate a strategic plan to place some activity on the cards you won't be using to ensure they stay active - it doesn't have to be anything huge (a cup of coffee/tea here or there, etc.).

[Anonymous]

discover and cap one each at $22,750 credit line. No activity for months.

[Revelate]

If we go through any sort of credit draw down, I think a non-trivial number of people on this forum can expect their limits to be reduced.  I include myself on that one, I have more cards than I can conceivably really use at this point and I always wanted limits mostly for financial defensibility purposes (as I've been in cash conservation periods of my life) though I wound up with what amounts to multiples of what I originally thought (and still think) would be a reasonable amount of credit for such an endeavor.

It's not much of a factor though in the current market, banks are still plowing money into the credit card market and given we're not seeing landmark shifts in the interest rates anywhere else right now, I'm thinking it's going to continue for a good long while.  

I'm utterly OK with a CLD, I will be much less happy with an account closure but I don't touch my anchor tradeline limits, I'm just fine with $2500 at BOFA and $500 at DCU on a secured card and hopefully I can keep them pretty much forever. 

[Anonymous]

even though kdm and FinStar are correct and i fully agree, i think you're overly worrying. i say ditch the dead weight but, as long as you're spending responsibly, you shouldn't have too much worry for AA. if so then who cares because you aren't using them anyway. just use the cards you like and live life.

[Anonymous]

Just use all your cards once or twice a month. Cut the ones you don't use. CLD shouldn't be an issue if you're hardly using the cards.

[Anonymous]

I think most of us are credit card addicts on here so it's safe to say we probably have more cards than we truly need. No big deal. I would just give the cards you barely use a couple of swipes here and there every once in a while. Then use your favorite cards the rest of the time. I think you'll be okay doing that all while keep your limits and account open with some activity.