<prompt> Human: I recently received a settlement from an injury. It is enough to get rid of quite a bit of debt. I have credit card debt, student loans, and vehicle loans. I was planning on knocking out all the credit card debt and at least one of the student loans. My question is if this could look bad on my credit report? I am thinking of getting rid of the Amex card and switching to the new carrier that costco has. The other credit card will not be closed, just paid down to 0. I personally hate having debt but my wife and I are looking into buying a house in the next year and we need the best credit score we can get.  <response>: You should never extend the life of any loan just because you think it is going to help your credit score. Great credit scores can and should be built for free. 