<prompt> Human: I have accumulated credit card debt of roughly 35k debt utilization 65, one card alone has a 20k balance nearly maxed out - PenFed. I have the ability now to pay 30k of it in the next month and clear most of it out. My question is, if I do this, will it significantly lower my credit score? I read somewhere that making such a large payment shows instability on your accounts and thus lowers your credit score to a large degree  <response>: No, it will not. Making a large payment will reduce your overall debt burden, which makes you a lower risk to lenders.Pay it off starting with the highest interest rate. 