You should try to use your credit card at least once every three months to keep the account open and active. This frequency also ensures your card issuer will continue to send updates to the credit bureaus.
You should use your credit card at least once every three months to keep it active (but more often than that if you want your credit score to improve at a faster rate). Not all issuers are the same when it comes to credit card inactivity.
In general, it's best to keep unused credit cards open so that you benefit from a longer average credit history and a larger amount of available credit. Credit scoring models reward you for having long-standing credit accounts, and for using only a small portion of your credit limit.
“There is no set time period,” writes an American Express spokeswoman. “We look at a variety of elements before ultimately closing an account.” Bank of America does not disclose an inactive card policy. Policies vary by card, in some cases ranging from six months to 13 months of inactivity.
You should use your secured credit card at least once per month in order to build credit as quickly as possible. You will build credit even if you don't use the card, yet making at least one purchase every month can accelerate the process, as long as it doesn't lead to missed due dates.
You may have heard carrying a balance is beneficial to your credit score, so wouldn't it be better to pay off your debt slowly? The answer in almost all cases is no. Paying off credit card debt as quickly as possible will save you money in interest but also help keep your credit in good shape.
To build good credit and stay out of debt, you should always aim to pay off your credit card bill in full every month. If you want to be really on top of your game, it might seem logical to pay off your balance more often, so your card is never in the red. But hold off.
Closing a credit card account — whether it's unused or active — can hurt your credit score primarily because it reduces the amount of available credit you have.
Having accounts open with a credit card company will not hurt your credit score, but having zero balances will not prove to lenders that you are creditworthy and will repay a loan. Lenders want to make sure you repay, and that you will also pay interest.
The standard advice is to keep unused accounts with zero balances open. The reason is that closing the accounts reduces your available credit, which makes it appear that your utilization rate, or balance-to-limit ratio, has suddenly increased.
In general, you should plan to use your card every six months. However, if you want to be extra safe, aim for every three. Some card issuers will explicitly state in the card agreement what length of time is considered to be inactive.
It's Best to Pay Your Credit Card Balance in Full Each Month
Leaving a balance will not help your credit scores—it will just cost you money in the form of interest. Carrying a high balance on your credit cards has a negative impact on scores because it increases your credit utilization ratio.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), experts recommend keeping your credit utilization below 30% of your total available credit. If a high utilization rate is hurting your scores, you may see your scores increase once a lower balance or higher credit limit is reported.
There's a missed payment lurking on your report
A single payment that is 30 days late or more can send your score plummeting because on-time payments are the biggest factor in your credit score. Worse, late payments stay on your credit report for up to seven years.
Your credit card balance is higher than usual
If you had unexpected expenses and you put them on a credit card or cards, your credit score could drop. That's because a major factor in credit scoring is “credit utilization,” or how much of your credit limit you're using.
Nothing much happens if you don't use your credit card for a month. You'll just need to keep up to date with your monthly payment if you have an existing balance. But your credit card issuer isn't going to close your account for less than three months of inactivity.
The 15/3 credit card payment hack is a credit optimization strategy that involves making two credit card payments per month. You make one payment 15 days before your statement date and a second one three days before it (hence the name).
By making multiple credit card payments, it becomes easier to budget for larger payments. If you simply split your minimum payment in two and pay it twice a month, it won't have a big impact on your balance. But if you make the minimum payment twice a month, you will pay down your debt much more quickly.
To avoid paying interest and late fees, you'll need to pay your bill by the due date. But if you want to improve your credit score, the best time to make a payment is probably before your statement closing date, whenever your debt-to-credit ratio begins to climb too high.
The most important action to take is to pay off your full balance each month, no matter how many payments it takes to get there. Weekly payments could strengthen your credit, but consider that as an added bonus.
Carrying a balance does not help your credit score, so it's always best to pay your balance in full each month. The impact of not doing paying in full each month depends on how large of a balance you're carrying compared to your credit limit.
A conventional loan requires a credit score of at least 620, but it's ideal to have a score of 740 or above, which could allow you to make a lower down payment, get a more attractive interest rate and save on private mortgage insurance.