 TITLE: Why Did My Credit Score Improve? CONTENT: You Paid Down Existing Debt\n---------------------------\nPaying down your revolving credit, which is a type of debt that includes credit cards and other lines of credit, could potentially result in a quick credit score increase.\nOn the other hand, paying off installment debt such as personal loans, student loans and mortgages, generally won't affect your score as positively right away. That's mostly because installment accounts aren't factored into your credit utilization. Another reason is that paid-off accounts will be listed as closed, and closed accounts aren't weighted as heavily in score calculations as open accounts. Paying off debt in general is a smart move, but reducing loan balances won't necessarily result in an immediate credit score increase.\nThe news is also mixed when it comes to paying off or settling accounts in collections, meaning they're past due and have been sold to a debt collector. Newer credit scoring models won't factor paid-off collections accounts in your score, which means that particular negative mark won't negatively affect it.\nBut older scoring models, including those used for mortgage lending, will still consider the derogatory mark of your collections account in your credit score, which means paying off or settling the account won't increase it. END