Feedback on Credit Mix Question... to pay off or not to pay off?

[amkari]

In the midst of covid I have managed to pay off all of my credit cards and am in a position to pay off one or more of my installment loans.

Do I or don't I?  And which would give me the biggest benefit?

I have an auto loan at 5.25% that has less than a year of payments left - approx balance $3500.

I accepted a 36 mo interest free $500 emergency loan from my credit union in April.

I have also returned to college and accepted my unsubsidized loans for books, computer, and supplemental living expenses. Current balance of $3500 with another $1750 disbursing this month.  Obviously, while I am in school there are no payments due and because is is subsidized I am not accruing any interest.  Uber & ASU pay my tuition in full so my only out of pocket is books and supplies.

I am sitting on approx $10k with the remainder of my SBA EIDL loan (rideshare driver) and my retroactive lump sum PUA.

Income is currently $327 weekly in PUA monies now that the $600 supplemental amount has ended.

Because my vehicle is primarily a business vehicle and at less than a year payoff isn't considered long term debt anymore I am reasonably confident I won't run afoul of the SBA by paying it off and can eliminate the interest.

The student loans will begin accruing interest only when I leave school... I'm looking at about 3 years to my bachelors as long as I remain eligible for the Uber tuition payment program.  I don't anticipate needing any further loan monies after this FAFSA year.

The $500 loan is interest free with a minimal $31 payment.

Will the student loan be sufficient for inclusion in an installment loan mix or should I keep the $500 loan active also?

Will I hamper my ability to purchase a new vehicle in the next 12 months or so if I pay off the car loan?  Due to rideshare use it's about to turn over 200k miles in the next 30 days and it's 8 yrs old (yeah, I refinanced during a time of financial crunch).

[wontonwrx]

I would hold onto the cash for now.  In my recent experience, I paid off 3 installment loans (1 auto) and 2 personal.  There was no movement on any of my scores.  Conversely, I paid off all of my credit cards except one and reduced utilization to under 10% total (initially it was 75% in January 2020).  I did this in increments to see what effect each paydown had and until I got under about 25% utilization my score only increased in small doses.  Once I went under 25% and especially when I got down to 10% things jumped up (over 50 points total to 735 FICO 8).   My point is that your score probably won't change by paying that loan off.  Of course, scores are not the only factor in getting a loan but they certainly seem like the first thing that gets you in the door with any lender.   That's my $.02.