 TITLE: Why Credit Scores Could Drop After Paying Off Credit Cards CONTENT: Other Reasons Why Your Credit Score May Have Dropped\n----------------------------------------------------\nWhile paying off credit cards often leads to a score increase, other credit activity could counteract those gains, or result in a drop in your score while you're waiting for the credit card issuer to report your paid-off debt to the credit bureaus.\nFor example, a late or missed payment on another credit card or loan will have a big impact on your score. That's because payment history is the most important credit scoring factor, accounting for 35% of your FICO® Score☉ . The delinquency's effect on your score increases as time goes on, so a payment that's 90 days late has a greater impact than one that's 30 days late.\nApplications for new credit, such as a private student loan, mortgage, credit card or car loan, can also cause a brief dip in your score. These applications create [hard inquiries](') on your credit report, which means a lender has requested access to your credit file to evaluate your creditworthiness. Hard inquiries typically lower your scores less than five points and can stay on your report for two years. END