How much of a score bump does going from 100% utilization to 0% give?

[credit2019]

I have about $8K worth of credit cards that I think am about to pay off.  My current utilization is effectively 100%.  It will drop to 0% after this.

Does anyone have a ballpark figure of how this will affect my score?  I'm sitting at just above 600 right now.  I have read that my score might only go up 50 points, but if that's all, it won't have been worth it, other than the peace of mind of not owing.  If that's true, I honestly don't know what else I could possibly do to improve my credit.  I have 1 medical collection for about $800 that won't drop off another for 4 years, so I can do nothing about that.  I have no other derogatories and have made all of my payments on every card, student loan, etc on time everytime for the last ~3 years that I have had them. It's pretty frustrating to even be at 600 even with 99% utilization given my payment history.  Am I going to top out at 650 no matter what until that collection drops off?

[Jnbmom]

You could gain anywhere from 50-80 point jump but it's anyone guess, but I would leave one card to report a small balance so you won't get the extra ding from all accounts reporting zero.

And yes unfortunately that collection will continue to hurt til it is gone. But 650 and one collection is not bad at all, it could be alot worse.

[KJinNC]

I don't know exactly how many points it will add, but I think it'll be well worth doing, if you are financially able. For one thing, I would not underestimate the difference between 600 and 650, even if it's "only" worth 50 points. For another, by paying them off, you won't be paying interest on them anymore.

That said, my guess is it'll be more than 50 points ... somebody else mentioned 80 points, and I'll go with that as my guess.

[Anonymous]

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@KJinNC wrote:

I don't know exactly how many points it will add, but I think it'll be well worth doing, if you are financially able. For one thing, I would not underestimate the difference between 600 and 650, even if it's "only" worth 50 points. For another, by paying them off, you won't be paying interest on them anymore.

That said, my guess is it'll be more than 50 points ... somebody else mentioned 80 points, and I'll go with that as my guess.

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My FICO jumped from the mid-500s to low-600s when I paid off (settled) a large debt. My high util is still there (it's complicated) but I can testify a huge jump when a lot of debt is paid.

And yes, 50 points IS HUGE. IMHO the difference between low-600s and mid-600s is dramatic. I've been there. Things started opening up and I started getting preapprovals and mailers (not that I'm taking them yet) and not being treated like such a credit leper when my score got to the 650s. And at 650ish you're so, so much closer to 670, which is considered "good." Do not underestimate the effects of that 50-point difference. It's worth doing, score-wise.

[Shooting-For-800]

Pay $4k and equal out utilization among accounts and see what happens.

Then you could $2k then another $2k if you are concerned about cash flow versus results.

Who says it is all or nothing?

[OmarGB9]

I'm going to echo what others have said, paying down 100% util, NOT to zero though, but to under 8.9%, will yield HUGE results. I'm planning on paying down/settling 11k in charge off debt here myself in the next two months, and I'm hoping to get a 30-40 point increase from it. 50-80 points is huge, and while we're all just guessing, it's a possibility. Also, as for your medical collection, there IS something you can do about it; they're some of the easiest to get removed off your report! I will page @gdale6 as he knows a lot about dealing with medical collections.

OP, pay that debt down (but again, not to zero utilization, cause then you'll still get your score dinged for having no cards report a balance). Have one card report a small, under 8.9% of it's credit line balance.

[Chestnut1]

Speaking about myself, I got a Jump of 54+ Points when i brought down my UTL to < 8.9%. I know a jump of 50 points might not sound fancy for you but it is a HUGE deal to a lot of us who are going through Credit rebuild process. Heck, even a jump of 3-5 points is a party time for us. So yes, I would suggest you pay them off down to under less than 8.9% and avoid Interest and see a score bump and work your way up from there. 

Good Luck !!

[credit2019]

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@OmarGB9 wrote:
I'm going to echo what others have said, paying down 100% util, NOT to zero though, but to under 8.9%, will yield HUGE results. I'm planning on paying down/settling 11k in charge off debt here myself in the next two months, and I'm hoping to get a 30-40 point increase from it. 50-80 points is huge, and while we're all just guessing, it's a possibility. Also, as for your medical collection, there IS something you can do about it; they're some of the easiest to get removed off your report! I will page @gdale6 as he knows a lot about dealing with medical collections.

OP, pay that debt down (but again, not to zero utilization, cause then you'll still get your score dinged for having no cards report a balance). Have one card report a small, under 8.9% of it's credit line balance.

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Thanks for the advice, based on what you and a few others have said, I probably will do the whole AZEO thing and leave a small balance.  I guess I wouldn't be happy with the 50pts just because at 650, I was still getting turned down for essentially everything I applied for, which means if I pay everything down and get back to 650, I'll still be getting turned down for everything.  

I have tried every which way to dump the medical collection, it seems that it's not going to go away even if I pay it off.  But I haven't tried asking them to recall it directly, I can't seem to get ahold of the person that would have the authority to do that.  If I ever do, perhaps I'll ask for that.

[Chestnut1]

Okie, What i suggest is to Stop Applying for new Credit for atleast some time. Let your Previous inquiries age. What happened is if you had applied for credit cards in the past 12 months, those Hard Inquires must have dinged your score. You must let each one of those Inquires age for atleast 12 months before applying for new credit. You might see a bump there too.

Also, use this time (months waiting on eaach hard inquiry to age out 12+months ) to pay your bills ON TIME. this may give you a bump too. 

patience is the key my friend.

[Shooting-For-800]

There re people on this board that got $25k credit cards from Navy Fed with 650 or lower.

I got plenty of good cards with a score well under 700.

GL!