<prompt> Human: Ive recently acquired a sum of money, in the amount to pay my 2 of my 3 credit cards in full, and the third about 70 of the way. Unfortunately those 2 have been maxed out for at least a year and Ive just been paying minimums as I could. Whats the best way to go about paying them off to best effect my credit? Is it best to do one lump sum payment or to gradually pay them down over a few months?  <response>: Pay them off as soon as possible. 