Credit card inactivity warning letter: what to do now

Verify the notice through a channel you already trust

Open the issuer's app yourself or use the website or telephone number on a prior statement. Ask whether it sent an inactivity notice for your account. The FTC recommends using contact details you know are real when checking an unexpected message.

Match the product and account identifier, especially if you hold several cards from the same issuer. Save the notice and the date you received it. A closure warning concerns an account that may still be open; a closure confirmation requires a different recovery process.

• FTC: Verify unexpected messages through a trusted channel
• Read a credit card closure letter

Identify the deadline and what the issuer wants you to do

Read the entire notice before making a purchase. The issuer may ask for account use, a call, or other information. Use the stated instructions and ask for clarification if the letter only says to take action.

For example, imagine a notice says to use the card by October 15. Ask whether it means a purchase authorized by that date or a charge that has posted, and whether any purchase types are excluded. This is an example of a question to ask, not a claim about a particular issuer's deadline.

• Which account and card does the notice concern?
• What exact action does the issuer require?
• By what date must it complete, and what counts as completion?
• How will the issuer confirm it has accepted the action?

Use a planned purchase and check the result

If you want to retain the account and the issuer requests a purchase, choose something you already need. Leave time to deal with a decline, delayed posting, or merchant cancellation. Chase explains that a pending transaction has not finished processing, so check the issuer's final entry before assuming your task is done.

A store receipt on October 14 would not prove that a merchant posted a charge by an October 15 deadline. If the deadline is close, call the issuer about your situation instead of guessing or making several unnecessary purchases.

• Chase: Pending transactions and posting
• Check which events create purchase activity

Follow up with a specific question

After completing the requested action, ask whether the issuer considers the notice resolved. You can say: I received an inactivity notice for the account ending 1234. I completed the requested purchase, and it posted on this date for this amount. Does that satisfy this notice, and is any further action required?

If you made the purchase before the notice arrived, give the representative its posted date. Keep the answer or case number. A representative's confirmation about this notice does not guarantee that the account will remain open indefinitely.

Handle a passed deadline or a card you no longer want

If you missed the date, check whether the issuer has closed the account or can still accept action. After a confirmed closure, ask about reinstatement and deal with balances, merchants, and rewards. Repeated purchase attempts will not reopen a closed account.

If you decide against keeping the card, ask how to close it and move any bills first. The CFPB explains that you still owe a remaining balance on schedule. Do not treat silence after a warning as confirmation that the account has closed or that you have no payment obligation.

• CFPB: Steps for closing a credit card
• Recover after a confirmed inactivity closure
• Decide whether the unused card is worth keeping

Keep reviewing the account after the warning

Check the statement for the purchase and its payment, then set a review date that you can maintain. Update the plan after canceling a subscription or replacing the card.

The CFPB says issuers can generally close accounts without advance notice. Use the warning you received to act on this account; do not expect a warning before each future account decision.

• CFPB: An issuer closed my account without notice