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My credit score dropped 40 points for a dumb reason
I paid off a small card with a $500 limit last month, thinking it would help... but my score actually went down. The credit bureau said closing the account lowered my total available credit and shortened my history. I had that card since college in 2015, so it was my oldest account. Has anyone else had their score drop after paying something off?
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murphy.tessa15d ago
That 2015 card was probably your average age of accounts anchor. My oldest card is a 2012 store card I never use, but I keep it open with a $1 recurring charge set to auto-pay. The system really punishes you for closing accounts, even when you're doing the right thing by paying off debt. It's backwards, but now I just put a small subscription like Netflix on my oldest cards to keep them active without having to think about it. What's the oldest line of credit you have still open?
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ivanbell15d ago
Heard that trick works (keeps the credit history alive).
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diana_kim6615d agoTop Commenter
Totally did the same thing with an old card from college. Stuck a cheap Spotify subscription on it and set up auto-pay. That account age is way too important to let go.
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