Why did my score go down when I paid off my balance?

[Anonymous]

Hi MyFico Members,

I noticed a decreased Equifax score after I paid off my balance?

(this was rather confusing to me)

Can someone explain to me why it would have happened?

Image: https://i.gyazo.com/28ccb58c0428137b5bfb696517c353f2.png

Thanks,
A

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi MyFico Members,

I noticed a decreased Equifax score after I paid off my balance?

(this was rather confusing to me)

Can someone explain to me why it would have happened?

Image: https://i.gyazo.com/28ccb58c0428137b5bfb696517c353f2.png

Thanks,
A

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Can you be more specific?

Revolving account or installment account?

What were other accounts, balances, and limits?

[Anonymous]

Sure; it's a revolving account

The score (as shown in the image above) went down after paying a balance of $24

I have a balance of $115 on another card (and that's all)

However, the usage is and has been below 1% and I have been paying in full every month (no baddies apart from the fact that my credit history is fairly new and dates back to only 3 years)

[vanillabean]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sure; it's a revolving account

The score (as shown in the image above) went down after paying a balance of $24

I have a balance of $115 on another card (and that's all)

However, the usage is and has been below 1% and I have been paying in full every month (no baddies apart from the fact that my credit history is fairly new and dates back to only 3 years)

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Are both cards on your own accounts, or are you an authorized user on one or both of someone else's accounts?

[Anonymous]

The card that I paid of $24 is mine

I'm authorized user on the card with $115 balance (belongs to my partner; paid in full every month, no baddies)

[vanillabean]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The card that I paid of $24 is mine

I'm authorized user on the card with $115 balance (belongs to my partner; paid in full every month, no baddies)

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That's why. Your $115 card is in all likelihood not counted for utilization, so when you zeroed the $24 card, you were left with no balances on revolving accounts, which generally amounts to a loss of about twenty points. Don't despair though, because as soon as you have a reported balance on your own card once again, your former score returns.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

The card that I paid of $24 is mine

I'm authorized user on the card with $115 balance (belongs to my partner; paid in full every month, no baddies)

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That's why. Your $115 card is in all likelihood not counted for utilization, so when you zeroed the $24 card, you were left with no balances on revolving accounts, which generally amounts to a loss of about twenty points. Don't despair though, because as soon as you have a reported balance on your own card once again, your former score returns.

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Agreed.

[Anonymous]

Oh, gotcha!

I didn't know it worked that way; thank you so much for the clarification!

[Revelate]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Oh, gotcha!

I didn't know it worked that way; thank you so much for the clarification!

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Yeah, recent testing suggests the FICO 8 anti-abuse algorithm for AU's is pretty aggressive; small sample size though, but if you gain the points back with your individual responsibility card next reports a balance sounds like yours isn't counting.