Use Your Credit Cards Regularly

I’ve heard numerous stories from people about how credit card companies are closing inactive cards. I personally have several cards I haven’t used in quite some time because their cash back offerings haven’t been competitive. On some of those cards, I consolidated the credit lines into other cards from that issuers. But for many, they simply sit in my closet collecting dust. I don’t close them because having a longer history, as calculated by the average age of your credit cards, helps your score. Also, having a large available balance means the utilization percentage is lower, which is also a plus. Finally, you never know.

Well it’s that “you never know” part that scares credit card companies. They don’t like having large outstanding credit lines out there, especially if they aren’t being used. If you haven’t used a card in a year, what’ll make you start using it again? Maybe you’re in trouble, maybe you suddenly need money, both cases scare credit card companies. So they started closing those accounts.

If you want to avoid this happening to use, start using your old cards again just so they don’t come up as inactive.

Related Posts:

• Build Credit History As Student
• Get Your Free Credit Report Every Year
• Consolidate Rather Than Close Credit Cards