How to Handle Inactive Credit Card Accounts
- 1). Leave your accounts open. By not canceling your accounts, you leave more open credit in your name. If you do not use the credit, it helps with credit utilization. For example, if you had a card with a $2,000 limit and you spent $1,000, then you have utilized 50 percent of your available credit. If you have a few more open cards, your utilization percentage will be lower. This is important for keeping your score high.
- 2). Cut up your cards. If you're wary about keeping them at home, you can destroy them. The account remains open even if the physical card no longer exists. If you have payments to make on the card, you will still need to make them, even if you do not use the card anymore.
- 3). Make payments. If your account has a zero balance, then you can skip this step. If you have a balance on an inactive account, keep making payments. Closing the account while it still has a balance can hurt your credit also. If you do not continue to make payments, this will also hurt your credit score. Just because you are not charging on a card does not make the balance go away.
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