How Fast Will My Credit Score Change?

A woman wearing a red shirt uses her laptop while holding her credit card.
Dear Experian,

If one credit card is affecting my credit score negatively, and if I pay it off, how fast will my score it change?

- TWM

Dear TWM,

How quickly and how much your credit scores will change after paying off a credit card account depends on a couple of different factors.

The first thing to consider is the reason that account is currently impacting you negatively. The two most important factors in credit scoring are your payment history and your utilization rate, sometimes called your utilization ratio or balance-to-limit ratio.

If Your Credit Card Balance Is Too High

Is the balance on your credit card account high? If the issue is simply that the balance on your account is too close to the credit limit, paying it off will lower the utilization rate on that account. Depending on the balances and credit limits on any other credit cards you may have, paying off the balance on that one account could significantly change your overall utilization rate as well.

Your overall utilization rate is calculated by taking the total of all your credit card balances and dividing that number by the total of all your credit card limits. The lower your utilization rate, the better for your credit scores.

If the balance is substantial, you may see a change in your credit scores as soon as the new balance is reflected on your credit report. How quickly the change is reflected on your credit report depends on when you pay it off and on your credit card company's reporting schedule. Most lenders send updates to Experian monthly. In general, you should allow 30-60 days for the change to be reflected on your report.

Once you see that the balance has been updated on your credit report, you can order a new credit score to see what impact paying off the account has had on your score. You can get your credit score for free on Experian's website .

If Your Credit Card Is Past Due

On the other hand, if your credit scores are being negatively affected because your account is delinquent, it may take longer to get them back to where you want them to be.

Late payments remain part of your credit history for seven years. The more serious the delinquency, the more negative the impact will be. If you are past due on an account, the first step to helping your credit scores recover is to pay off the past due balance and bring the account current.

If you leave the account open, paying off the balance will not only bring the account current, it will also reduce your utilization rate, which is also beneficial.

Once your payment is posted, your credit card provider will update the account to show that it's now current and the balance is zero. You should see the update reflected in your credit report within a month or two. However, your account will still show that it was past due prior to being brought current. So, while you may see an improvement in your credit scores right away, it may take time before they rebound fully.

Improving Your Credit Score

The good news is that the longer ago the late payments were, the less your credit scores will be affected by them. As long as you continue to make all your payments on time and keep your balances low, your scores should continue to trend upwards over time.

Thanks for asking,
Jennifer White, Consumer Education Specialist

This question came from a recent Periscope session we hosted.

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

300 credit score301 credit score302 credit score303 credit score304 credit score305 credit score306 credit score307 credit score308 credit score309 credit score310 credit score311 credit score312 credit score313 credit score314 credit score315 credit score316 credit score317 credit score318 credit score319 credit score320 credit score321 credit score322 credit score323 credit score324 credit score325 credit score326 credit score327 credit score328 credit score329 credit score330 credit score331 credit score332 credit score333 credit score334 credit score335 credit score336 credit score337 credit score338 credit score339 credit score340 credit score341 credit score342 credit score343 credit score344 credit score345 credit score346 credit score347 credit score348 credit score349 credit score350 credit score351 credit score352 credit score353 credit score354 credit score355 credit score356 credit score357 credit score358 credit score359 credit score360 credit score361 credit score362 credit score363 credit score364 credit score365 credit score366 credit score367 credit score368 credit score369 credit score370 credit score371 credit score372 credit score373 credit score374 credit score375 credit score376 credit score377 credit score378 credit score379 credit score380 credit score381 credit score382 credit score383 credit score384 credit score385 credit score386 credit score387 credit score388 credit score389 credit score390 credit score391 credit score392 credit score393 credit score394 credit score395 credit score396 credit score397 credit score398 credit score399 credit score400 credit score401 credit score402 credit score403 credit score404 credit score405 credit score406 credit score407 credit score408 credit score409 credit score410 credit score411 credit score412 credit score413 credit score414 credit score415 credit score416 credit score417 credit score418 credit score419 credit score420 credit score421 credit score422 credit score423 credit score424 credit score425 credit score426 credit score427 credit score428 credit score429 credit score430 credit score431 credit score432 credit score433 credit score434 credit score435 credit score436 credit score437 credit score438 credit score439 credit score440 credit score441 credit score442 credit score443 credit score444 credit score445 credit score446 credit score447 credit score448 credit score449 credit score450 credit score451 credit score452 credit score453 credit score454 credit score455 credit score456 credit score457 credit score458 credit score459 credit score460 credit score461 credit score462 credit score463 credit score464 credit score465 credit score466 credit score467 credit score468 credit score469 credit score470 credit score471 credit score472 credit score473 credit score474 credit score475 credit score476 credit score477 credit score478 credit score479 credit score480 credit score481 credit score482 credit score483 credit score484 credit score485 credit score486 credit score487 credit score488 credit score489 credit score490 credit score491 credit score492 credit score493 credit score494 credit score495 credit score496 credit score497 credit score498 credit score499 credit score500 credit score501 credit score502 credit score503 credit score504 credit score505 credit score506 credit score507 credit score508 credit score509 credit score510 credit score511 credit score512 credit score513 credit score514 credit score515 credit score516 credit score517 credit score518 credit score519 credit score520 credit score521 credit score522 credit score523 credit score524 credit score525 credit score526 credit score527 credit score528 credit score529 credit score530 credit score531 credit score532 credit score533 credit score534 credit score535 credit score536 credit score537 credit score538 credit score539 credit score540 credit score541 credit score542 credit score543 credit score544 credit score545 credit score546 credit score547 credit score548 credit score549 credit score550 credit score551 credit score552 credit score553 credit score554 credit score555 credit score556 credit score557 credit score558 credit score559 credit score560 credit score561 credit score562 credit score563 credit score564 credit score565 credit score566 credit score567 credit score568 credit score569 credit score570 credit score571 credit score572 credit score573 credit score574 credit score575 credit score576 credit score577 credit score578 credit score579 credit score