Sprung for $6 and got the Score Watch at Equifax and started playing with the simulator. I don't have a lot of debt and got tired of paying interest so I just paid it off a few days ago. Anyway I found a curious thing. It seems that if I paid my debt in three equal payments my EQ FICO would go from 682 to a range of 732-772. If I paid it off in one month my score might range from 722-762. It seems as if I would be better to pay it slower. Sounds counter intuitive to me. Are these simulators fairly accurate?
also, by saying that you are going to make 3 equal payments you are aging ALL of your accounts by three months in the mind of the simulator. Simply aging your accounts with no negative info will help your score.
Yea, mostly accurate, not perfect. However paying over time increases the length of time you make payments. Pay in full and wait time, should produce same results. Best to pay off as much as you can.
