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Pay them off "all at once", or "in a few big chunks"?

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Anonymous
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Pay them off "all at once", or "in a few big chunks"?

Better for score?

 

I can pay off all three at once, but does that "signal" anything to the credit score?  Would it be better to pay off say 1/4th per month over 4 months?

 

Immediate payoff will certainly make an interest rate and interest payment impact, but these things don't always work logically, and I don't want the scoring computers to read anything into my hard work to come up with enough to pay them all off at once.

 

Thanks

Message 1 of 7
6 REPLIES 6
TNTransplant
Established Contributor

Re: Pay them off "all at once", or "in a few big chunks"?

Pay them all off now if you have the money.  

 

Your max FICO score will ultimately end up the same, but you'll get the dual benefits of an earlier max score (rather than later) by paying them off now, and you'll save $ by paying no interest.  Your FICO score is only a snapshot for the exact time that it's being pulled anyway, so there will be no long-term negative effects by paying now - only positive.


Starting Score: Jan 2012: EQ - 659, TU08 - 670, EX - ???
Current Score:April 2014: EQ - 772, TU08 - 782, EX - 754
Last App:3/21/14

Message 2 of 7
Uborrow-Upay
Valued Contributor

Re: Pay them off "all at once", or "in a few big chunks"?

Welcome to the forums, roccaas!

 

If you are not seeking new credit anytime soon, pay off your cards in full at your whim.  It won't matter much in scoring, but it will matter to your wallet.  Do not pay interest if you don't have to.

 

Please know that I might not fully understand your question, but as a general rule, if you're not looking for a loan, don't sweat your credit score, just tweak it when you need it!

 

Smiley Happy

 

 

All the best to you, and again, welcome!

Message 3 of 7
thom02099
Valued Contributor

Re: Pay them off "all at once", or "in a few big chunks"?


@TNTransplant wrote:

Pay them all off now if you have the money.  

 

Your max FICO score will ultimately end up the same, but you'll get the dual benefits of an earlier max score (rather than later) by paying them off now, and you'll save $ by paying no interest.  Your FICO score is only a snapshot for the exact time that it's being pulled anyway, so there will be no long-term negative effects by paying now - only positive.


+1

You've done some work to get your scores to where they are.  You could go to that next level by paying off your balances and keeping one account at ~7-9% utilization.  I've seen that recommended here and elsewhere and that's where I got my best score boost.  YMMV. 

Message 4 of 7
migliogiorni
Established Contributor

Re: Pay them off "all at once", or "in a few big chunks"?

Pay em off asap.  There is no reason to wait when you have the cash now, GL.

 

BOA: 8.9k
CSP: 5k
Discover: 5k
Citi TY Preferd: 5k
Wally: 5k
JCP: 4.9k
citiForward: 4.7k
ChaseFreedom: 4.5k
DFS: 2k
Message 5 of 7
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Pay them off "all at once", or "in a few big chunks"?

All at once. The computer doesn't score you by how much is left unpaid. They score you by how fast and often.you pay everything.
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 6 of 7
Epcot
Valued Contributor

Re: Pay them off "all at once", or "in a few big chunks"?

Good advice given, and welcome aboard!

Starting Score: EQ 717 EX 724 TU 736
Current Score: EQ 849 EX 835 TU 841
Message 7 of 7
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