I am not a credit expert, but I can speak from personal experience. By closing the two credit card accounts, you could actually LOWER your credit score. Because it lowers your line of available credit. If you already some out standing credit, what it does is raise the difference between your outstanding credit and available credit.
Paying off the one credit card was good for your credit, so long as the payments were made on time. Good payment history always helps your credit score.
