Unused Credit Card? It May Be Hurting Your Score
Many Indians think leaving a credit card unused is 'safe'. But doing nothing with your card can quietly damage your credit score over time. Your credit utilisation, credit history length, and account activity all affect your CIBIL score — and an inactive card can work against all three without you realising it.
If your credit card has a ₹1 lakh limit but you never use it, your CIBIL score may still drop — not because you overspent, but because lenders see zero activity as a sign that you don't know how to manage credit responsibly.
Your credit utilisation and payment history together make up nearly 30% of your CIBIL score — and an inactive or mismanaged credit card can quietly drag that number down, making it harder for you to get a low-interest home loan or personal loan when you actually need one.
Key Takeaways
Use your credit card for at least one small purchase every 1–2 months — even a ₹200 grocery bill counts — to keep the account 'active' in the eyes of credit bureaus like CIBIL and Experian.
Never let your card issuer close your card due to prolonged inactivity — a closed card reduces your total available credit limit, which can spike your credit utilisation ratio and pull your score down.
Pay the full outstanding balance before the due date each month — even on small purchases — so you build a healthy repayment track record without paying a single rupee in interest.
Most Indians treat their extra credit card like a spare key — tucked away safely in a drawer and forgotten. The logic seems sound: if you don't use it, you can't overspend, right? Unfortunately, that's not how credit scoring works. Ignoring your credit card can hurt your CIBIL score just as much as using it recklessly.
Here's the thing — your credit score is built on behaviour patterns, not just repayment history. Credit bureaus track whether your accounts are active, how much of your available credit limit you're using (called your credit utilisation ratio), and how long your accounts have been open. When a card sits unused for months, banks often flag it as dormant. Some issuers eventually close such accounts — and a closed account can shorten your credit history and reduce your total credit limit overnight.
Let's say you have two credit cards with a combined limit of ₹2 lakh, and you regularly spend ₹40,000 a month on one of them. That puts your utilisation at 20%, which is considered healthy. But if the bank closes your unused second card, your total limit drops to ₹1 lakh — and suddenly your utilisation jumps to 40%, which can trigger a drop in your score even though your actual spending hasn't changed.
The fix is surprisingly simple. Use your idle card for small, recurring expenses — a monthly OTT subscription, a utility bill, or a petrol fill-up. Pay it off in full before the due date. That's it. You're building credit history at zero cost and zero interest.
If you're unsure how your credit card habits are affecting your overall credit health, GoCredit can give you a free credit score check along with personalised tips to improve it. Pro tip: aim to keep your overall credit utilisation below 30% across all cards — that single habit can add meaningful points to your CIBIL score over 6 to 12 months.
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