Credit expert reveals the money move that may quietly hurt your credit score

When financial anxiety spikes, the impulse to aggressively pay off a car loan or mortgage seems like a bulletproof step toward financial freedom, but credit repair expert and influencer Micah Smith warns that suddenly paying off those loans can actually backfire and drag down your credit score.

Instead, turning around a credit score — sometimes taking a profile from the 400s into the 700s in just one month — comes down to precise timing, strategic balance targets and leveraging forgotten rules hidden inside consumer credit law.

"It really takes a deep understanding of how credit works, but 400s to 700s is very realistic," Smith told Fox News Digital.

"The biggest thing we look at right away is, how is the positive credit being used? Is there any positive credit there? Then we take a look at the negative items. What kind of negative items are there?" she continued. "You really want to assess those two things… and are there any quick wins available on the credit report?"

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Smith has previously broken down how credit utilization — or amounts owed — makes up 30% of a standard FICO credit score calculation, while payment history accounts for 35%. But to see a quick improvement in your credit score, it's important to note that credit card issuers report account balances to the credit bureaus once per month on the account's statement closing date, not the payment due date.

The credit expert emphasized that maintaining an overall utilization ratio below 10%, and ideally under 7%, signals low credit risk and generates maximum point gains in scoring models.

"Most people don't realize how much their credit card usage is impacting their credit score," she said. "You can call your credit card company and say, ‘When is my closing date?’ And… you wanna get your balance down to 6% utilization or less. So if you have a $1,000 credit card, you want that balance to be $60."

"The other thing you can do is, if you're eligible, you actually also can ask for a credit limit increase to widen that gap. So that way the balanced limit ratio, you can widen it by asking for a credit limit increases. If it's an inquiry, it's not that big of a deal. It's two to five points. It's nominal. But sometimes, that can actually increase a person's credit score by not having to part ways with a ton of money."

Smith also cited a June 2026 LendingTree survey, which found that 84% of credit cardholders who requested an interest rate (APR) reduction were successful, yet only 23% of cardholders actually asked for one.

"You can help yourself by picking up the phone, making a phone call, and you can actually pay down your debt a lot faster just by simply asking for a reduction in the interest," she noted.

"Half the money that you win or lose in life will be done at the negotiation table. So I would take a look at all of your bills, see what can be negotiated. People underestimate — rent can be negotiated, utilities can be negotiated, credit cards can be negotiated."

There are times, however, when paying off debt or loans can backfire, according to Smith. Installment loans, including mortgages, auto loans and student loans, differ from revolving credit such as credit cards. When an installment loan is paid off, the account status shifts to "closed," which can reduce credit mix diversity — worth about 10% of a FICO score — and pause active positive payment reporting.

"The most common mistakes that we see in credit today that backfire badly would blow your mind… They will actually have enough money to pay off student loans in full. They'll have enough to pay off their cars in full, they might have enough money to pay off their mortgage in full thinking that they're going to drive their credit scores up. And actually, it takes the credit scores backwards," she warned.

"When you pay off an installment loan, it's closed. So that positive history, it stops calculating into the credit score. And so you actually end up suppressing the score," Smith continued. "This is why it's so important to know where to apply the appropriate funds because if you apply it in the wrong places, thinking it's going to drive the credit score upwards, you're going to find yourself very, very disappointed."

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While securing a rapid score boost provides an immediate surge of confidence and momentum, Smith stresses that a 30-day triage plan is only the first step. To ensure quick credit wins turn into long-term financial security, the focus must shift from temporary fixes to automated systems.

"Short-term fixes, those are amazing. We're so grateful when we get these really quick short-term fixes, but it ultimately hasn't addressed the underlying problem," she said. "People need to be reminded more than they're taught… It's not because you understand credit so well, it's because you don't and you haven't built the habits yet. And so we're reinforcing those habits day after day, week after week, month after month. And so we're constantly focused on reminding more than teaching, and I think that's a very important principle that we all need to know."

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