to be quite frank, avoid payday loans if at all possible. the interest and fees you pay are just not worth it. As far as it affecting your credit score....as long as you pay it off within the designated time, it shouldn't affect it much. If you already have bad credit....it depends on why you have the bad credit. If you've already filed BK and then are using payday loans that you don't repay....that's a big red flag. The key to credit scores is a clean 2 year history, and that is looked at in 6 month increments. No 30, 60 or 90+ lates during that time. Also, consumer debt is rated a bit higher in risk. So your payday loans are higher risk debt, which will ding your score more. But....if you don't see another option and it prevents you from having a 30 day late, it may be worth it. Hope that helps....