Paying them off right away should help your credit. At least in the debt to income ratio. If you just make the monthly payment you are going to pay almost double when all is said and done for each card. If you can’t pay one lump sum, the next best thing I’d suggest is making at least double the minimum payment or as much as you can to lower the balance as soon as possible. The only person benefiting from you making just the minimum payment each month is the bank, or who ever issued the credit card, because they’re making a lot of $ off of you over the course of time it takes to pay it off.
