Inactive Credit Cards

[Anonymous]

If a credit card's balance is 0 for about 5 months, is the credit limit counted in Utilization calculation? Also, if I use it for a small amount ( $10), will my score drop because I have more revolving a/c with a balance?

[Anonymous]

IMO and experiance it take a card to not report for 8 or 9 months to stop being calulated in utilization.

Use the car every now and then- PIF either prior to the statement cutting or right after.

If less than 50% of your revolving accounts report a balance- you should't get hit for the too many accounts with a balance-

This hit is 15 to 20 points-

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mizzou_tiger wrote:
If a credit card's balance is 0 for about 5 months, is the credit limit counted in Utilization calculation? Also, if I use it for a small amount ( $10), will my score drop because I have more revolving a/c with a balance?

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[Anonymous]

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Timothy wrote:

IMO and experiance it take a card to not report for 8 or 9 months to stop being calulated in utilization.

Timothy,

ScoreWatch gives me an alert that says something like "an inactive account has a new balance" when I've used accounts that haven't been used in 3 months.  Should I ignore these? 

[haulingthescoreup]

I think Timothy is logged off at the moment, but yes, that's a one-time thing. Sometimes there's a points ding, sometimes not.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend using your credit cards in rotation so that each card is used once a quarter for a small purchase. Let the purchase report, then PIF.

This shows stability, and avoids the little dings that can come from accounts going active and inactive.

[Anonymous]

I had a card that was "inactive" but when I moved and changed my address with them they opened it up again and sent me balance transfer checks.

[Anonymous]

The key is to just tickle it from time to time.

[Anonymous]

If I use a card and pay it in full before the statement closing date, would it still be considered "inactive"?

[haulingthescoreup]

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mizzou_tiger wrote:
If I use a card and pay it in full before the statement closing date, would it still be considered "inactive"?

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No, even if your balance due is zero, the CCC will report that you used the card.

In fact, if you charged more than you have in the past, that figure will show up as your new "highest balance." Real balance will still display as $0.

[GFer]

Sometimes, you gain points for using an inactive card! I especially think this would be true if you had minimal cards and/or have had no revolving activity in awhile.

Naturally, they want to see that you can handle all types of credit.

(You know the old saying..."...if you don't use it---you lose it?"