Definition: A credit card inactivity fee is a fee charged by a credit card company as a penalty for not using your credit card. Lenders who assess an inactivity fee have different amounts of time that your account must be dormant before they charge the fee. To avoid an inactivity fee, use your credit card periodically. That way you keep it active and open.
Your credit card issuer may not call an inactivity fee an "inactivity fee." Sometimes the fee is disguised as an annual fee that can be avoided by making a purchase within a certain period of time. That type of annual fee is still a penalty for not using your credit card.
Also Known As: dormant credit card fee
