@itspaul wrote:I paid off an auto loan that had a 35% balance. Now my Ex Fico 8 dropped by 20 points, Auto Fico 8 dropped by 40 points.
The was my only installment loan
Would I need another installment loan to increase my score? I'm planning on leasing another car in July so a 780 score would be optimal.
I have a 27% utilization on my revolvers which I can AZEO, but I don't think It can get to that target score
You could replace it with a share secured loan from NFCU or PenFed or some other credit union, and pay it down immediately to 9% of the loan amount. That will get you your points back.
But once the new lease comes online in August, you'll lose the points you gained.
@donkort wrote:FICO is weird----in that they seem to penalize you for paying off accounts.
This happened when I paid off my mortgage and completed my car note.
I feel like it would take a few months for you to see a score bump after opening a new account. Of course, bringing it down to AZEO will increase your score.
OP is experiencing the "no open loan" penalty. And yes, it's mighty weird IMHO.
@itspaul wrote:I even thought of adding myself as an AU on an installment loan to see if that will help
Is that a thing? I've never heard of it. What sense would there be in adding an authorized user to an installment loan, where the only "use" took place on Day One.
@itspaul wrote:The Penfed idea is good. Would i get hit with the loan not being aged?
I dont care about the score after the lease
Yes you would get hit with that... new account...lower AAoA...
But in my case I gained more points than I lost