Pay a discharged debt? Absolutely not in this case!
Of course, it's your money. You can spend it any way that you like.
But since you asked for advice in an open foruum, I want to give you my thoughts.
Your discharged debt is not enforceable against you in a law court. But you still have a moral obligation. You are saying you will fulfill your moral obligation ONLY if the CU then gives you a reward.
People should not expect nor demand a reward just for doing the right thing.
I wonder if anyone else agrees with me?
There is nothing wrong with paying a debt that you have already discharged in bankruptcy. In fact, I can tell you that the bankruptcy law specifically allows you to do so. But do it for purely moral reasons because it makes you feel good.
But don't pay a discharged debt because you hope they will reward you with credit again.
If you have a spare $1,000, keep it for an emergency. Or use it towards a down payment on a car. The more you can put down, the better loan terms you may get.
It is easy to throw away money. The more valuable lesson is learning to hang on to it.
What if the CU takes your money but still won't trust you with a new loan? You can't hold them to a verbal promise even if somebody there tells you that they would be glad to give you an auto loan if you have paid them back. Are you going to be OK with that? Or will you feel ripped off?
The most important lesson about credit is that credit equals trust. Trust is a moral perogative, not a financial one.
Paying off a discharged debt when you have a motive other than "doing the right thing" doesn't get anybody an "A" in my sunday school class.
In fact, it also gets an "F" in my personal finance class - it's a big a waste of money.
Will you please let us know what you decided to do?
