Will paying off mortgage affect my credit score

another40something

My husband has died leaving various life insurance and death in service payouts. 

I’m about to use some to pay off the mortgage however am
concerned paying it off in full may adversely affect my credit score long term. 

For context I’m 48 and have always had a good credit score. I’ve had a mortgage since the age of 18 and never defaulted on any kind of payments but if I pay off the mortgage in full, I will be left with only the following as proof of my ability to manage credit:
Santander credit card which was issued as a joint one with my late husband,
 Sky mobile contract,
Next account, Klarna both which I pay in full. 

My employed income is low as I’ve only ever worked part time and I also now have a widows pension but combined they are less than £30k pa. 

I don’t envisage needing credit as I will have investments to draw down from as and when I need to but I do need to have a credit card for travel purposes and I don’t want to be in the situation of being refused for convenient low level credit arrangements in the future. 

So, would I be best to pay off most but not all of the mortgage and leave a nominal amount to keep my credit score at a decent level. 

My late mom struggled to get a mobile phone contract despite having tens of thousands in savings as she and my dad had never had anything on credit other than their mortgage which they paid off decades earlier. 

Totally appreciate I will pay interest on the small portion of mortgage should I keep it going, that’s not the question. 

It’s whether it’s a good move credit score wise. 

Thanks 😊 

Isthisforreal99

Suggest you read the sticky on Credit Scores. In summary, only you see them and don't stress on the number changing.

Maintain other credit but don't worry about clearing the mortgage.

Emmia

Something to bear in mind - credit cards aren't joint, there's always a primary and a secondary cardholder. The primary card holder is ultimately responsible for paying off the spending of the secondary card holder. 

So if the primary card holder was your husband, you may need to take out your own credit card. 

I'm sorry for your loss. 

another40something

Isthisforreal99 said:

Suggest you read the sticky on Credit Scores. In summary, only you see them and don't stress on the number changing.

Maintain other credit but don't worry about clearing the mortgage.

Thank you 

another40something

Emmia said:

Something to bear in mind - credit cards aren't joint, there's always a primary and a secondary cardholder. The primary card holder is ultimately responsible for paying off the spending of the secondary card holder. 

So if the primary card holder was your husband, you may need to take out your own credit card. 

I'm sorry for your loss. 

Thank you. These credit cards were just basic ones we had sent to us with our joint account. Which is now just my account. I was the first name on the account as I set it up. We didn’t use them for the credit facility more for when we went away as some hotels request credit rather than debit. And I’ll still need that now. 

But in past when we needed credit cards for balance transfers etc I did always put him first as he earned much more. 

CliveOfIndia

If you pay off your mortgage, I'm willing to bet that your credit score will drop.  It usually drops in response to any change in your credit circumstances, whether good, bad or indifferent.

But as others have said, your score counts for nothing - in fact, it's not even visible to lenders.  Any application for credit will be assessed by the lender's internal algorithms, taking into account (amongst other things) the factual data contained within your credit report.  The lender will come up with their own internal score - which is confidential, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the meaningless score you see on your CRA report.

As far as it goes, paying off the mortgage will make you more attractive to lenders, purely because you have less outstanding debt.

Also bear in mind, your history of mortgage repayments will remain visible on your credit report for 6 years.  So even if you pay it off, your good track record on that debt will still be useful for a long time.

If the "basic" credit card you currently have is indeed in your name now, then using it regularly for small, planned purchases and always repaying in full every month will contribute to maintaining an ongoing good credit history.  If you should decide you want to apply for a different card at some point in the future then just apply for one.  Every application will be assessed on its own merits.  But as far as it goes, and in isolation, having no mortgage will make you slightly more likely to get accepted than having a mortgage - simply because you have less existing debt.

molerat

I have just opened a new credit card increasing my available credit by 13.25% and had a hard search for a current account and opened that account.  My score has increased.  Conversely when I paid off a £6K credit card stooze my score decreased. Go figure !