Closed Personal Installment Loan - Should I have handled it differently?

[avv7c0]

So I decided that it was time to stop paying 12% interest on a personal loan I took out a few years ago to consolidate my credit card debt. I owed $4k out of the original $11k loan.

It posted to my CR last week as closed and paid in full, but I did not receive a score bump whatsoever.

From a scoring standpoint, I'm wondering if I should have just paid it down to $100 so FICO would see it as a huge balance decrease first before showing as closed. I feel like I might have missed a step in my scoring growth strategy.

Or perhaps since it's an installment loan (versus revolving) combined with my high FICO score already, it wouldn't have changed my score regardless.

Thoughts?

[avv7c0]

I can't edit my post on mobile, and as I reread the first part, it might sound like I said I stopped paying. That's not what I meant... I stopped paying INTEREST, by paying the loan off in full.

[pizzadude]

That sounds about right ~ you shouldn't expect a FICO score bump from paying off installment loans.    Installment loan utilization is a very minor component of your FICO score compared to revolving utilization.

[avv7c0]

Ok phew. I don't like missed scoring opportunities.

Thanks!