Score dropped 57pts before i even received a bill statement

[Swails24]

I recently just used a Kohls card, and reached the maximum of $300 on the card, with every intention to pay it off in 2 payments. I also have a car loan for over 10k, and student loans which I make regular above minimum payments on. I maxed out the Kohls card to work on building my credit back up without trying to activate any credit cards. Why on earth did $300 diminish my credit so dramatically, and even if I paid the card off in 1 payment, how long will it take me to recover from a 57pt hit! I did this to help myself in the long run, now I wish I would have just paid in cash!

[Anonymous_]

There is not much you can do at this point. However, you should review your credit reports, which you can get free from the site below, for indicia of fraud or any inaccuracies.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

[BSincere27]

@Swails24  what made your score drop is your credit utilization. It’s recommended that you use less than 30% of the credit given to you to prove to lenders that you are financially independent for the most part. If you use over 30% of the credit given to you it shows that you depend heavily on other people’s money which is a risk to lenders. This also has high impact on your credit score. Pay it off and you should see your score increase in time. If you don’t have a large credit limit I would suggest using very little amount of credit for purchases. 

[Opus 17]

You take a hit for any "hard" credit inquiries (like Kohls checking your report before they issued credit).  You take a second hit for opening a new account.  And you take a third hit for using the full amount of the new credit line all at once.  The hit for the inquiry and the new account will go away with time, there is nothing you can do about it.  The hit for maxing out the new line will go away as you make payments to reduce the balance.  After several months of making on time payments, and keeping your balance low, your score should start to go higher than when you started.  But it will take a while.