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Thanks. The OP does claim that he activated the cards (though never used them). It's clear reading the first 15 posts or so that his cards were closed roughly 90 days after they were opened, possibly a bit less (maybe 80).
It's also clear that his situation is complicated by the fact that Amex closed the cards well after BOA had reported late payments on other cards. That easily could have contributed to the closure decision: cards hanging out in limbo without any use while other cards are going delinquent heightens the risk and the need for Amex to protect itself.
Nontheless I will modify the recommendation to making a purchase within the first 60 days. Thanks!
@minski wrote:In about 6 months to a year, I'll give data on Barclay Ring, Fidelity Visa and US Bank Cash+ as I am planning on letting those close from inactivity.
Interesting that your PayPal account has stayed open 25+ months with no purchases having ever been made on it. And its not like PayPal has forgotten about your account -- they recently sent you a letter reminding you that it is available, so it's possible it could stay open for another year or more.
That may be a record for accounts that have never had a single transaction on them. Certainly it shows that different creditors have different policies about closing inactive accounts. A major credit card that has never been used can be closed as early as 3-4 months.
And good news about letting us know what happens with Barclay Ring, Fidelity Visa and US Bank Cash+. If you are willing to, please keep track of this thread and give us an update here -- I realize that might not be for a year.
As per https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Personal-Finance/DCU-Free-Checking-no-hard-credit-pull-amp-free-EQ-... , posting here:
Wells Fargo Cash Back card - from 1/2015 to 1/2018 there were no transactions at all, card was NOT closed due to inactivity
Ann Taylor store card (Comenity) - from 1/2015 to 6/20/2018 there were no transactions at all, card was NOT closed due to inactivity
I think you should start a separate thread asking whether anyone knows whether Macy's has begun a purge of inactive accounts in the last two weeks. Give your recent experience as the reason you are asking. It would be great if anyone knows of other CC issuers who are doing the same. I'd place such a discussion in the General Credit room.
Thanks for the heads up!
* CC issuer and model of card that was closed: Barclays Frontier MasterCard
* Month/Year it was closed: Opened April 2007/Closed May 2018
* How many months elapsed when no purchases were made? ~48 months
* How many months elapsed when no payments were made? ~48 months
* Had any purchases been made EVER on the card? Yes
* What is a rough estimate of the person's FICO 8 score, total utilization, and individual utilization when it was closed? (By individual U we mean utilization on that card, the one that got closed.) FICO 8 ~760, total utilization 1-2%, individual utilization 0% ($0 balance)
* When the card was closed, had the cardholder ever been late in payments? (Even by a few days?) If so when was the last late payment compared with the approx date of closure? No
* When it was closed did the cardholder have other cards with that issuer? If so, were any of these closed? No, N/A
#1 Card:
Victoria Secret Black card
Month/Year it was closed
11/18
How many months elapsed when no purchases were made?
24+ months
How many months elapsed when no payments were made?
24+ months
Had any purchases been made EVER on the card?
Yes, used it a couple times, but the overly perfumed and scent bombs that prevade the store kept my wife from vistiting the store.
My credit scores at the time... 760 EX, 780 EQ, 800 TU
#2 Target Red
Month/Year recieved, 12/2011
Month/Year it was closed
2017 (don't remember the month)
How many months elapsed when no purchases were made?
36+ months
How many months elapsed when no payments were made?
36+ months
Reason for non-use, crappy, insulting $200 CL made the card useless, used it spariling at first, never more than $40-$50. Card never grew despite my AMEX cards that I got at the same time grew 500%.
My credit scores at the time... 760 EX, 780 EQ, 800 TU
@yourficouser wrote:As per https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Personal-Finance/DCU-Free-Checking-no-hard-credit-pull-amp-free-EQ-... , posting here:
Wells Fargo Cash Back card - from 1/2015 to 1/2018 there were no transactions at all, card was NOT closed due to inactivity
Ann Taylor store card (Comenity) - from 1/2015 to 6/20/2018 there were no transactions at all, card was NOT closed due to inactivity
Interesting to see a case study where a Wells Fargo card stayed open for a very long time with no activity and not being closed. The received wisdom thus far has been that WF is more likely to close sooner than other issuers. We had a few cases of month 7 and 8 in the past with them. Thus the recomendation to use a WF card every 4-5 months.
Did your wife have a long relationship with them, or a substantial bank account, or anything else that might have accounted for WF cutting her more slack?
Curious to hear whether anyone else knows of case studies of cards closed due to inactivity. Or who knows of the flip side: cards that have stayed open for a very long time WITHOUT being closed.
I am especially interested in hearing anything that would cause me to tweak the general Received Wisdom given in post #2. If people have Cap One, Discover, or Wells Fargo cards that have not been used for 13+ months without a problem, that would be especially welcome.
So, an update.
Paypal Credit is STILL open and unused since application (10/10/16).
My second Discover It is still open. My last transaction was 11/23/18.
My first US Bank Cash+ is still open. My last transaction was 6/1/18.
My Fidelity Visa card is still open. My last transaction for 9/28/18.
My Barclay Ring Mastercard just sent a letter reminding me to use it in the next 60 days or to face closure. I am not sure when the last transaction was but it was before 5/2/18.
@minski wrote:* CC issuer and model of card that was closed. ----- Paypal Credit
* Month/Year it was closed ---------- still open; open since Oct 10, 2016
* How many months elapsed when no purchases were made? ----------- n/a
* How many months elapsed when no payments were made? ---------- n/a
* Had any purchases been made EVER on the card? ------- NO
* What is a rough estimate of the person's FICO 8 score, total utilization, and individual utilization when it was closed? (By individual U we mean utilization on that card, the one that got closed.) --------- 780s; about 5%; n/a
* When the card was closed, had the cardholder ever been late in payments? (Even by a few days?) If so when was the last late payment compared with the approx date of closure? n/a
* When it was closed did the cardholder have other cards with that issuer? If so, were any of these closed? ------- no
So, still open. No use ever since opened a little over 2 years ago. Did recently get a letter reminding me that it is available but I'd rather use Blispay and get 2% off in addition to the financing than Paypal credit so unlikely to be ever used.
* CC issuer and model of card that was closed. ------- Discover It
* Month/Year it was closed ------------- still open
* How many months elapsed when no purchases were made? ------- about 12 months
* How many months elapsed when no payments were made? --------maybe 11 months?
* Had any purchases been made EVER on the card? --------- yes
* What is a rough estimate of the person's FICO 8 score, total utilization, and individual utilization when it was closed? (By individual U we mean utilization on that card, the one that got closed.) ------ same as above
* When the card was closed, had the cardholder ever been late in payments? (Even by a few days?) If so when was the last late payment compared with the approx date of closure? ------- no
* When it was closed did the cardholder have other cards with that issuer? If so, were any of these closed? -------- Yes. Newer Discover It in use.
I didn't use my first Discover It card for about a year since I got the new Discover It with cash back match. It remained open until I placed a $1 Amazon charge at 1 year mark to keep it open until I start using it again.
In about 6 months to a year, I'll give data on Barclay Ring, Fidelity Visa and US Bank Cash+ as I am planning on letting those close from inactivity.