Score dropped after paying down full credit card balance to under 50%

[AlBrano]

Hi everyone, 

I was in the process of paying down my cards,  had 1 Paypal Credit account that was nearly full at 96% utilization. I have about 2-3 credit cards on 0 balance, 2 under 10% so the revolving cards are not on 0.

I paid down more than half the balance, to around 46% and to my surprize my score dropped 24 points on Equifax Vantage 3.0 and 17 points on Transunion.

Absolutely no other change other than the balance decrease. In fact, the reason listed for the score dropped is the balance decreasing and states the utilization percentages. 

Any idea what's going on here? Why would my score decrease for paying the card to less than 50%?

[FireMedic1]

Welcome to the forums @AlBrano 

Same thing happened to another poster recently from paying down balances. They lost 90+ points. Its CK Vantage scores. Dont stress over the it. Vantage isn't the scores lenders go to. Sync yes. Credit revolves around FICO.

[AlBrano]

Yeah I knew they were FAKO scores, but still I find it quite unusual, especially since a few card companies did start using them.

[Mycreditjourney2020]

I stopped paying attention to Vantage scores for this very reason.  Vantage scores are graded differently than FICO for one, but yes I've experienced countless ups and downs with Vantage that just make no sense! So many times when my score changes and I click on "see why your score changed", it's just gotten to the point that it's for entertainment purposes only and end up with a good chuckle.  

My FICOs are currently in the 730's and remain consistent, up from the 500's just under two years ago.  Yet my Vantange scores range from 680-720, within the same month depending on moon phase and wind direction I'm guessing 🤔. 

[805orbust]

Its because Vantage Scores are dumb.  And it's about as valid as an "Uncle Fester Score" or an "805orBust Score" for that matter.  Use CK only to keep up with your credit data.  Its the best bang for the buck with that.  

[mfinsmi1]

@AlBrano You will see those 24 points return in a couple of weeks - vantage will sometimes drop your score for a big change weather it be positive or negaitve

[AlBrano]

Interesting mfinsmi1, I'll keep an eye on it.

 You may be right that a large change having an impact could be part of their scoring model. I doubt it's completely random. There must be some logic to it.

[CreditCrusader]

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@805orbust wrote:

Its because Vantage Scores are dumb.  And it's about as valid as an "Uncle Fester Score" 

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[teekay629]

I have lost points for no changes over a period of a week, lost points for paying down a balance, gained points for a balance increasing. My Experian is also worse profile wise than Transunion and Equifax, yet a better score by more than 50 points. Really nothing has made sense in the last few months with my credit reports. I have given up trying to figure any of it out! 😂