Jcpenney credit card closed due to inactivity

Q: Why did my jcpenney card close?

The credit cards issuer may decide to close your account after a long period of inactivity. There is no standard timeframe, but they will often send a notice in advance and give you a chance to use your card first. Some credit card rewards will expire after a certain period of account inactivity.

Q: How long before a credit card is closed for inactivity?

Theres no standard inactivity time limit, so its difficult to predict when a credit card issuer will close your credit card. It could be six months, one year, two years, or more. You can prevent inactivity cancellations by using your credit card periodically.

Q: Does a closed account due to inactivity hurt your credit score?

Summary. Not using your credit card doesnt hurt your score. However, your issuer may eventually close the account due to inactivity, which could affect your score by lowering your overall available credit. For this reason, its important to not sign up for accounts you dont really need.

I went to the JCP at a mall I go to and bought some dress pants. I signed myself up for their JCP credit card and feel really stupid. The charge for the dress pants is still on the credit card, and I am going to pay it off immediately.

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Can you reopen a closed credit card due to inactivity?
Why did my jcpenney card close?
How long before a credit card is closed for inactivity?
Does a closed account due to inactivity hurt your credit score?

I talked to a manager and a customer service representative on separate occasions about wanting to cancel the credit card. They advised not to cancel the credit card because it would hurt my credit score.

They told me that if the card was closed due to inactivity, it would have absolutely no effect on my credit score? Is this true?

Could i message someone for advice please?

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08-02-2013, 11:15 AM

438 posts, read 1,465,009 times

Reputation: 323

I went to JC Penny a week ago and brought some items to the counter. A little old lady asked me if I wanted to open a department store card and I naturally said no. Then she goes into the usual pitch and saving 20% and so on.

I said I'll never use the card, it will get closed due to inactivity and that it will hurt my credit score. She said that she opened an account, paid it off the balance simultaneously and the never sent her a card because of this. She then said that's what a lot of people do.

A week later of course I get the card in the mail, can't believe I fell for that

. Now I'm wondering what if I just don't activate the card, will it mean that I have no account on record? Or is the account already open?

Any suggestions?

08-02-2013, 11:18 AM

35,102 posts, read 47,923,846 times

Reputation: 62523

Once you get approved the account is open as far as I know. If you don't want credit cards don't sign up for them. That 20% off is not worth the hassle of a credit card.
Read the literature that came with the card or call the credit department of the store and ask them what happens, they should be able to tell you exactly what happens.

08-02-2013, 11:24 AM

7,767 posts, read 8,103,159 times

Reputation: 4670

Life is too short. If you not using the card hurts your credit score, screw the credit score. Americans should not be beholden to a bunch of shysters, but unfortunately they are.

08-02-2013, 11:25 AM

35,102 posts, read 47,923,846 times

Reputation: 62523

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmking

Life is too short. If you not using the card hurts your credit score, screw the credit score. Americans should not be beholden to a bunch of shysters, but unfortunately they are.

Hence the reason we have no debt and pay cash for absolutely everything. I do have one credit card but it is for my business and is paid off within one week of anything being charged on it. If i did not need it for business I would not have it.

08-02-2013, 12:19 PM

Location: West Orange, NJ

12,546 posts, read 20,485,849 times

Reputation: 3728

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost Leaf

A week later of course I get the card in the mail, can't believe I fell for that

. Now I'm wondering what if I just don't activate the card, will it mean that I have no account on record? Or is the account already open?

Any suggestions?

i've opened countless store cards to get the 10, 15, or 20% off deals. i either leave them open and never think to use them again, or one day when i pull my credit report, i spend some time calling a few and close them. if it hurts your score, i'm not feeling it. my most recent FICO update on july 7th was a 784.

