Pay off highest rates or highest balances first?

Here are a couple of other things for you to consider when dealing with your credit cards. The first and most important is to pay ALL your bills on time. Late payments and not paying those bills can really hurt your credit score. Next be sure and keep balances on credit cards as low as possible. Paying off debt is a much wiser choice than moving debt from credit card to credit card. Pay off the credit cards with the highest interest rates first. If you already have a balance on the card and miss a payment, then the cost of the item will be inflated. Missing a credit card payment can double you interest rate causing the interest rate to be as high as 29%. Not only has your interest rate gone sky high, but you could be facing a $40 late payment fee. At some point, you could be paying almost as much interest each month as you are on the initial product cost.

I agree with Jason that the best strategy to produce the best financial result is to pay off the credit card with the highest interest first. Once that card is paid off, you move on to the card with the next highest interest rate, etc. It is very important that if you need to use a credit card, use the one with the lowest interest rate (if you have an adequate credit limit) AND pay off any new charges each month. Also, do not reduce the minimum payment due once you have filled out the form even though the credit card company reduces that amount as you are paying down the balance (this is a sneaky way that they keep you “on the hook”). This link to a form might help.
http://seastarfinancial.com/forms/Credit_Card_Payment_Worksheet.pdf

The strategy to pay off the highest interest card first is the best financially. Once that card is paid off, you would move on to the next highest. This strategy produces the best financial results.

The strategy of paying off the lowest balance first can provide you with a sense of accomplishment and desire to keep going. This strategy is often recommended for people just starting to get a handle on their debt.

Either way you should stop using the cards until you have paid of all 5 cards. This should help keep things clean and simple as well as keep you from creating more debt.