Not using a credit card does hurt your credit score, but the damage is usually small and happens slowly

An unused card doesn't tank your score overnight. What happens instead is that your credit utilization ratio — the percentage of your available credit you're actually using — stays artificially high because your total available credit isn't growing. If you have $5,000 in available credit across all your cards and you're using $2,000 on active cards, your utilization is 40%. If you add an unused card with a $3,000 limit, that same $2,000 becomes 29% utilization, which helps your score. But if you never open the unused card, you're stuck at 40%.

The second way inactivity hurts you is through account age. Credit scoring models reward you for having older accounts in good standing. When you close an old card or let it sit unused long enough that the issuer closes it for inactivity, you lose that age benefit. The account may stay on your credit report for up to 10 years after closing, but it stops actively helping your score the moment it closes.

The third risk is that your issuer may close the account themselves. Most card companies will shut down accounts that show no activity for 6 to 12 months, though the exact timeline varies by issuer. When they close it, they report that closure to the credit bureaus, and your score drops because you've lost both the available credit and the active account history.

Key Takeaways

  • Unused cards lower your credit utilization ratio because they don't add to your available credit, making your active balances look proportionally larger.
  • Card issuers typically close inactive accounts after 6 to 12 months of no activity, which removes that account's age benefit from your score.
  • A small amount of activity — even a single purchase every few months — keeps an account open and prevents the issuer from closing it.
  • The score damage from one closed card is usually 5 to 15 points, not catastrophic, but it compounds if you close multiple cards.
  • Keeping old cards open with minimal activity is usually better for your score than closing them, even if you don't use them regularly.

How credit utilization works when you have unused cards

Credit utilization is calculated as your total revolving balances divided by your total revolving credit limits. The three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — report this ratio to lenders, and it typically accounts for about 30% of your credit score calculation.

When you have an unused card, you're leaving money on the table. A $5,000-limit card sitting at zero balance is still part of your credit profile. If you're carrying a $2,000 balance on another card with a $5,000 limit, your utilization is 50% across both cards combined. That 50% is what the scoring model sees. But if you close the unused card, your utilization jumps to 100% on the remaining card, which damages your score more than the closure itself.

This is why financial advisors often recommend keeping old cards open even if you're not using them. The available credit helps your ratio, and the account history helps your score age. The risk is only that the issuer closes it first.

When issuers close accounts for inactivity

Most major card issuers — Chase, American Express, Discover, Capital One, and others — have inactivity policies in their cardholder agreements. The specific timeline varies, but 6 to 12 months of no activity is the most common threshold. Some issuers are more lenient with premium cards (like travel rewards cards with annual fees), because cardholders are more likely to use them regularly anyway.

When an issuer closes your account, they report it to the credit bureaus as a closed account. This shows up on your credit report and immediately stops the account from helping your score. The account will remain on your report for up to 10 years, but it's no longer "active," so it no longer contributes to your account age average or your available credit.

You won't always get a warning before closure. Some issuers send a notice 30 days before closing, others don't notify you at all. The first sign you might have is a letter in the mail or a check of your credit report.

How much your score actually drops

The score impact of a single closed account is usually modest — typically 5 to 15 points, depending on how old the account was and how many other accounts you have. If you have 10 active accounts and one closes, the damage is smaller than if you have 3 accounts and one closes. The older the account, the more it hurts, because you're losing years of positive history.

The real damage comes from closing multiple cards or closing old cards. If you close three cards in a year, you might see a 30 to 50 point drop. If one of those cards was 15 years old, the drop could be larger. The impact also depends on your overall credit profile — someone with a 750 score might drop to 740, while someone with a 650 score might drop to 635, because the scoring models weight account age differently at different score ranges.

The good news is that the damage is temporary. As time passes and you maintain good payment history on your remaining accounts, your score recovers. The closed account stops helping you, but it also stops hurting you after a few months.

How to keep cards open without using them

The simplest way to prevent closure is to use the card occasionally — even once every few months. A single small purchase, paid off immediately, is enough to show activity. Some people set up a recurring subscription (like a streaming service) on an old card and pay it off automatically each month. Others make one purchase per quarter and call it done.

You don't need to carry a balance. In fact, you shouldn't. The goal is just to show the issuer that the account is active and worth keeping open. A $5 purchase counts the same as a $500 purchase in the issuer's inactivity tracking system.

If you're worried about forgetting, set a phone reminder for every three months to use the card. Or check your credit report once a year — if you see an account has closed, you'll know to adjust your strategy for your other cards.

What happens if your issuer closes the account before you realize it

If you discover an account has been closed, you have a few options. First, call the issuer and ask if they'll reopen it. Some will, especially if the account was in good standing and the closure was recent. They may reopen it as a courtesy, though they're not required to.

Second, you can request a goodwill adjustment. Explain that you didn't realize the inactivity policy applied and ask if they'll reopen the account or remove the closure from your credit report. This works more often with older accounts and issuers that have good customer service reputations, but it's not may provide.

Third, if the closure was reported to the credit bureaus, you can dispute it if you believe it was an error. You'll need to contact the bureau directly (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) and provide documentation that the account should still be open. This is a longer process and only works if the closure was genuinely incorrect.

If none of those work, the account will age off your credit report after 10 years, and the damage will fade over time as you build new positive history.

Cards with annual fees and inactivity

If a card charges an annual fee, the issuer is less likely to close it for inactivity, because they're already making money from you whether you use it or not. However, some premium cards do have inactivity clauses that override the annual fee benefit. Always check your cardholder agreement or call the issuer to confirm their policy.

If you have a card with an annual fee that you're not using, you have a choice: use it occasionally to justify the fee, or close it yourself and take the score hit upfront rather than waiting for the issuer to close it. Closing it yourself gives you control over the timing and lets you plan for the score impact. Waiting for the issuer to close it means you lose that control.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do I need to use a card to keep it open?

Most issuers consider an account active if you use it at least once every 6 to 12 months. A single small purchase is enough. You don't need to carry a balance or use it regularly — just show some activity occasionally.

Does closing a card hurt my score more than letting it sit unused?

Closing a card yourself and letting an issuer close it for inactivity have roughly the same score impact. The difference is that closing it yourself is intentional, while inactivity closure is a surprise. Either way, you lose the available credit and the active account status.

Can I dispute a closure if I think the issuer made a mistake?

Yes, you can contact the issuer and ask them to reopen it, or you can dispute the closure with the credit bureau if you believe it was reported in error. Success depends on how long ago the closure happened and whether the issuer is willing to work with you.

Will my score recover if a card gets closed for inactivity?

Yes. The score damage is temporary. As you maintain good payment history on your other accounts and your credit age increases, your score will recover over several months to a year. The closed account will remain on your report for up to 10 years but will stop hurting you after the initial drop.

Should I close old cards I don't use, or keep them open?

Keep them open if possible. The available credit helps your utilization ratio, and the account age helps your score. Use them occasionally to prevent the issuer from closing them. Only close a card if you have a specific reason — like an annual fee you don't want to pay — and you're prepared for the score impact.