keeping CCs active - swipe or statement cut?

[bourgogne]

Hey, do you think a swipe if good enough or does one need a statement cut?  yes, I know I should considering closing cards that are not being used and I might in the future I just want to be the one doing the closing lol.  mucho thx

[Anonymous]

I’m a little confused by the statement cut part your mentioning. I think one swipe will be sufficient which will lead to some activity on the statement (plus the payment).

[Kforce]

Make a small charge, wait for it to post, clear pending, then pay in full.

No need to let it post to statement, the Bank/CU will see the use.

[Anonymous]

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@Kforce wrote:

Make a small charge, wait for it to post, clear pending, then pay in full.

No need to let it post to statement, the Bank/CU will see the use.

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+1 

That's how I do it, very small charge, then pay off that exact small charge a couple days later. I dont wait for it to post on a statment. Then Sock drawer it goes! You still get a positive "Current" "OKAY" history with those sock drawer cards even with 0 balance reported monthly. As long as its not late etc. It'll keep the age of account up as long as its open and current standing with no balance.

Someone correct me if im wrong....but thats how my credit profile looks when I montior it. 

[wasCB14]

If you PIF before the statement cut, it will count as "activity" in the issuer's eyes and the card won't be closed (at least not only) for inactivity.

I have read in the FICO scoring forum that an open account that has not had a statement balance in several months can be called "inactive" and can potentially hurt your score. Once a balance reports on it, though, it would go back to being "active".

[Anonymous]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

If you PIF before the statement cut, it will count as "activity" in the issuer's eyes and the card won't be closed (at least not only) for inactivity.

I have read in the FICO scoring forum that an open account that has not had a statement balance in several months can be called "inactive" and can potentially hurt your score. Once a balance reports on it, though, it would go back to being "active".

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Never knew that.... I wonder if thats true..interesting. 

[Kforce]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

If you PIF before the statement cut, it will count as "activity" in the issuer's eyes and the card won't be closed (at least not only) for inactivity.

I have read in the FICO scoring forum that an open account that has not had a statement balance in several months can be called "inactive" and can potentially hurt your score. Once a balance reports on it, though, it would go back to being "active".

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That is interesting.

I have two "Credit Union - Sock Drawer Cards", that get 5$ each, each month, and

then paid in full. They both report a zero balance on statements.

One has never reported a statement balance in 15 years.

I have Fico's 840--845. Don't believe it hurts your score very much

[bourgogne]

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@Kforce wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:

If you PIF before the statement cut, it will count as "activity" in the issuer's eyes and the card won't be closed (at least not only) for inactivity.

I have read in the FICO scoring forum that an open account that has not had a statement balance in several months can be called "inactive" and can potentially hurt your score. Once a balance reports on it, though, it would go back to being "active".

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That is interesting.

I have two "Credit Union - Sock Drawer Cards", that get 5$ each, each month, and

then paid in full. They both report a zero balance on statements.

One has never reported a statement balance in 15 years.

I have Fico's 840--845. Don't believe it hurts your score very much

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sorry not enough coffee, does statement balance translate to statement cut?  I have never heard of a fico code for a dormant or semi inactive card so this is news to me if its true

[Kforce]

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@bourgogne wrote:

Hey, do you think a swipe if good enough or does one need a statement cut?  yes, I know I should considering closing cards that are not being used and I might in the future I just want to be the one doing the closing lol.  mucho thx

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I was guessing that you were saying make a charge and pay before the statement cut date (swipe)

or

leave the charge to report on the statement and then pay in off. (statement cut?)

To keep a card alive, either will work,

The GeekyCreditGuy posted" ;

 An open account that has not had a statement balance in several months can be called "inactive"

and can potentially hurt your score.

I have two CU cards that never have a balance report on the statements,

I always PIF before the statement cuts and have not seen any adverse credit

score from doing this. Or maybe I would have a perfect 850 if I let them report

a few dollars each ??

I might have to try just to see!

[austinguy907]

I think the dormant thing comes into play with my last 6 points from a 850.  I rotate them through every 6 or 12 months to keep them alive in the drawer.  Every 12 months doesn't seem to earn those 6 points though.  Oh well.... 844 isn't too bad considering

Now I can say that more than 2 showing a balance does result in a couple of points loss when rotating but, not enough to really matter if I were out loan shopping.  I think anything over a 760 is not relevant for any further discounts.

As to the OP question.... Amaazon has a nice little feature where you can reload a gift card for any amount and it's so easy you don't even have to pull your cards out of the drawer if you have them saved somewhere on your computer or amazon wallet.  

The better question though is what cards do you have currently and wihch of them are you considering dropping in the next 6-12 months?  

Personally I just kicked Crap1 and Macy's out of my wallet and added Chase FU / Amazon V / BOA to the mix for a net gain of ~34K.  Trimming and pruning is a good thing if you're looking for growth and less hassle of managing legacy cards.