In the past, I was told that initially when you pay off, a little hit to rating will occur as precaution, because now you have a larger line of credit and could possibly go out on a spending spree, max out cards, and be unable to meet the debt agreements. Not sure. Also, the reports may not be up to date with that payoff activity. I've seen 3 months pass before a change to increased score. If you're not planning any immediate major purchase, take the hit and get out of debt. That's money you can put towards survival of the times.