OK I have a 3-year Bally's gym membership and it appears on my credit report the same way as an installment loan(but only for two bureaus, Experian and TransUnion; not Equifax). Even though it appears as a loan, there is no interest/APR like conventional loans or credit cards. For me having Bally's as a "loan" is a good thing, because I always pay it on time so it is helping me to further establish credit. I got the "loan" in September 2005 and if paying the standard monthly membership, it will be paid off by September 2008.
Yesterday, I got mail from Bally's saying that if I pay off the remaining balance early, by September 22nd of this year, that I will save 40%. Basically they're willing to cut my remaining balance by 40% if I pay it off early. I'm thinking about doing this because it will get the Bally's monthly payments over with, plus I'll be saving almost $500 by doing it.
HOWEVER I am unsure how this will affect my credit. By paying off a 3-year loan in only 1 year, I will not be developing good length of credit history for the loan, and my credit history is short/young. On the other hand, paying off a 3-year loan in 1 year will show that I'm capable of paying loans on time and even handling payments that are more than the minimum expected of me. I used Citi Monitor's credit analyzer to predict the effect that paying off the Bally's loan will have on my credit score, and the difference is negligible...after the loan is paid off, will my score improve from it over time? Or, will it be wasted energy to pay it all off at once, as opposed to little payments at a time?(yeah it'll save me $500 to pay it off early, but if it has no impact on my credit score and I have to work my butt off like crazy to make the full amount, is it worth it?)
Does anyone have a Bally's membership and been proposed with this offer? Credit-wise, what is the best choice...pay it off early, or keep paying on-time for the full length of the loan?


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