I totally agree with you in terms of your views on credit scores in general. My score goes up and down. No matter how on time my payments are and do all the things, it doesn't take much for your score to change. I've found that paying off a credit card and closing it is a no no. Keep it open even if you don't use it. I purchased my first hone few years ago and my credit score was around 700. Since l sold my home, my score gas gone down a bit but lts getting back up there and l'm diligently staying on top of it. Great info!
The reason your score goes down when you close a credit card or pay off a loan is because your payment history goes away. So if you only have 1 loan and pay it off you no longer have payment history. In the other hand credit products are revolving so you pay and borrow, which is continuous payment history, unless you close the account.
