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Well, maybe that's actually the problem. I have plenty of cards with no activity on them, but Citi never denies me any card, because for years I've had one or more Citi cards with routine spending on it. I never cancelled every Citi card I had before applying for a new one. So perhaps they only look at this if you don't have Citi cards you do spending on?

As mia mentioned above, some banks are starting to look at no spend as meaning you're getting cards simply for the signup bonus, and are worried that you'll do the same (no spend) with the card you're applying for. But if you're applying at has recent spend experience with you themselves, they're less likely to care what you spend or don't spend at other banks.