21-Point Drop after Paying Off $92 CC Balance

Anonymous · ‎10-21-2021

Hi. I got a notification today that my Experian score dropped 21 points and the action cited in the notification from MyFico is my having paid off a $92 balance on an AMEX card.

Simultaneous to this, my TU score went up one point and my Equifax score stayed the same.

I carry no other credit card debt, and no other changes to my credit have taken place (no new accounts or inquiries, no new balances, etc.). I continue to have student loan balances, a car note, and a mortgage, all of which are reported as paid on time.

A 21-point drop seems eggregious to me, but maybe it's SOP. Sure seems to deincentivize responsibly managing credit card debt.

Thanks for any thoughts you have on this.

FireMedic1 · ‎10-21-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi. I got a notification today that my Experian score dropped 21 points and the action cited in the notification from MyFico is my having paid off a $92 balance on an AMEX card.

Simultaneous to this, my TU score went up one point and my Equifax score stayed the same.

I carry no other credit card debt, and no other changes to my credit have taken place (no new accounts or inquiries, no new balances, etc.). I continue to have student loan balances, a car note, and a mortgage, all of which are reported as paid on time.

A 21-point drop seems eggregious to me, but maybe it's SOP. Sure seems to deincentivize responsibly managing credit card debt.

Thanks for any thoughts you have on this.

The way you posted this. You left no balance on any cards. So thats the $0 balance across the board ding. Always have 1 report <8% each month on a major credit card. MC,Visa, Disco.

BK Free Aug25

Msafiri732 · ‎10-21-2021

Experian would ding my scores with up to 30 points every time I reduced all my balances to zero. Their algorithm reads it as paying off a card/s that you no longer use or closed. I kept contacting them about it and they would contact the CC company and woud put the points right back. The next billing cycle the scores would drop again! I got tired of contacting them every month over the same issue, so now I leave a 1% balance before the statement closing date, then once it's reported, I pay it off right away or before the due date and it works wonders.

SouthJamaica · ‎10-22-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi. I got a notification today that my Experian score dropped 21 points and the action cited in the notification from MyFico is my having paid off a $92 balance on an AMEX card.

Simultaneous to this, my TU score went up one point and my Equifax score stayed the same.

I carry no other credit card debt, and no other changes to my credit have taken place (no new accounts or inquiries, no new balances, etc.). I continue to have student loan balances, a car note, and a mortgage, all of which are reported as paid on time.

A 21-point drop seems eggregious to me, but maybe it's SOP. Sure seems to deincentivize responsibly managing credit card debt.

Thanks for any thoughts you have on this.

If that payment meant that all your revolving accounts reported zero balances, you experienced the "all zero" penalty. Let one bank card report a small balance each month before you pay it off, and you'll get every one of those points right back.