Inactivity Fee
Dec 25, 2012 | 6:03 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, AF Silver
Posts: 5,018
Inactivity Fee
I remember that my first credit union credit card charges some 20 dollar fee if you do not use it for over a year. Are there any major bank cards that charge inactivity fee?
Dec 25, 2012 | 6:47 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2012
Location: New York
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hertz Pres. Circle, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 564
Not aware of the ones that I have but I have heard that they have the right to close your card if you don't use it for a while. So if you plan to keep a card (for long credit history purposes) it's best to pull it out of the drawer once every few months and make a purchase with it.
Dec 25, 2012 | 8:31 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SEA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 203
Barclaycards often have terms that if you do not use the card or have some kind of balance every six months you can be excluded from earning rewards in the future and forfeiture of existing points, this from the Priceline Visa terms:
Effective on September 10, 2010, to continue to participate in the rewards program, your account must remain open and in good standing, you must maintain your creditworthiness and you must use your card for at least one (1) purchase transaction every six (6) months (or have some type of account balance every six months). Failure to meet these requirements may result in account closure and/or forfeiture of all outstanding points earned. In addition, if your payment is late in a particular billing cycle, this may result in the forfeiture of points earned in that billing cycle. If your points are forfeited for any reason, we will not reinstate these points to your account.
Points that have already moved to other programs, like an airline or hotel card would be safe, but those in Barclaycard managed programs like Priceline could be at risk.
Effective on September 10, 2010, to continue to participate in the rewards program, your account must remain open and in good standing, you must maintain your creditworthiness and you must use your card for at least one (1) purchase transaction every six (6) months (or have some type of account balance every six months). Failure to meet these requirements may result in account closure and/or forfeiture of all outstanding points earned. In addition, if your payment is late in a particular billing cycle, this may result in the forfeiture of points earned in that billing cycle. If your points are forfeited for any reason, we will not reinstate these points to your account.
Points that have already moved to other programs, like an airline or hotel card would be safe, but those in Barclaycard managed programs like Priceline could be at risk.
Dec 27, 2012 | 7:40 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 26,111
I don't remember whether they called it an inactivity fee, though, or simply an annual fee that could be waived with a few purchases a year (of any amount).
And, with that in mind, there are certainly cards from Citi (and sometimes others) where you can get a retention offer that credits you the same amount as the annual fee if you only make a small number of purchases in the next few months. While if you don't ask for this offer and/or continue to leave the card on the shelf, you have to pay the annual fee (and are never reimbursed it).
So the line between inactivity fees, and annual fees which are only waived for (at least) minor activity, can be blurry.
And the reason the phrasing may be important (including to the bank): Some states may have rules against inactvity fees for certain types of cards (like gift cards), but "annual fees" (and ways to waive or offset them) are typically not subject to the same rules.