Found out my credit score drops 12 points just from letting a card sit unused for 4 months | Credit Advice - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
Found out my credit score drops 12 points just from letting a card sit unused for 4 months
I was going through my credit report on the Capital One app a couple months back and noticed my score had dipped 12 points for no clear reason. Turns out one of my two cards had been sitting at zero balance since April, and the issuer just closed the account for inactivity, which cut my total available credit by $3,500 and bumped my usage ratio way up. Did anybody else get hit with this, and is it worth putting like a $5 subscription on each card just to keep them alive?
Man, this exact thing is why my sock drawer has more credit cards in it than socks at this point, and I'm only half joking. Same thing got me a couple years back, one card hit zero for like five months and they shut it without so much as a text. My score took a hit just like yours did and the worst part is nobody warns you, they just quietly close it and move on. A small subscription on each card really does work from what I've seen, just set the card to auto pay so you never eat a late fee over a $6 streaming charge. Some banks will even waive the yearly fee or keep the account open if you call and ask nice, but plenty won't lift a finger. Feels like the whole system is built to punish you for doing the responsible thing and not carrying a balance, which is a joke.