08-02-2013, 02:47 PM

41,280 posts, read 28,140,845 times

Reputation: 67736

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradykp

I open them, too. Usually when I make a big purchase, like when I bought a couple of furniture pieces at Pier One, then I never used it again, and at Marshalls and LL Bean when I bought a few hundred dollars of clothes all at once. The only ones I actually use of the many I opened are Target (because of the free shipping benefit on Target.com, and the 5% off every purchase when using it), and Marshalls because of the rewards. I let the others sit unused, once in a while I get a letter saying a card was closed for disuse, and my credit score is still in the 800's. If your credit is good, the temporary little ding it might take when you close a card is not going to hurt you. Unless you are planning to get a mortgage or large loan in the very near future, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

08-02-2013, 02:55 PM

Location: Vallejo

18,977 posts, read 21,059,832 times

Reputation: 16450

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost Leaf

A week later of course I get the card in the mail, can't believe I fell for that

. Now I'm wondering what if I just don't activate the card, will it mean that I have no account on record? Or is the account already open?

Any suggestions?

No. I have to cards on my credit report I never activated. Both pretty recent, applied for like four different cards expecting to be rejected on some of them. All four show up on my credit report. I probably should cancel them but I haven't gotten around to it.

I opened a Gottschalks or however that's spelled account back when they still existed. That was 2003/4, I used it once, paid off the balance. It shows up as closed at creditors request/never late. I have no idea when they closed it. It's basically not going to hurt your credit. If you have 3+ hard inquiries within the last year, yes, it'll ding your credit score slightly. It's not really enough to worry about though. 20-30 points here or there isn't a biggie.

08-03-2013, 03:51 AM

Location: Florida

12,077 posts, read 10,084,038 times

Reputation: 8792

Activation is not a significant matter. It has nothing to do with whether the credit line exists or not - it just affects how

readily

the specific card/number can be used.

08-03-2013, 04:40 AM

Location: 60630

13,932 posts, read 20,975,081 times

Reputation: 13798

I mean, if you used the account number, the new credit line is on your credit report. Activating your card only means that you can swipe a card at the register. When I worked at Macys, we were able to look up an account on the customers name and address and charge without using the card itself.

And as far as the sales lady. They say whatever it takes for you to open a card. At Macy's we received 5 bucks on cash every time we got a customer to open an account. There were many people there who opened around 10 cards per day. That's a pretty motivating factor when working a minimum wage job. Many people are so clueless when it comes to credit cards. This is why I would never open one myself anymore, unless the purchase was large enough that the extra 15 - 20 % made it worth it.

08-03-2013, 04:43 AM

Location: 60630

13,932 posts, read 20,975,081 times

Reputation: 13798

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malloric

I opened a Gottschalks or however that's spelled account back when they still existed. I That was 2003/4, I used it once, paid off the balance. It shows up as closed at creditors request/never late.have no idea when they closed it. It's basically not going to hurt your credit. If you have 3+ hard inquiries within the last year, yes, it'll ding your credit score slightly. It's not really enough to worry about though. 20-30 points here or there isn't a biggie.

I think after 3 years of inactivity they close the account.

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Can you reopen a closed credit card due to inactivity?

It may be possible to reopen a closed credit card account, depending on the credit card issuer, as well as why and how long ago your account was closed. But there's no guarantee that the credit card issuer will reopen your account. For example, Discover says it won't reopen closed accounts at all.

Why did my jcpenney card close?

The credit card's issuer may decide to close your account after a long period of inactivity. There is no standard timeframe, but they will often send a notice in advance and give you a chance to use your card first. Some credit card rewards will expire after a certain period of account inactivity.

How long before a credit card is closed for inactivity?

There's no standard inactivity time limit, so it's difficult to predict when a credit card issuer will close your credit card. It could be six months, one year, two years, or more. You can prevent inactivity cancellations by using your credit card periodically.

Does a closed account due to inactivity hurt your credit score?

Summary. Not using your credit card doesn't hurt your score. However, your issuer may eventually close the account due to inactivity, which could affect your score by lowering your overall available credit. For this reason, it's important to not sign up for accounts you don't really need.