How soon after paying off high balances should your score be affected? How often do creditors update?
Seems to be monthly...although some people have noticed that when balances are paid down, some creditors don't bother updating for a while. I went ahead and disputed one balance with TU because I didn't have the patience to wait to see how long...lol. L
Generally creditors update once every month. If you have just paid off several accounts, you may have to wait 4 to 8 weeks.
Be careful with TU. Several of my positive (active) tradelines have disappeared when I disputed balances. And I haven't figured out how the heck to get them back. Counting my now vanished Amex accounts, I think I have 5 current accounts that are now missing from my report! The funny thing is, my TU score never seems to change! Add an account, delete an account, charge up a card, pay off a card. My score is always the same!