I thought paying off a card early would always help my score, but my report said otherwise

I had a card with a $500 balance and paid it off completely two weeks before the statement date, thinking it would show zero usage and boost my score. When my score updated, it had actually dropped 12 points. My buddy who works at a credit union explained that some scoring models see all accounts at zero as 'no recent activity', which can be a negative. He told me to leave a small amount, like $20, on one card to report each month. Has anyone else seen their score go down from paying things off too early?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayes.casey2d ago

Nah, my score always goes up when I pay early.

troy_price2d ago

Yeah, same thing happens to me every single time.

jakewhite2d ago

Wait, you think paying early helps your score?