How long does it take for your credit report to show that you’ve paid credit cards off?
My husband and I are looking at paying off credit cards with the income tax money that we get. We also want to look at buying a new car, but we want the new credit score to show up. How long once you’ve paid the cards off will it reflect on your credit score? Is it a week a month or just a few days.
It will be the very next time your credit card companies report to the bureaus, so to be safe you need to wait 30-days to make sure they have all reported.
Remember, I good score is only part of the equation lenders look at when considering you for a loan. Another major factor is your debt to income ratio. Paying off your credit cards may improve your credit score but does not improve your debt to income ratio since lenders consider your credit card credit limit as money already borrowed even if you are not using it.
But don’t rush out and cancel your unused credit cards since your credit score is based, in part on the length of your credit history. Best if you can keep a low interest credit card or two with not too high of a limit that you have had for a long time and get rid of the rest.