 TITLE: Why Credit Scores Could Drop After Paying Off Credit Cards CONTENT: Why Hasn't My Score Changed After Paying Off Credit Cards?\n----------------------------------------------------------\nYour score won't get an immediate update once you pay off credit cards. That can be a disappointment when you've put a lot of effort into cutting down your balance. But all other things being equal, you will likely see an improvement in a relatively short period of time.\nCredit card issuers typically report new information to the credit bureaus, including Experian, after the end of your billing cycle. So if you pay off a balance on April 10 but your billing cycle ends on April 30, the credit bureaus won't receive that information until at least three weeks after you've made the payment.\nThe credit scoring models (FICO® and VantageScore®) may not update your credit score immediately so that they can also take note of whether you've simultaneously taken on more debt, which would also be reflected in your credit score. All in all, allow for at least one to two months after paying off a balance for your credit score to be recalculated. END