PIF...Good or nah?

[egaithe]

I just took out a loan from my CU for $5,000 to pay off all of my credit debt which was around $3,600. I will let the balance of the loan sit in my CU account and pay off the loan. My util was at 21% but is now at 1%. According to my CU, my EQ was at 599, even though Fico 08 says 613. What will this do to my scores, considering the pay down plus the installment loan was added, which I previously didn't have? My TU is 672 and EX is 642. My loan rate is high at 15%, but still less than my CC's APR.

[DoroLucky]

If you pay down ALL of your cards to a $0 balance, your scores will drop (sorry).

[driftless]

I think that they will jump by a nice amount once the new balances are reported. Going from 21% util to 1 - 0% is quite an improvement.

[egaithe]

what if I add a small balance on each before they report?

[driftless]

I would let them report at 0 - 1%.

[egaithe]

But you said that 0% will be viewed as negative....

[egaithe]

sorry, responded to wrong person.

[driftless]

I have my accounts set on autopay for PIF.

[DoroLucky]

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@egaithe wrote:

But you said that 0% will be viewed as negative....

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Yes, 0% is seen as negative by the fico model (haven't tried it but I've read it on here many times). Leave a very small balance on one card. Like the poster above said 1%. 

[DoroLucky]

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@driftless wrote:
I have my accounts set on autopay for PIF.

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So you don't leave a small balance?