I think credit card companies are quicker to cancel an inactive card that has no fee vs one with an annual fee. The only card with little activity that I've ever had cancelled on me was an AA card with no annual fee. The free night that comes with the IHG Select card is too valuable to me to run the risk of cancellation, so I make sure I have a couple of small spends every month. And whenever I find one of those nice Chase bonus promotions of "Spend X, earn Y points" I participate in that, which earns points and has spending on the card.